I don’t think it’s possible that anyone has been to more workshops, lectures, or job-searching events, or spoken to more career advisors, professional librarians, or colleagues about finding a job in the library world. After all of this advice (some of it contradictory) and a little bit of experience actually navigating the job-search process from job ad to on-campus interview, if I can’t boast an actual job offer, at least I can share a bit of what I’ve learned with others going through the same stressful process.

First, a caveat: as I hinted to earlier, you may notice that as you ask for advice about the job search, the advice you get may vary widely, or even completely contradict other advice. So take all job-searching advice with a grain of salt (including mine).

Resume/Cover Letter

1) Read the job ad carefully. If you can pull out the top 5 or 6 things that the ad is looking for in a candidate, you can address those issues a paragraph at a time. Also, find words in the ad and include them in the text of your cover letter–it shows them that you’re really paying attention.

2) Do your research! If you can find a way to show the search committee/HR that you’ve actually visited the institution’s website, that’s a great first impression. I like to mention the library’s mission in my first paragraph and describe briefly how I envision this position supporting that mission.

Phone Interview

3) Phone interviews are awkward. For everyone. Don’t get flustered if you answer a question and hear dead silence–the search committee (all of whom may be on the other line, by the way) is probably just taking notes about what you said or deciding who will ask the next question. That said, it shouldn’t take you more than 3 or 4 minutes to answer any question. If you catch yourself rambling or getting off topic, reign it in quickly!

4) Always say thank you. After a phone interview, send a thank you card to the head of the search committee and shoot off an email thank you as well. After an on-campus interview, send thank you’s to every member of the search committee, thanking them for their time and mentioning something specific about the visit that impressed you or made you excited.

5) Before the interview make sure you have the following in front of you:

-the job ad

-your cover letter and resume for that position

-answers to common interview questions (for a compiled list of library interview questions from interviews in the last six months or so, click here)

-questions for the interviewers (there’s a great list of questions for them here)

-researched information about the school, the library, and the city (I like to check both Wikipedia and the school’s website)

-some water

-a watch–so you know you aren’t rambling too much! (Also, **make sure you know what time zone the interviewers are calling from!! Speaking from experience, it really sucks to miss your interview because you thought it would start an hour later.**)

On-Campus Interview

6) There will be a LOT of small talk. Just be prepared and don’t get discouraged if you find yourself having lots of conversations about the weather, sports, and the local cuisine. This is especially true if you are having meals with the search committee or other library staff. It helps to come with a few ideas of safe topics to talk about (i.e. how much you love baking, your enthusiasm for the local music scene, questions about recreational activities in town, etc.).

7) Don’t be afraid to take short breaks when necessary. I don’t think I’m the only librarian who, while appreciative of socializing and a public service environment, is actually an introvert. If you need a little time to relax your smiling muscles and take a mental vacation, just ask to use the restroom. If it’s empty in there, you can even do some stretches to keep your energy up and wake yourself up if necessary.

8) Try to make connections with your interviewers. This sounds kind of vague and obvious, but this has been one of the most important lessons I’ve taken from the four on-campus interviews I’ve had. The interviews that went the most successfully were ones in which I invested time and energy into really getting to know my interviewers and imagining/acting as if I was already an employee there. Show them how much you enjoy their library with specific compliments because, honestly, every good librarian loves to hear how great his/her library is. And be yourself (corny, I know) by showing them not someone who is fake and overly chipper, but someone who is sincerely enthusiastic about the position and the library.

9) Don’t force it. If you feel like the school or library isn’t a good fit for you, don’t try to convince yourself (or your interviewers) that you are the perfect candidate for the job. Even if you do end up getting hired there, you will be unhappy, the library staff will be unhappy, and the library won’t improve thanks to your presence. It’s a losing situation for everyone!

10) Be patient. Especially for academic library jobs, plan on waiting a while before you hear from anyone, whether you’ve just turned in your application, just finished a phone interview, or made a visit to the campus for an interview. Keep in mind that the waiting isn’t necessarily the fault of the search committee or even the library–often, the final decisions are made by those in higher administration, and deciding whether or not you will get your dream library job may not be their top priority.

I guess I can’t count myself as a true expert at job searching until I land myself a position (fingers crossed!), but hopefully these few tips can make it a little easier for someone just starting their journey into the terrifying job market. Please feel free to add your own advice below!

Other Resources

Mr. Library Dude Blog – This is an awesome resource full of other resources!

Preparing for a Phone Interview – Includes a great list of things to have in your environment for the interview.

Open Cover Letters – Examples of cover letters from successful library job applicants

Ten Tips For Refining Your Cover Letter – From LibGig, which has tons of other resources for job-seeking librarians

Congratulations! Now Get a Job. – A great post from Library Hack School by a fellow recent grad

Career Related Articles Useful to MLS/MLIS Students – Some great resources for those not quite in the thick of the job market yet

Written February 21st, 2013

For some people, teaching a room of strangers is not only easy–it’s enjoyable. These naturally talented people stand in front of a room and fill it with their energy, their irresistible charisma. And when the lesson is over, they pack up their things and leave, completely untraumatized.

I am not one of those people.

I love teaching and it does come naturally to me. But the kind of teaching I have done, until very recently, has been in one-on-one tutorial sessions or reference interviews, not in front of a large group. I love teaching in this environment–working together, the student and I can explore a new topic and learn more about the research process in a way that feels extremely valuable and rewarding. However, to be an reference and instruction librarian more than one-on-one instruction will be required, and because the job I want more than anything in the world is as a reference and instruction librarian, I realized early on in my graduate career that I really needed to get some real experience teaching to a group before I was ready to delve into that part of librarianship. To do that, I started planning a workshop for the Music and Performing Arts Library where I work as a graduate assistant that would help music students avoid plagiarism. There had been some difficulty with the subject at the School of Music in the recent past, with some graduate students still failing to understand when to cite sources and some international students of all levels (of which there are quite a few in this program) having difficulties understanding the American rules of citation. The workshop’s topic was one that would be useful to students and encouraged by music professors, so it seemed perfect for my first attempt at a workshop.

I spent months developing learning outcomes and a lesson plan for the workshop. I created a PowerPoint, a handout with take-away details and my contact information, and a worksheet to be completed in class. I also collaborated with the Writers Workshop program on campus (the writing tutor center for undergraduates and graduate students at UIUC) to strengthen the content of the workshop. I practiced the presentation over and over in front of friends and colleagues. I even found a hilarious video on plagiarism to break the ice with (http://youtu.be/Mwbw9KF-ACY – use closed captioning). Even after all of this preparation, however, I still wasn’t really ready to be standing in a room in front of 8 blank faces, waiting to hear something worthwhile.

The most valuable experiences are the ones that challenge you in a constructive way, and my first real instructional workshop was one of these valuable experiences. The workshop went well and at least one of the students approached me afterward with more questions, which I was delighted to answer. However, it wasn’t a perfect presentation. I learned that I need to work on my projection, gesture a little less frequently, and monitor that I’m not using vocabulary that’s too advanced for my audience. But most of all I learned that teaching a group of students isn’t as scary as I thought it would be. It may not be a breeze for me, but I’m starting to understand that with practice, I will be able to do this kind of instruction on a regular basis, and may even come to prefer it to one-on-one instruction. It’s a different environment, but it doesn’t have to be traumatic. Baby step by baby step, I know I’ll be able to grow into the teacher that I want to be.

It’s scary to think how many important historical recordings are deteriorating as I type this. As an archivist in a music archive, it’s especially terrifying–for music scholars, recordings hold invaluable information that really can’t be duplicated in a written format. However, it makes me hopeful to see that there are others who are concerned for the future of recordings to the extent that they’re taking action about it. The Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Plan is a step in the direction of safety for archived recordings. Now we just need to put the plan into action.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/02/13/171916723/saving-the-sounds-of-america

3 Ways College Libraries are Exploring Pinterest

An article by Nick DeSantis explaining three ways that college libraries are taking advantage of the increasingly popular social media tool, Pinterest, to promote the library and connect with users.

Internet Access is Not a Human Right

An interesting perspective on whether or not the internet is a human right … or a means of attaining access to human rights. The issue of internet access and human rights is an important one for librarians and a valuable topic to ponder for anyone interested in the effects of technology on our society.

Job Descriptions and the “Experience Needed” Syndrome

This article by Tammy Johns describes what many of my colleagues graduating soon from library school are experiencing right now. How can I get experience if I can’t get a job … without experience? My biggest takeaway is that everyone has some experience they can relate to the job description at hand provided they get creative and start asking themselves what specific skills they have that can get this sought-after job done.

Transforming Information Literacy for Today’s K-12 Learners Through the Lenses of Transliteracy, Inquiry, and Participatory Learning.

via Transforming Information Literacy for Today’s K-12 Learners Through the Lenses of Transliteracy, Inquiry, and Participatory Learning.

Instruction in libraries is becoming a more and more important part of the purpose and function of a library. Here’s one perspective on how we can carry that out.