Hi! I have been working mostly in Law Firms as a Paralegal for the past 24 years. When I was laid off 2 years ago I began looking for opportunities closer to home and no billable hour requirements. I applied for a few positions I never thought I would get, however, used them for interview experience since I hadn't interviewed in over thirteen years. My second interview was for an EA position, in-house for the Intellectual Property group. I had never been a traditional EA or working in this area of law. To my surprise I was offered the job that same week!!! Here I am two years later with a new SVP and a Global Department WOW! I've learned so much from this experience and realized that there is so much more to know in order to fully support a Global SVP. My boss has never heavily relied on an assistant and I, being a paralegal most of my career, didn't know how to best assist him. While we have done a fantastic job, in my opinion and his, of streamlining and globalizing many things, there are many areas we are still looking to improve. At review time I discussed with him what he thought my SMART goals should be, not being of much help I set out to find more measurable goals for myself. I found IAAP and the certifications and thought this is perfect! I went into a meeting prepared with everything I needed, including cost and my boss was thrilled with the idea. He has been nothing but supportive and is always asking for my input as well as "bouncing" things off me before meetings. I am now a regular part of our Management Team meetings. Since I added this to my goals for 2018 I feel like I have taken on and been given more project based opportunities. I am officially registered to sit for the exam on October 6th and am feeling the nerves. I am in an amazing stud group with Marie Herman so I am confident I will be prepared when the time comes.

Thanks for sharing your journey.  Best of luck in your certification endeavors.

Best of luck!

Karen, thank you for sharing your story. You will find IAAP and our accredited certification to be extremely valuable to you in your new role.  All the best to you on your certification journey. Keep us posted of your success.

Congrats on the new journey! Best of luck.

Congratulations on taking this next step in your personal and professional development! Best wishes with your studies.

Thanks for sharing.  You go girl!

Another great "YES, YOU CAN!" testimonial.