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The Paralegal Picture: Best Internet Quotes for the Week Ending 04/19/09

By Lynne DeVenny

My heart goes out to a laid-off paralegal who found himself at a ?recession fair? which included assistance applying for food stamps and a paralegal seeking work who is being told that she is TOO qualified for jobs. (This puzzles me. The last time we had an opening, I would have shed tears of joy had anyone really over-qualified wanted to come work on our busy legal team.)

An immigration paralegal discusses the pleasure he receives from assisting clients though the citizenship process. Two paralegals discuss the tax day tea parties. Finally, a paralegal turned investigator states that you can?t find everyone using the Internet.

"I'm settled, married, family, kids, and I never thought this is where I'd be at now." ~ Californian Jeremiah Monchak, expresses his feelings about finding himself at the Recession Fair in San Diego last week. He recently lost his paralegal job and has four children. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also made an appearance and discussed the food-stamp program in San Diego County. (KPBS.com)

''The manager kept saying she thought I would get bored. I was honestly upset. I was telling the person I was OK with the position and it fit my lifestyle. I was also a little stressed because I really needed to get back to work.'' ~ Maryland paralegal Bobbie Wilson discusses a recent interview where she was told she was overqualified.

MiamiHerald.com

"I want to go along beside them and help them make better lives. They look overwhelmed (at the naturalization process). I'm able to answer their questions and tell them, 'One step at a time,'" ~ Hawaiian Paul Luu (who immigrated from Vietnam and gained U.S. citizenship), employed by the Hawaiian Immigration Justice Center, discusses his choice to become an immigration paralegal. He participated in the 2009 Citizenship Fair at Honolulu Community College on April 18, 2009. (Star Bulletin)

"I feel our government is growing at such a rate that we need to exercise our civil rights. I'm worried about taxes, and freedom of speech because I feel it's something we're losing," ~ Idaho resident Danelle Pence, a laid-off paralegal, describes why she marched in Boise to participate in the national Tax Day Tea Party. (The Olympian)

?Last week, Americans of every demographic type provided an obviously much-needed example of how such a crossing can be accomplished. All it took was a desire to gather and share ideas, an agreement to disagree, and good old American tradition.? ~ Pennsylvania freelance writer and paralegal Carol Wright-Burkett, employed by Silverman, Tokarsky & Forman, LLC., reminds us of our right to speak our minds in her Tribune-Democrat column about the Tax Day Tea Parties held by many Americans on April 15.

"Privacy laws hit us pretty hard when they started restricting access to what we could get. It's a little harder to find those people who don't want to be found anymore. In the past five years, people finding other people on the Internet has ended so many marriages. They go online and create new profiles of themselves, find people across the country, fly out to meet them. We're having to totally adapt to that." ~ Louisiana former paralegal turned private investigator Maria Dugas discusses the misconception that the Internet has made her job easier. (Tri-Parrish Times)

If you weren?t in the news this week, you are welcome to add your ?two cents worth? by commenting on this blog entry. Did you attend a tea party on tax day, or sit in front of your computer at 11:55 p.m. hoping your last minute e-filing wouldn?t be rejected?

And I know that many of Practical Paralegalism?s readers hold multiple degrees and know more than I?ve ever forgotten. Have you ever had problems finding a job due to ?over-qualification? and if so, how did you resolve the issue?

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on April 19, 2009 (boomark / email).