SUCCESS STORIES

Are you skilled, smart and looking for something new?
Call us and let us find your perfect job match.

(Out-of-state applicants, no problem!)

Here are just a few of our placement success stories:

[Watch this space for our next success story. Maybe yours?]

She had plans to attend law school and needed a part-time job to help meet expenses. We put her in what she considered an ideally suited temporary position, which would’ve resulted in a bona fide job offer except that the firm had a rule against paying agency placement fees. Rules are rules so, once they found their full-time hire on their own, they bid a reluctant farewell to our employee. Not a month later, though, their new hire had left the firm and they were back to square one (except they were out some serious money and time spent on advertising and training). Not ones to throw good money after bad, the firm’s powers-that-be decided this time to hire a “sure thing”: Our law student. Some rules were meant to be broken.

Their secretary was tired of pulling double duty as both legal assistant and billing clerk. Did we have someone smart and skilled who wanted just a day or so of work each week? Although they couldn’t stint on their skill requirements, they could allow flexibility on hours, they said. We had just the ticket: An entrepreneurial type who was always looking to supplement her earnings with part-time jobs here and there. This reliable, steady yet flexible income stream proved ideal for her, and they got a real “sharpie” in the deal. (We just love those “hand in glove”-type fits.)

He was sent there as a temporary word processor/legal secretary and the office manager just thought he was fantastic, wanted to hire him and even told him to expect an offer. Not wanting to pay a buy-out fee, however, the firm’s owner put the kibosh on those plans. Our guy took it all in stride and good-naturedly continued to help them out with last-minute and emergency projects on an as-needed basis. But after a while, even the owner realized that his no fee policy was, as they say, “penny-wise and pound foolish,” so they once again offered him the position—with no reservations—he once again jumped at it and now everyone feels this was one of those things that was just meant to be.

He was told this temporary file clerk assignment would challenge his organizational skills, as one of the clerks had recently quit, the other was out on her honeymoon, the work was piling up and our client really thought two clerks would be needed for the job. Well, he not only single-handedly got the work caught up, he brought new order to the chaos of their formerly mismanaged file room. This impressed our client so much that—even though everyone assumed this was a short-term gig—they offered him the work of both of their file clerks. He gladly accepted and now the firm finally has someone with motivation and pride in his work and our applicant has a rewarding position which matches his many talents.

His secretary was relocating overseas and had been with him so long, it was hard to create a job description for all her many duties. Needless to say, it would require someone smart who could pick up a wide variety of new procedures quickly and competently. We had someone who was all of that, but who only wanted part-time work (and our client had been keeping his current secretary busy with 40-hour weeks). The attorney was so impressed with our applicant, though, that he was willing to give her a try, and we guess that was a really good try, because the two are still happily working together to this day.

She came in to interview for a particular job, but while she was in our offices another client called, desperate for help with a job that sounded right up her alley, too. We sent her over there to talk to their administrator and check out her options and they offered her the position on the spot. That surprised us all, as this firm rarely hires through agencies, but the administrator told us he didn’t want to lose her, so offered a higher salary and better benefits than she was offered at her first interview. How could she resist a “full court press” like that? (Hint: She didn’t.) And now both our applicant and her new employer have a renewed appreciation for the value of timing and for being in the right place at the right time.

Our applicant came to us frustrated, because she couldn’t seem to find a good “fit” and, after a streak of bad choices, she was getting dejected. That reminded us of a client we were working with at the time, who also was having surprising trouble recruiting and keeping competent help for one of their very nice attorneys. We thought both secretary and firm were just not connecting with those who appreciated all they had to offer and so put them both together and they still rave about their respective good luck to this day. Sometimes those perfect matches are found “hiding in plain sight”!

As long as we could remember, she was seeking the perfect job but always playing coy, never taking the myriad positions offered to her throughout the years. One firm’s administrator even remembered her in passing from hallways/elevator encounters, back when she worked for another firm on the same floor. One day, that administrator called for assistance and requested the pleasant temp she remembered seeing in the halls and by the elevator. That placement was the silver bullet, it seems, as our [former] employee found her perfect match in this client. (And we thought it couldn’t be done….)

One day, she decided she had taken as much verbal abuse from her long-term boss as she could stand, but worried that she might not be able to compete with the new, younger secretaries in the job market. We assured her that you couldn’t buy the years of experience she had, nor her ability to work for difficult personalities for so long, so she finally made the break. We got her on a job the following day where, it turns out, the managing partner knew her from long ago (when he was her husband’s fraternity brother!), He, too, valued her years of experience and welcomed her to his firm with open arms. The firm’s administrator told us recently, “We love her and we’re not giving her back!” We think it was all just a matter of finding someone smart enough to deserve her.

She had been working as a paralegal for so long, it was hard to think of her in any other type of position, but she couldn’t find a suitable paralegal job with a schedule that would allow her to take time off with her daughter when things were slow at work. There was, however, a legal secretary to a solo practitioner posting on our website that we thought might have some flexibility in hours, the main drawback being it didn’t provide medical coverage. That proved to be no problem for her, as she had just recently qualified for Medicare. Together they created a “blended” position that also incorporated her paralegal and earlier law school training. Best of all, he shares her “family first” priorities and so allows her plenty of time off when the work is caught up. He gets a highly skilled assistant without incurring the headache or expense of employer-paid medical insurance, and she gets a flexible schedule that allows her quality time with her daughter.

Okay, so it was just a short-term data entry job and she was a law school graduate—it was still just two minutes from her North County home and it would give her some law office exposure while she studied for the Bar, so she took it. The senior attorney liked her can-do attitude so much, he gave her increasing responsibilities (and pay) and she began to get a real feel for this new area of practice. When she narrowly missed passing the Bar, he encouraged her to try again and offered her a legal assistant position in the meantime, to be upgraded to staff attorney upon her successful second attempt, by which time she’ll have had a thorough apprenticeship in her new chosen field of law and they’ll have a “made-to-order” new attorney!

She was on the short list for a receptionist position but ultimately lost it to someone with a bit more experience. She told us to remember her if things didn’t work out with the first choice person, because she was still very interested in the position. When it turned out that other person had commuting issues and subsequently took a job closer to her home, we remember how our “#2 candidate” had graciously left the door open, so we contacted her once again. Now our client has an employee who really wants the position and our [former] employee knows firsthand the value of not burning any bridges when seeking a particular position, because you never know when you’ll get another shot at it!

She was a law school graduate but had not yet passed the Bar and was looking for experience while she studied for it. We had a file clerk job that, while below her educational level, would offer her exposure to legal documents and steady employment while studying. Not one to turn down opportunities, she took the job, which quickly evolved into paralegal work and ultimately a law clerk position with the firm. And, when she passes the Bar, she’s got an associate’s position guaranteed. Who knew that, from such humble beginnings, one could rise so seamlessly to an attorney position? (This firm did: Their top performing attorney started in the file room!)

This husband and wife team sought an assistant with computer savvy who could work a flexible schedule to dovetail with their own flexible schedules. After initially searching for someone with just the right background coupled with that schedule flexibility, we suggested they try out one of our sharper employees who—while not having the exact legal experience they sought—had the smarts and the motivation to quickly pick up whatever training they offered her. Moreover, she had her own side business that would allow her lots of flexibility in her work hours for them. Also, she lived nearby (a huge benefit, for that Bay Area transplant). Now husband and wife can take time off with confidence that someone competent is “minding the shop” and their new hire has a work week filled with variety plus time left over to play with her granddaughter.

His secretary of 25 years recently retired and he was having trouble filling her 16-20 hour per week position. He had lots of competent college student candidates, but they tended to leave after their studies were complete and his probate practice was dependent on long-term client cultivation, based on years of familiarity, trust and service. Could we find someone who really wanted part-time work and who would stick around, becoming like “family” to his clients? We sent a nice, low-key person whose previous part-time had job ended. The schedules and even the personalities melded so nicely that the attorney says she even reminds him of his former secretary. All signs point to many more years of familiarity, trust and service.

We had a capable person in the job who, unfortunately, became easily bored with the day-to-day secretarial tasks and asked to be replaced. This next person we sent had a different approach to the work: She got the perfunctory tasks done quickly and offered her down time to do research and whatever else needed doing. Her job description quickly evolved from secretarial into paralegal and they valued her initiative so much, they allowed her to arrange her work schedule around her graduate school studies and even gave her her own office! One person’s boredom is another person’s opportunity.

Our client needed receptionist help for only for 2-4 hours each day but, they wondered, who would want such short work days? Turns out we had a student with very little free time who nonetheless needed supplemental income while attending school and was thrilled to do it. Soon our employee was being trained on different software and legal secretarial procedures. At this rate, she will have acquired a nice set of “fall back” skills to augment that future B.A. (Her high school guidance counselor couldn’t have done better by her!)

She answered our ad for a part-time entry level legal assistant because, although over-qualified for the work, she liked the part-time element of the job, which allowed her to attend law school while getting some law office experience. When the attorney realized her potential, he asked her to help out on increasingly advanced projects in his personal injury litigation practice. Now he’s getting a bargain rate on a sharp new employee while she’s getting paid to learn a whole new vocation while having time to study and move even farther along her career path.

She’d been a legal secretary for years, but that was years ago, before she went into independent IT work, and she was a little unsure of fitting back into the “legal secretarial pool culture.” Still, a person’s got to earn a living, so she studied up on the latest court procedures, worked a bit for us in our offices to get a feel for legal documents again and in no time was ready to assist a firm whose trial team needed extra help. In fact, she was such a quick study they gave her a unique position managing the caseload of just one very complex case that was going to trial. She’s got the independence and individual accountability she enjoys and they got someone far more involved and committed to the work than they could’ve hoped for when they first called us for some “temp help.”

She initially came to us to test/interview for a full-time position but one of the firm’s attorneys just didn’t want her (even though the administrator liked her very much and even called to ask us to find her a good situation). Since her confidence was a little shaken, we sent her on temp jobs that built her self esteem with every success so that, when a full-time job became available in La Mesa (where she had always wanted to work), she was confident that she was the right one for the job. And she was—and still is.

 She had her J.D. degree, was studying for the Bar exam and was willing to do whatever work we had in order to generate some income until she got her Bar results. We happened to have a temp receptionist position for a solo practitioner to fill, so we put her on that job and her flexibility paid off: Upon learning of her education, the attorney gave her more and more law clerk level projects and ultimately hired her as a legal assistant, to be promoted to associate upon passing her exams. Turning a temporary receptionist position into a long-term attorney position—that’s flexibility!

 It was a dilemma: She was advancing in years (a “septuagenarian,” which is not an astrological sign) and wasn’t crazy about working full time anymore, yet still needed a full-time paycheck. Luckily, one of our large firm clients had a partner who was starting to pare down his caseload and needed someone to work just 4 days per week—for a full-time paycheck Talk about your alignment of stars! She got her dream job with a boss who shares her work habits and he got an employee with decades of skill and experience who does everything she can to keep him happy.

Our temporary staffer had just a couple years of litigation experience, but that was fine with the client because he wanted to train his next temp-to-hire secretary in his own, particular procedures. He was also in the middle of a trial and already spending a lot on his existing staff, so a motivated entry-level secretary—with entry-level pricing—was a plus. She stepped right in and kept up with the pace so well that she was soon offered a full-time position with a great salary bump. She got her paid on-the-job training, he got his perfectly-trained new secretary and we got to put the whole thing together!

 She had her J.D. degree and was willing to take whatever opportunities allowed her exposure to law office work, so we sent her as a paralegal to help out an overloaded solo practitioner. They liked her work so much, they soon hired her as an associate attorney and—here’s the best part—she’s being trained to take over the practice when our solo attorney retires soon! Our solo attorney client is relieved to be able to train her replacement that allows for a seamless hand-over transition for her clients and our [former] employee gets on-the-job training for a ready-made practice! (We can’t decide who’s luckier!)

 We took a deep breath when we read the client’s request: Sharp, professional with extensive high-level litigation experience and in-depth IT knowledge, including legal as well as general software, and proficiency in dealing with the public on computer help desks. Then, like a gift from above, her resume appeared on our email: A 20-year litigation paralegal who had gone on to earn a degree and worked the computer help desk to pay her college costs and then later work in government information technology. Our client was so impressed, it paid her moving expenses to San Diego and she was thrilled to find her perfect niche in her new hometown. And now we can exhale…

She had been temping for us as a paralegal while waiting for her bar exam results. When she heard she’d passed, she answered a blind ad from one of our client for an associate position who was expanding his practice areas. Since we don’t place associates, we arranged for her to work there through us on a trial period as a paralegal, learning the ropes for his new area of practice. If all went well, they would hire her as an associate to take over that branch of the business. It didn’t take long for our client (and our client’s clients) to clamor for more high-level work from her, so the deal was struck and she made the smooth transition to an associate position handling the new practice area of his business and our client got a made-to-order associate that’s a proven good fit.

She went in as a last-minute replacement for another temp who called in sick. Even though she didn’t have experience in the kind of law they practiced, they needed to get the work out, so gave her straight word processing work. However, they liked her can-do attitude and willingness to help so much they just kept asking for her to come back for another week and another week, training her little by little in their legal procedures. After a few weeks, they decided they’d like her to come back for good, and so bought out her contract. She just called us to say how much she still loves working for her “new” boss, and how much she enjoys the flexibility of his office. We think they’re just paying her back the flexibility she showed them, when she saved the day as their last-minute replacement, months ago.

 We sent her for an interview and the firm administrator liked her a lot, but the attorney she’d be working for turned her down (“not a good fit”). Undaunted, the administrator requested her as a temporary secretary for another attorney (an attorney our employee had, coincidentally, temped for at another firm). Not being one to hold a grudge, our employee looked upon this second chance as an opportunity to show them what she could do. She’s still showing them these days, as their new employee. (It often pays to get a second opinion …)

 She was recently widowed who decided to move her whole life to San Diego and start anew. It was an exciting but scary move, because she had limited court experience and it had been years since she’d done regular secretarial work. However, she was friendly and—perhaps more importantly—had that “can do” attitude that we know leads to success, sooner or later. Turns out it was more “later” than “sooner” because, although we submitted her resume for a number of administrative positions, her lack of recent experience initially scared away full-time job offers. Still, she took whatever jobs we could find for her (receptionist, file clerk, etc.) to get more law office exposure, until finally a client was willing to try her out on a temporary administrative assistant job on a week-by-week basis. It seems her optimistic attitude was contagious: Our client liked having her around so much she offered her more and more responsibility and ultimately, a full time administrative position. (A positive attitude might not be everything, but without it, you don’t really have anything.)

 This placement made “believers” out of all of us: A new client called, seeking a very high-level corporate paralegal with extensive experience in public companies. There were a number of other factors that made us gulp when considering the odds of finding anyone suitable enough to submit their resume, but we “pounded the pavement,” combed all our files, and advertised extensively on the internet until—lo’ and behold—the perfect candidate surfaced! The client was so impressed they paid her moving expenses, offered her a fantastic salary (“San Francisco money”), terrific stock options and much more. And this for someone who was planning to move here anyway, without a job, just to be closer to her daughter! Happy endings, all around.

 She tested and interviewed fantastically with us but she kept taking jobs she found on her own before we could place her. Then she’d get easily bored with those positions that she got so easily and soon found she had to pull up stakes and look again. That’s why we knew—when we got a request for someone who could work with a high-volume, high-maintenance, high-standards senior partner—that this was a job that would finally test her abilities. She started 2 days after Christmas, was offered the job two days later, and now our client has an energized dynamo that can handle all the work he dishes out, and she has a job where she is appreciated, challenged and—perhaps most important—never, ever bored!

 She didn’t need to work full time for very long, but while she was remodeling her house she needed the extra income and also needed to be home on occasion to oversee workmen. How was that going to work? We sent her to a 2-day/week job, hoping it might “evolve” into expanded hours (or that we could augment it with other, short, jobs). Although the client’s caseload didn’t require someone full-time, he started giving her old projects he’d left “fallow” for a while, and pretty soon her work weeks—and paychecks—were expanding. It wasn’t long before they made it official and she took the client’s offer of a 4-day/week, 7-hr/day job, with time off as needed. Now she’s got the extra money to finish her home remodel, the client has the extra help he needs to finish long-standing projects and both can look forward to shortened, more workable, hours in the near future.

 Can talent be a liability? A new arrival from San Francisco brought with her an exceptionally high level of skill and professionalism, but she got her work done so quickly, she worked herself out of jobs (which was painfully obvious in her “shortened” paychecks). If she tried to work slower she got bored, so we sent her to a husband/wife firm that barely allowed enough time for the work, much less boredom, and she finally found her match. Not only could our employee keep up, she also had that rare “mental toughness” they needed, so much so that, after just a day there, she was given a full-time position and a blank check—literally—to purchase any and all office equipment she needed to streamline the work flow. (Talent has its rewards, too.)

 She told us from the beginning, “No permanent jobs for me—just temp work.” While we’re always happy to expand our pool of “professional temps” who get to know all our clients over a period of time, we thought that maybe she didn’t want full-time work because she hadn’t found the right fit. We considered what didn’t work for her in her past jobs and factored that in when placing her in a possible temp-to-hire position that we thought would prove to be the exception to her rule. Sure enough, three days into the job she called us to say, “I really like it here,” and the client was only too happy to bring her on their payroll. Some rules are meant to be broken, we think.

They requested a part-time temporary administrative assistant, so we sent a promising paralegal student who was willing to work with the limited work hours and do whatever needed doing (filing, phones, etc.), to get some practical law firm experience. That good work ethic paid off quickly, because a week later that job turned into a long-term offer with increased hours as she could fit them in (see how that works?), and the day this working mom graduated from USD’s paralegal program she had a full-time paralegal job just waiting for her.

She almost lost the job because of a bus pass. We offered her a 2-week assignment but, because she didn’t want to pay a month’s pass for just 10 days of work, she initially declined it. When asked, the client not only agreed to buy the monthly pass, but two days later they asked to buy out our temp’s contract. Now she has a job with great benefits and great pay (and no problems getting that monthly bus pass…).

It was only supposed to be 4-week job, but he’s one of those types that everyone likes to have around (good worker, uncomplaining, no “drama” issues) and, after that 4-week job, they wouldn’t give him back to us, instead moving him to wherever the work was in the firm, trying to keep him busy. Finally, they got tired of moving him (he’s no light weight) so they just created a position for him (“Case Assistant”) so that he’ll never have to move again. And happily, he hasn’t!

She’d been one of best legal secretaries in our 25 years of business and, by this time, she could really name her own price so, when a solo practitioner who couldn’t seem to keep secretaries asked about her job requirements we told him frankly (but gently), “Forget it. You can’t afford her.” Who knew we could be so wrong? We sent her there for a short-term job (filling in until he found someone he could afford) and she ended up staying! She told us she likes the building (and their great coffee shop), she likes working for a solo practitioner after years of big firm work, she likes the late arrival time and she likes the attorney himself—so much so that they and their respective spouses often go to dinner together. Sometimes we make great matches in spite of ourselves…

We knew she had just the right skill set for their paralegal position, but they resisted trying her out because she was a hard sell (one of those people who are not shy about letting you know their many talents). Our client just didn’t believe she could be “all that,” so we suggested a temp-to-hire, where all parties could check the fit. The client soon realized that, to survive, big egos require big accomplishments, so they piled on all the extra work that she requested and saw that, indeed, she was all that and more. They ended up meeting her salary requirements (plus an additional $4k), giving her an extra week’s vacation and allowing her late arrival privileges. What the heck—as everyone now knows—she’s worth it.

Although she was taking a pretty heavy load of law school classes at night, she still needed a full-time job to pay her expenses, so we placed her in a long-term, heavy trial paralegal assignment that lasted through her graduation from law school. Although they offered her a position, she ultimately decided to practice law back East, but was glad to have jump-started her career with months of valuable, heavy trial experience (and our client was glad, too, to have had law clerk assistance for paralegal prices)!

She’s one of our sharpest secretaries and also one of our busiest (always having some business project of her own going on) so we were happy when she agreed to work for this very picky firm for a brief, fill-in job. However, we were a little concerned when our client, after a couple days, told her, “We just can’t let you go,” because we knew how hard she worked to build her own business. Luckily, the client saw that she could get more done in her “spare” time with them than most others could get done in a full work week and so offered her a great full-time salary—including any paid time off, as necessary! Now she can take care of business on all fronts and they can still get maximum output from their new, powerhouse employee.

She was originally requested as a temp for a different desk in the firm, but they soon were considering her for a full-time position with one of their hard-to-please attorneys. Unsure of her experience in that area of law, she felt they’d made a mistake in picking her for the job, but we knew that she had the right “ingredient” for this attorney—longevity in her job history. (She really stood out in a field of candidates who “moved around” too much.) The next time she thought a mistake had been made was when she questioned her first paycheck with them (“I think they paid me too much”). Seems they were so happy to have her, they bumped her salary, without her having to ask! Those are the kinds of mistakes we can all live with…

North County secretaries have it rough when seeking work because most of the jobs are way down south and, no matter how you slice it, that commute can be stressful (which is no way to start/end your day). That’s why we were dismayed when a former temp of ours signed up again, but from her new home base in San Marcos. Well, we didn’t have any San Marcos jobs for her, but we did have a 2-week job where everyone was very nice and helpful, so at least she wouldn’t have the stress once she was at work. Not one to shun work, she took the temp assignment and was happy to discover that 1) she really enjoyed working with those folks, and 2) they were considering hiring her full-time and 3) they were moving to a new freeway-close location in La Jolla. Now her workday—including the commute—is a breeze.

An ongoing freelance job gave her 4 days per week of secretarial work, but she needed more hours to meet her expenses. She didn’t want to give up her current job, so did we have steady work to fill that 1-day gap? It so happens we had the “impossible” job to fill: A solo practitioner needed a secretary to come in each week for just 8 hours, but couldn’t find anyone willing to commit to those few hours each week indefinitely. What a match! Now attorney’s and secretary’s combined schedules go together—as Forest Gump would say—“like peas and carrots.”

Not everyone can afford to work part-time only, but this secretary could. The catch was, she wanted the work to be for the same people all the time (unlike temp work, where she would be regularly exposed to new places/faces). Luckily, one of our favorite clients was looking for a regular part-time secretary. Not only did their schedules fit, their personalities meshed, so the deal was done and everybody’s happy (especially us).

For years, she was his “serial temp,” who was called in whenever his regular secretary was out. The problem was, his regular secretary was really an attorney, who was understandably more interested in practicing law than in a long-term stint as law office support staff. Since our temp secretary would like nothing better than a long-term stint as law office support staff, he decided to make it official and hired her full time. Now he has a dedicated secretary who genuinely enjoys the work and she has the confidence of taking a job she already knew inside out. Sometimes the solution is right there, all along.

She came from a real estate background, had a degree in business, was looking to work in a law office and was willing to do anything to get her foot in the door. Did we have an opportunity for someone with skills but no legal experience? How about a real estate law firm that was seeking a bright receptionist to train for overflow work in secretarial and perhaps even more? Turned out to be a sound investment for all parties.

She enjoyed her work of many years for a large local firm but, while she was on maternity leave, her boss left to join a start-up firm. Although he wanted her to join him, this new mother needed the security and benefits of a larger, more-established firm. We set her up with a successful, national firm and now they have a seasoned, dedicated employee and she has her professional needs met for her growing family.

When we graded the tests of this applicant we knew she was going to be a prized employee for some lucky attorney, but which one? She was smart, professional, and had a lot of excellent legal secretarial experience as well as administrative skills, so it had to be someone offering work—and a salary—worthy of her abilities. When a client called upon us, desperate because he couldn’t find a paralegal who was willing to do his/her own secretarial work nor a secretary who was able/willing to do paralegal level work, we knew we had our “lucky” attorney. He met her price and so made his own luck, we say.

He’s a talented legal assistant and a delightful person to know, but his sense of timing is his downfall—especially when it comes to getting to work on time. Where could we put him where this wouldn’t be a problem? Turns out, one of our favorite clients needed a good legal secretary and was willing to arrange a flexible schedule to get one. That flex time/make-up time seemed to be just the ticket, as he now has the flexible schedule he needs (plus a $4K bump in salary) and they have a grateful and very dedicated, skilled, new employee.

We were having difficulty filling a particular job because they wanted a highly skilled secretary but one who wouldn’t outshine the firm’s “queen bee” lead secretary. Luckily, a former temporary secretary called to re-up with us and we knew her to be not only a good legal secretary but also a mellow, easy-to-get-along-with person, so we gave it a try and now everything (and everyone) is cool.

She was a recent victim of layoffs from a busy corporate firm and wasn’t used to doing less than three things at once. Did we have a medium-large firm where this North County resident could stay busy churning out the work? Turns out we had just the thing: A dynamic Downtown corporate real estate firm with two demanding partners that needed someone who could keep up with their workload. So, they got their first-rate, high-volume secretary and she got to “hit the ground running” in a new job with a great salary. Plus, the Coaster allows her a relaxed, scenic commute to work every day. Best of both worlds.

She was an East Coast transplant who came to San Diego by way of Los Angeles and had cut her teeth on “hardball” law. (She told us that practice of law in San Diego is much more a gentleman’s game than she was taught to play.) It didn’t take us long to find her a good niche: An East Coast white collar criminal attorney who asked us for an able assistant with backbone—no shrinking violets. We thought of it as “an offer they can’t refuse” (and they didn’t!).

 A sole practitioner that we’ve known and liked for a long time had lost his very capable assistant to retirement and was having trouble filling her shoes, as well as the many hats she wore. Did we have a multi-tasking giant with good corporate law experience? We sent a corporate paralegal/administrator—and former Pro Temer—who was just leaving a bad-match job she had found on her own (where she was loaded with every kind of work except that which she was hired to do). He got a proven capable assistant and she got a job in her area of expertise with a boss she really admires. She told us, “I look forward to going to work each day, doing what I like for someone who I like.” (What’s not to like?)

 He’s considering a career in teaching because he enjoys his volunteer work at the local school so much. However, like most of us, he still needs to bring in a paycheck; did we have something part-time that would work with his school schedule? We sent him to a solo practitioner who needed someone with flexible scheduling who didn’t require that full week’s work/paycheck. Our guy became such a regular “call back” that all parties involved decided to make the arrangement official, so our now former temp has the work week of his dreams, our client has a great on-call employee and our school system keeps their dedicated—and free—help. (Anything for the kids!)

 She wasn’t sure about this temping thing: True, this assignment would probably go several months, but what she really wanted was the stability of a regular, full-time job and she thought taking a long-term assignment might prevent her from getting that sort of job market exposure. Knowing how one thing can lead to another in this business, we encouraged her to take the temp job. Well, she went on the interview (since she also really wanted to pay her rent and eat) and they were so impressed with her qualifications they hired her full-time on the spot! (Now who could’ve predicted that? J)

 It was only supposed to be a temporary fix for both employee and client: We place her at the firm as a temp while we searched for a new job (for her) and a new legal assistant (for the firm). While we were working on their respective “wish-lists,” both temp and client sort of grew on each other and—with the assignment being extended and extended—decided to stop looking elsewhere and just “cement” their current status! (With time, anything’s possible!)

 It’s matches like this that make us look like geniuses: He needed a receptionist with intelligence and professionalism for June through August, and she was an out-of-town college student with intelligence (speaks three languages) and professionalism (wears nylons J), looking for summer employment. We put it in place and now both employee and client are singing our praises (in three languages)!

 He’s one of those rare people who have found their niche: He’s really likes copy work. Plus he’s fast, accurate and very good at it. That’s why we were thrilled when we got a call from a frustrated administrator who had been fruitlessly searching for a decent copy tech. Did we have anyone at all? Only the answer to her dreams…

 She recently moved from Ohio to Oceanside (it was either there or “Orlando,” right?) and asked us to help her find North County employment. It so happens we had a client whose Vista office needed word processing assistance. She took the job as a “filler” and impressed them so quickly that they were talking hire terms by the end of the first day. By the end of the first week, we were all talking hire terms (and liking what we heard) and it didn’t take long to make it official. (Guess Orlando/Ontario/Oklahoma are going to have to wait….)

 She enjoyed temping for this Downtown sole practitioner and helping him sort through the many applicants for his secretarial position, but when he moved his offices to La Jolla and offered to hire her, this East County secretary found the job just too “G-U”—geographically undesirable. (She and her fiancé had been commuting Downtown together in their only car.) We knew our client had looked far too long and hard to find the right person to let a little thing like transportation stand in his way, so he upped his offer enough so that she was able to buy a second car and the deal was done. Money well spent, we say.

 This is one of those unintentional matchings: The client wanted just a week of word processing help and our employee wanted a full-time job (with a bit higher salary than the firm was able to pay its staff). But a week’s work is a week’s work, so she took the short-term job, which was extended another week and, when she took another temp job elsewhere, the client wanted her back again for still longer (like, for ever). Because she found everyone at the firm to be so nice, she reevaluated her requirements and decided to take the job (where she can enjoy every day at work; not just pay day).

 After a few “near misses” with her employment matches, she was considering moving out of litigation work, thinking she might have more luck with transactional law. We thought it would be a shame not to use her many years of litigation experience, and we also suspected that maybe her working in multiple-boss situations had been the problem, rather than the area of law, so we sent her to a solo litigation attorney and voilà! She excelled at taking care of just one boss, and the attorney got a dedicated replacement for his 14-year secretary who had recently retired. (Sometimes what makes a job placement work lies not in what you can read in the ad but what you can read in the people.)

 She’s one of those “personality-plus” types, who enjoys law office work but whose great interpersonal skills were being wasted in word processing jobs. That’s why when a client of ours needed short-term front office help we sent her over, knowing they’d soon see her potential for a more expanded role. And they did! She was hired into a newly created administrative assistant position that takes full advantage of her typing and people skills, and our client couldn’t be happier with their new, multi-tasking “Renaissance” woman.

 One look at her resume and we knew she was someone we could place “in a heartbeat.” The only trick was finding a firm that would pay her what she was worth (unlike her former situation). We sent her resume to a firm that we knew would be willing/able/glad to pay for a skilled, loyal secretary and the rest, as they say, is “history” (just like her former situation)!

 A 2-week paralegal job stretched into three months for this law student who made such an impression on the firm they held her job open for her while she took time off to study for the Bar. They must have really missed her during that time, because they hired her the moment she finished her exams. We commend that firm for recognizing a “keeper” when they see one.

 She was a Southern transplant who came to us with a clear idea of what she wanted from her next employer: Mutual respect and a willingness to assign increasing responsibility to her job description. Well, we took her at her word and sent her on a temporary office manager position for a local government entity, where they had no problem respecting her numerous abilities and willingness to evolve with the job. In fact, she made herself so indispensable they decided not to dispense with her at all and hired her officially for the position. Good matches are not only our specialty; they’re our civic duty.

 He had minimal experience (just 10 months of paralegal temp work in Washington) but he was well educated and motivated to learn, and we had a client who wanted a sharp, trainable candidate who would not bring a lot of other firms’ policies/procedures to the job. Seemed like the perfect match at the time (and it still does, today!).

 This college graduate was bright, willing to learn new skills and primarily wanted a front office job with a pleasant environment and coworkers and which offered daily challenges. Our client requested a receptionist who was bright, personable and willing to learn new skills for advancement in the firm. (Kind of a no-brainer, that placement…)

 She had been temping with us quite a while and was beginning to feel as if she’d passed the point where she would ever again get hired on “permanently.” We assured her that her years of dealing with a variety of personality types and “old school” work ethic would serve her well eventually. That’s why we were thrilled to send her to work for one of our most picky clients, the sort of boss who didn’t easily trust “autonomous action” from his support staff. He liked her “aim-to-please” attitude, and she fit right in with his firm’s old-fashioned boss/employee dynamics. There’s someone for everyone!

 She was every employer’s impossible dream: A high skill level worker with a low pay level salary. After working many years for a solo practitioner for embarrassingly little money, she woke up, “smelled the coffee” and called us. We got her a job pronto, with a fantastic large firm, a 30% increase in salary and more exposure to advancement opportunities! Everyone feels like they won the lottery except, perhaps, her former boss. (Hey, you get what you pay for.)

 She had great skills and was requested for many temp jobs but we were afraid that, because she was in a “transitional” phase of her personal life and stability was not her strong suit, she wouldn’t be ready for full-time placement. Then we thought, “Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe a steady job would stabilize her life.” We put her on a potential temp-to-hire job, crossed our fingers and Eureka! She got her life back on track both professionally and personally, and the client and got an energized, dedicated new employee.

 She applied with us one June morning and we called her back later that afternoon to cover a last minute, 2-week vacation leave that started the following day. She must have really made an impression because, when the attorney’s regular secretary quit in October, he called us back to see if his temp of four months earlier was available for hire. Even though she wasn’t even particularly looking for regular employment she said “Sure!” She got a job handed to her on a platter and he got an “unforgettable” secretary.

 Theirs was a busy, newly formed branch office that needed the right receptionist the first time around (no time to train replacements). Did we know of a bright, conscientious, organized front office type who could handle expanding job duties as the firm grew, who was also “not overly excitable in terms of stress”? We sent a former receptionist who had left front office work years ago to become a substitute teacher and was now looking to re-enter an office environment with opportunities for advancement. (What better test of stress tolerance can there be than substitute teaching?) They got their poised new employee, she got her job with growth potential and we got an “A+” for putting it all together!

 More than two years ago we placed him in a firm that needed immediate help with their filing. After the initial work was completed he quickly outgrew the job, which had become pretty “turn key,” so he called us again and asked for something that offered more challenge and more training in new skills. We had just the thing: A start-up branch office of an expanding national firm needing someone to train for their records department in the growing field of intellectual property. Also, the pay and benefits were better. He couldn’t resist it (could you?). What a difference a phone call can make.

 The attorney’s secretary was moving to another state and he wanted us to find him another just like her, “with a good Midwestern work ethic. Not one of those laid back California types”(!). Even though we personally know quite a few “California-types” with great work ethics we decided not to take any chances. We arranged to have him interview a bright, newly transplanted Chicago gal who asked us to find her a job with, among other things, a short commute. The law office was close to her home, her personality meshed well with that of the attorney and so now it’s back to business!

 She was intelligent and eager to grow professionally, but always got pigeonholed into reception jobs. (Did we mention she was also diplomatic and beautiful?) Could we find her something with more “learning and earning” potential, she wondered? How about a front office job which takes advantage of your social skills while offering training on billing procedures and other administrative tasks? Works for her (and for the client and for us)!

 When he first came to work for us he’d just bought a house and was looking for flexible hours in order to spend more time with his young daughters. We kept him busy for years on long-term, part-time temp jobs while he enjoyed his family and remodeled his home. Recently, with his girls in school and those remodeling bills looming large, he asked us to find him full-time work. Since they loved him at his temporary job, we arranged to move him into the job as a full-time employee. The client got an employee who is a “known quantity” and our [former] employee got that roof paid for!

 We were so excited when this highly skilled litigation secretary came back to us after having left us for years to work in full-time employment and then to spend time with her children. We were a little crestfallen, then, when she told us, “If I had my wish I’d be doing straight word processing full-time in a North County firm.” We hated to see all that secretarial talent go untapped, but we’re not one to deny anyone’s wishes when we can grant them, so we sent her to word process for one of our favorite clients in Del Mar Heights. It came as no surprise when our employee and our client were immediately thrilled with each other, and the hire was put in place. (Sigh.)

 Everyone thought this was just another temporary job (“…starting on Tuesday and maybe going through Thursday…”) but, like the Energizer Bunny, it kept going and going. After two months they decided to make it official and hire our “temporary” employee (who tells us she got her three wishes with this job: a great attorney, a Downtown location, and a flexible schedule that allows her to attend school). Even if you want “permanent” employment, it’s always good to check out those temporary options, because you never know…

 She’s an entrepreneur who asked us to find her something part time to supplement her income while she grows her financial planning business. We had a client who needed a good secretary but didn’t have the budget for one. No problem: our entrepreneur is good and fast, so we hooked them up and now she’s got that 15 hours a week of extra income and they’ve got a part-time employee who puts out the work of a full timer!

 We knew we wouldn’t keep her as a temporary staffer for long: she had tons of skill on a host of word processing systems, a pleasant professional demeanor, and—most importantly—a good attitude toward work. After succeeding in a variety of job descriptions over the past few years, she came to us to help her re-enter the law office career she’d left a decade ago. Within a week she got the position she wanted: For a little less money at first, she gets a lot of support staff help for her reentry in law, and our client gets a great deal on a “newbie” secretary with proven potential.

 We sent her there as a legal secretary and it turns out she and the attorney had worked together years ago at another firm. It didn’t take him long to value her as a coworker again—at his own firm, this time—so he hired her “officially” as a paralegal (her new job focus) and everybody’s thrilled. (“Same song, better verse!”)

She’d been a nurse for 20 years and was trying to move away from a medical career and into legal. She earned her paralegal degree and got her law office feet wet as a nurse consultant paralegal in a medical malpractice firm. When she came to us for a job that would provide her with a solid secretarial foundation we moved her into a legal secretarial trainee position in a civil litigation firm. Now she’s well on her way to becoming one of those multi-talented, sought after secretaries who have their pick of law office positions.

He’s smart, a perfectionist, and not one to take much “over the shoulder supervision” so we knew he’d be perfect when our client, a picky sole practitioner, called for a secretary who works well independently. The bonus was the transactional nature of the work, which is what our litigation-aversive secretary said was “just what he had in mind.” (Now we’re reading minds…)

She’s one of those people who like to try out a variety of careers and so was going to be tricky to place. Obviously intelligent and skilled, she seemed to have trouble finding the right job fit, personality-wise, but she was willing to work for less money to get more experience. We found her a position in a firm where the administrator is a kindred soul (who also finds the California lifestyle a bit “alien”) and now our [former] employee is getting her California experience and our client is getting a smart, motivated worker for a bargain price.

We sent her to cover a 2-3 week data entry job in December and, as of June the following year, they were still finding projects for her to do. Seems they just didn’t want to see her go, so they didn’t. When the next job opening presented itself, she filled it handily.

She’d been out of the law office market for some time after a prolonged injury and was just looking to work part time. The firm called looking for a part-time secretary and the administrator asked if we knew of a particular secretary who’d babysat one of the partner’s children while recuperating from an injury. We not only knew of that secretary, we arranged to have her hired on with the firm on a part-time basis right then and there. Was meant to be.

She was new to California, looking for local experience and willing to take a cut in pay to get it. We sent her on a temp basis to a firm that just had a big changeover in staff and was frantically trying to train all the new hires. She got along so well with everyone (seems she’s a natural with that laid-back, relaxed attitude towards others) they asked her to join their team, so now she’s getting her California experience while they get a competent “low maintenance” employee!

 She was covering a maternity leave for someone who was having a difficult pregnancy (bed rest 90% of the time, etc.). When the regular secretary ultimately quit to spend more time with her new baby, our temp had “held the fort” there for so long, she was practically considered one of the family at that firm already. Her subsequent “official” hire with them was a no-brainer.

 She took off work for three years to have a baby and, since the novelty still had not worn off, she asked us to find her a part-time job that would allow her more time with her little one. Although she’d been out of law offices for a while, her skills were still sharp, so we sent her to an attorney who needed someone sharp (but whose budget only covered part-time work). Now she has both domestic bliss with her child and an opportunity to make money with the grown-ups!

 It was a brand new firm that was looking for someone to help them set up their whole office, so they called us to send them someone “for a couple of weeks.” We sent them one of our best temps (with lots of experience in various office systems) and they liked her so much they hired her. So much for “a couple of weeks”! (We lose more good temps that way…J)

 This graduate student was looking for an office job flexible enough to change with her changing class schedule. We put her together with a client who needed someone “trainable” to complete the second half of a job share, filling in for breaks, covering phones, etc. The firm got an intelligent new employee and she got a professional work environment (that doesn’t ever require her to say, “Would you like fries with that?”).

 She was a receptionist who knew she could do legal secretarial work if only someone would give her the chance to learn (while she continued to earn a paycheck). We sent her on one receptionist job where she also got secretarial training because the attorney was closing his practice and his secretary left for more long-term security. Then the attorney retired, however, and she was back to square one! We quickly found her a long-term temp-to-hire job that fit the bill: They took her as a receptionist but had her moving into secretarial work by the time they bought out her contract.

 She told us she was “just looking to temp” for a while but the first place we placed her was a match made in heaven; she finally felt appreciated in her work and they found someone who filled a long-standing need for competent support. Sometimes it’s when you’re not looking that you find just the right fit.

 She was always trying new career avenues and recently sought project work with a big firm while she pursued her many and varied outside interests. We sent her on a short-term job to an entrepreneur who needed a “Gal Friday” and the work sparked her creative interest. Now she does contract work for him as his “right-hand assistant” and gets that flexibility she needs to work on her own projects while bringing years of organizational skills--and a shared sense of that entrepreneurial excitement—to his business venture.

 She was an out-of-state administrator who was looking to learn fast track but who didn’t want straight secretarial. We found her a blended position in a large firm, where half her work is relieving some of the day-to-day tasks of the administrator and the other half was helping with overflow secretarial work (under the guidance of seasoned litigation secretaries). Now she gets to learn new and valuable job skills and the firm gets the benefit of her administrative abilities.

 Her mind was supposed to be on her studies, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how she was going to pay her rent. Didn’t anyone need a part-time assistant with lots of experience but not lots of time? We found an attorney whose work did require a skilled secretary, just not for 40 hours each week. Also, he couldn’t pay medical benefits at the time. No problem for her: She has benefits through school, and their flexible schedules mesh for an A+ job fit.

 This placement was sort of a “happy accident” for all concerned: Our client was moving to a new location that already had a subtenant but no receptionist to “hold the fort” until our clients moved in. We sent them a temporary receptionist to handle the subtenants’ calls until our clients could bring in their FT receptionist (for which they were running an ad). Our temporary receptionist impressed the subtenants so much, they recommended she be hired “permanently” for the job and our clients agreed—as did our temporary employee. Now everyone’s in their places with bright shining faces: Our clients were able to relocate their offices with a “seasoned” receptionist already in place, their subtenants have continuity in the front office to help with the transition, and our [former] employee has a new home where she knows the staff supports her.

 They were a new, off-shoot firm in transition, looking for “been there, done that” secretaries who could step right in amidst the adjustment period chaos and get work out. She was a legal secretary with tons of experience and—perhaps more importantly—tons of good humor (a rare quality to find, after many years in law offices!). She took all the new firm growing pains in stride and performed so well they had to have her, so they met her “princely price” and they all lived happily ever after.

 The client was getting desperate. Wasn’t there anyone in town with skills in their area of practice who was also looking to make a move? We just happened to have hired a paralegal who was getting desperate too; one who not only had years of experience in our client’s area of law but also worked for one of the client’s branch offices back East. Match made in heaven! Now he’s back on their payroll, from his temp-to-hire position. Never underestimate the power of good contacts!

 Temecula is pretty far from where the action is, law office-wise, and she really dreaded the prospect of commuting into San Diego to work, especially since she was also recovering from surgery. Did we have something up north, where she could reenter legal secretarial work slowly, giving her time to get back up to full speed? How about a receptionist job at an Escondido firm, with overflow legal secretarial duties (and a next step into full secretarial duties)? “Perfect!” (Knew it.)

 She was a family law paralegal from out of state who knew it would be tough finding her niche. She had no local experience but, since she was willing to do almost any law office work to get her foot in the door, we suggested she take our litigation secretarial tests. Turns out she did pretty well on those tests (her good attitude and aptitude working overtime), so she took advantage of our in-house training and just learn-learn-learned herself into a secretarial temp job which ultimately resulted in a full-time job offer from a firm she loves. Always pays to keep your options open.

 Another out-of-state transplant, she had the added disadvantage of having just a year’s experience in law. But she had something that you don’t see every day: She had moxie. (Okay, so nobody uses that word anymore. It fits here, believe us!) We knew someone would appreciate her potential so when one of our harder-to-please clients requested—yet again—someone “trainable” to replace his last secretary (who wasn’t “assertive” enough), we sent her, with our fingers crossed. What she lacked in experience she more than made up for in confidence. Their personalities meshed and, for this client, that works!

 She temped with us for years and years and we just knew she wasn’t the type to settle down with a “permanent” job. . . until she did! We’d sent her to a client who had a reputation of being somewhat curt with his staff, because we thought he would see that she was too much the “prim and proper” lady to bark at. Do you know, it worked? She tells us she can’t understand why everyone fears him, as he’s always been a gentleman to her. (Our mothers were right: “Act the way you expect to be treated!”)

 She was an administrator’s dream: a talented, loyal secretary who worked for many years at a firm (only leaving because the office closed). She’d tried her hand at a non-legal job but suffered “culture shock” being away from law. Our only problem was in deciding who of our deserving clients should get her resume first. Solution: The next client who called got her resume and, as predicted, “snapped her up”! Now she has a new “home” with a great firm and the firm got a real find. (Wish all our placements were that easy!)

 Although she was a practicing attorney back East, she didn’t want to subject her newly relocated family to the ordeal of months of studying for the California bar, so she asked if we had any law office administrative jobs. It didn’t take long before one of our rapidly expanding firms gladly offered her a position in administration with enough challenge and growth potential to keep her happy and confident that she made all the right moves.

 This secretary was so terribly underpaid that, by the time she came to us, she realized that she could make more money as a temp than she could with her current employer of many years. She was so confident, in fact, that she quit her low-pay job in the middle of escrow on her house purchase! The pressure was on us to keep her busy (“No problem,” we assured the escrow people) and to get her a good paying position that would allow her to furnish that new home. With all her experience, it was no problem moving her along on the next step in her career: with a firm who appreciated her and a new home: “Casa de Wake-Up Call.”

 She was tired of dealing with her screamer boss (who was always promising to change and then would promptly “backslide” into angry histrionics), so she asked us: Did we have a job with someone quieter, that would allow her a later start time so she could attend church every morning? Knowing we had a higher authority on our side (and a job that fit her description) we answered confidently, “Yes!” She also got a pay increase, but the real pay-off was in finally leaving an abusive attorney who’ll never change.

 More years ago than we care to admit we placed her as a legal secretary at a well-known local insurance defense firm, where she worked for five years before moving out of state. When she came to her senses and moved back to beautiful San Diego, we hired her and immediately put her to work on a temporary assignment. After three weeks they offered her a job (with a huge bump in salary). She took it–wouldn’t you?

110 West C Street, Suite #700, San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: (619) 232-6191• Facsimile: (619) 232-6305
Web: www.protem.com  •  Email: info@protem.com