Written by Natalie Kijurna

 

To understand where I’m coming from, you need to understand a little bit about where I’ve been.  I’ve been in the law business for almost 16 years.  I started law school in 1998 and, after graduation, I worked for two Chicago law firms for about five years.  I then decided I needed a change, so I ended up moving into academia. 

 

I’ve spent the last eight years advising students, whether they were law students or court reporting students, on how to write a stellar resume, create a hit cover letter, execute a can’t-miss interview, and generally how to job search, among many other tips, tricks, and advice.  Throughout this time, I’ve had the pleasure of networking with hundreds of attorneys, judges, professors, students (of course!), and other professionals connected to or involved in the legal arena.  Throughout all of this, one thing always remained the same: No matter what the economy was doing, who the President was, or what the state of the nation was in, professionalism was ALWAYS expected.

 

Fast-forward to today.  I’ve taught the legal terminology class for College of Court Reporting (CCR) part-time for eights years.  I’ve worked for them full-time for three years starting in their Admissions Office, and then moving to my current position as Graduate & Employer Relations Coordinator.  In these roles, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to future court reporters, court reporting agencies, schools that hire CART providers, firms that focus on broadcast captioning, and many other professionals in the field.  I’ve learned quite a bit about the court reporting profession, but I know there’s still much I can be taught.  What I can say without hesitation is that traits such as reliability, work ethic, honesty/integrity, and professionalism are top on the list of personal qualities employers value most when hiring a court reporting graduate.  I’ll tell you how I know that in a minute.

 

What I’ve also learned is that, sadly, there are many non-accredited, non-certified court reporting programs that use the word “school” to describe themselves and tout their cheap prices and their methods as an equal alternative to accredited and certified schools.  They lead students to believe that they can do the same thing their peers are doing at an accredited, certified school for thousands of dollars less.  But can they?  Are those students really ready to enter the legal community, or any professional community, as a well-rounded court reporting professional?  Are those “schools” teaching the ethics students need to survive in a world built on confidentiality?  Are they stressing networking as a way to get your foot in the door?  Do they offer internship courses, where the student gets exposed to real life situations and meet people who are working in the field?  Do they offer career services to their students and to their graduates?  Do they teach their students what professionalism means and why it’s absolutely necessary? 

 

 

After years of witnessing firsthand the importance of professionalism, I can say without hesitation that when deciding where to go to school, you look for a school that doesn’t just teach you the skill you’re looking for, but the professionalism you need to seal the deal.  If you don’t want to take my word for it, that’s fine.  I don’t blame you.  As a lawyer, I base my assertions on truths and research.  To confirm my beliefs, I created a survey and sent it to several employers.  The survey asked about a variety of things, including one question that stated, “Select the top ten personal qualities you value most when hiring a court reporting student.”  Guess what the employers’ answers were? That’s right.  Reliability, work ethic, honesty/integrity, and professionalism were all at the top.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Because, after all, you can be the absolute fastest writer with the highest percentage of accuracy and lowest percentage of untranslates, but if you don’t show up for a job, nobody cares about your accuracy.  If you don’t show up to take down the professor’s lecture for a hearing-impaired student, nobody cares about your untranslate percentage.  If you show up for a trial but still reek of alcohol and smoke from the night before, nobody cares about your realtime skills; even if they’re stellar, they’ll find someone else.

 

Now, I know it’s possible and even probable that some of the qualities listed above you learned from your family, friends, grade school teachers, high school teachers, etc.  But, if you’re one of the people that thinks the “soft skills” I’ve outlined above don’t need to be taught, I invite you to call up your local court reporting agency or broadcast captioning firm or CART provider and ask them what they think.  Accreditation from an accrediting body means that a school meets certain requirements and must maintain those requirements.  CCR is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, as are many schools.  According to ACICS, their mission is “to advance educational excellence…achieved through a deliberate and thorough accreditation process of quality assurance and enhancement as well as ethical business and educational practices.”  Accreditation Criteria Policies, Procedures, and Standards (Effective December 7, 2012).  CCR must meet their standards at each and every review process.  Take a look at what those requirements are, and I think you’ll agree they’re not for the faint of heart!

 

CCR, along with several other schools, is also certified for both their onsite and online programs by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).  NCRA has many requirements for certification, including accreditation, faculty involvement in professional development, and curriculum content on ethics, knowledge of and involvement in professional associations, the importance of continuing education and life-long learning, and professional image and dress.  Furthermore, NCRA requires that students be able to apply the NCRA Code of Professional Ethics in simulated situations and case studies and complete an internship. (Visit www.ncra.org/Education and look at Schools & Programs for a complete list of certification requirements.)

 

Bottom line, if you’re a prospective student looking to get into the court reporting profession, call some employers and ask them what’s important.  Think about who’s going to help you find a job when you’re done learning your skill.  Look at the list of questions NCRA proposes you think about when you’re deciding where to go to school.  Then, when you’re done, check out the accredited and certified schools that are going to teach you, support you, and help you in ALL the areas you need to develop as a court reporter and as a professional.