Category Archives: Entry Level

by | May 8, 2013 · 8:00 am

Employers Should Also Never Interview Candidates That They Have No Intention of Hiring

Col. Cody [and] Prince of Monaco (LOC)

This anonymous interview is with a job hunter who is currently employed (even if part-time or in an unrelated field), has not been hired within the last two months. This person is looking in Academic libraries, and Public libraries at the following levels: Entry level and Requiring at least two years of experience. S/he is in a city/town in the Southern US and is willing to move depending on the location.

What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?

- Good match with my skills, experience, training, and personality
- Physically practical for me
- Located somewhere where I wouldn’t mind living

Where do you look for open positions?

Professional listserv, individual organizations’ sites, Monster

Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?

√ Yes, and it’s a red flag when it’s not

Have you ever stretched the truth, exaggerated, or lied on your resume, or at some other point during the hiring process?

√ No

When would you like employers to contact you?

√ To tell me if I have or have not been selected to move on to the interview stage
√ Once the position has been filled, even if it’s not me

How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?

√  Email

Which events during the interview/visit are most important to your assessment of the position (i.e. deciding if you want the job)?

√ Meeting department members/potential co-workers

What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?

If someone applied to a job but never got to the interview stage, an employer should never, ever leave a message on that person’s voicemail vaguely stating that they would like to talk to that person about the job that they applied to, only to have that person call back to find out that they didn’t get the job.

Employers should also never interview candidates that they have no intention of hiring.

What do you think is the secret to getting hired?

Be someone with a completely different personality from mine.

This survey was co-authored by Naomi House from I Need A Library Job - Do you need one?  Check it out!

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by | April 9, 2013 · 8:00 am

Author’s Corner: Jump-Start Your Career as a Digital Librarian

Our friends at the Library and Information Technology Association have published a brand new guide to becoming a digital librarian. I’m very grateful to editor Jane Monson, who has written today’s guest post. Not only will you get a glimpse of some of the topics covered in the book, but she’s put together some great advice for library students and entry level librarians.

During the past decade or so, the job title of “digital librarian” has become increasingly common as more and more libraries move their content and services online. In my recently published book, Jump-Start Your Career as a Digital Librarian: A LITA Guide, the specifics skills needed to position oneself for a job in this brave new world of librarianship – among them, familiarity with metadata, digital preservation, and web development – are explained by a cadre of experienced professionals in the field. Jump start your career as a digital librarianHowever, when it comes to job searching, the would-be digital librarian faces the same challenges as any other new professional: namely, to stand out in an over-crowded field and somehow find a position that balances both desires (to land a dream job) and needs (to pay the bills).

With that in mind, I would like to share a few kernels of wisdom that both the book’s contributors and I have gathered in our own employment searches, as well as our experiences serving on hiring committees. Much of this advice is specific to entry-level librarians, as they are usually the ones with the greatest obstacles to employment.

  1. Lay the groundwork during library school. In their chapter, “Getting the Most Out of Library School,” authors Micah Vandegrift and Annie Pho discuss ways that the savvy student can take optimal advantage of the opportunities available in library school and emerge as a desirable job candidate. They recommend surveying the job landscape early and often (ideally, before you even begin school); being creative with your coursework and fashioning your own specialty if your program doesn’t offer exactly what you want; putting in work through part-time jobs, practicums, internships, and volunteer work; and connecting with others through online and traditional venues. Knowing what skills employers are looking for by scanning job ads is a good way to target courses and part-time jobs that will give you the best experience in your chosen area. Some schools offer specialized tracks (for example, in digital libraries), but if yours doesn’t you can often create a close approximation using the DIY approach, cobbling together courses from other departments and initiating independent studies. Be willing to spend time outside of school teaching yourself relevant technology skills and keeping up on the latest journals and trade publications. Take advantage of any opportunity to attend professional conferences and workshops, and don’t be afraid to jump into online networking to get your face and name out there.
  2. Get as much work experience as you can while in school. Of the items listed above, “putting in work” may well be the most critical. It seems unfair, but the sad truth is that employment begets employment. Many a new librarian, digital or otherwise, has complained that employers seem unwilling to train new hires with little prior experience. Therefore, one of your main jobs while in library school is to train yourself, outside of the classroom. Don’t graduate without at least one volunteer gig, graduate assistantship, or other library-related job on your resume (and ideally several). If this isn’t possible for you to do, think carefully about your decision to enter library school – unless, of course, you already have significant library work experience prior to enrolling, or you don’t plan on using the degree to work in a library. When choosing a graduate program, weigh heavily the opportunities for students to find work in libraries on campus and in the surrounding area. These experiences are often more important than the classes you take.
  3. Be willing to relocate. There may be some fields that will easily allow you to go to school, undertake a career, and retire all in the same place. Librarianship, unfortunately, is not generally one of them. One important point that Elyssa Sanner and Catherine Wagner make in the chapter “Landing Your First Job,” is that unless you are willing to wait around for a relevant position to open up in your geographic area, the surest way to find a job after graduation is to cast your net as widely as possible. This is not to say that no one ever finds jobs within a targeted location, but these jobs are more likely to require a compromise – they may be part-time, or not in the area you trained for. Limiting yourself geographically may not allow you to make the best use of your library degree, and is bound to make the job search that much more difficult and drawn-out. A reality of librarianship today is that you may have to “pay your dues” by taking that all-important first job in a less than desirable location. But once you have those first years under your belt, you will have much more leverage to go after your dream job in your dream place.

The book has many more tips for navigating library school, applying for your first job in the field, transitioning from one area of librarianship to another, and further developing your career (Roy Tennant has some great advice in this chapter). It offers a wealth of information for both digital- and non-digital librarians alike, culled from the collective wisdom of more than twenty contributing authors – many of them hiring librarians themselves. I’m sure I can speak for all of them in wishing you good luck in your job search!

Jane Monson

Jane Monson received her MLS from the University of Iowa, where she was an IMLS Digital Libraries Fellow. She is currently Digital Initiatives Librarian at the University of Northern Colorado; previous to that she was Digital Projects Librarian at Truman State University. She has been published in Computers in Libraries, is a book reviewer for the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, and serves on various ALA editorial committees.

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by | January 9, 2013 · 8:00 am

Researcher’s Corner: Entry-Level Reference Skills in Academic Libraries: Ad-ing Them Up

In this installment, the Researchers occupying the corner are Robert Detmering and Claudene Sproles, both from the University of Louisville.  We’ve had some good discussion of skills for entry level librarians, encompassing both  academic in general and special collections.  In this very recent research, Detmering and Sproles focus on Reference librarians, revealing that skills and competencies required of reference librarians are expanding, and making some recommendations in areas of focus for new grads.  A more formal, in-depth account of their findings is at the following citation.

Detmering, R. & Sproles, C. (2012) Forget the desk job: Current roles and responsibilities in entry-level reference job advertisements.  College & Research Libraries 73(6), p. 534-555.

Please enjoy this post, and don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments!

What are potential employers actually looking for? This incredibly common but frustratingly enigmatic question is at the heart of a study we recently conducted, the results of which appear in the November 2012 issue of College & Research Libraries. Given the complexity of the job market, with so many different types of libraries and librarian positions, our study only looked at jobs in one specific area: entry-level academic reference librarianship. We focused on this type of job not only because we work as reference librarians in an academic setting; we also have a strong interest in helping entry-level candidates succeed. While these candidates often bring the kind of energetic and innovative approaches that hiring institutions desire, they also may struggle with developing the relevant skills and pre-professional experience needed to land a first job. We hope that our study, which involved collecting and analyzing nearly 200 entry-level reference job advertisements over a one-year period, will promote greater awareness of the skills and experience that employers say they want, so that entry-level candidates interested in academic reference can engage in a more informed job search.

Methods

Our study focused on advertisements posted on the American Library Association’s JobLIST website (joblist.ala.org), as well as LISjobs.com, with some additional ads obtained from popular listservs. We looked exclusively at ads posted in 2010 for entry-level jobs located in the United States, and we did not include part-time, temporary, or community college positions. About 50% of the total entry-level ads we collected (192 individual ads) sought reference librarians. In the published study, we discuss the major responsibilities associated with these positions, as defined in the ads, and how these responsibilities reflect various trends in reference librarianship.

Findings

That said, one of our central objectives was simply to determine the kinds of skills that entry-level reference candidates would likely need to succeed in a challenging job market. What we ultimately discovered may be disheartening or encouraging, depending on one’s point of view. In addition to traditional reference service skills, entry-level reference jobs often require a vast range of skills across many specialty areas: teaching, technology, marketing, collection development, project management, academic publishing, and so on. We found that approximately 70% of the ads would require skills in six or more distinct areas. New job seekers may feel intimidated by the sheer number of diverse responsibilities listed by hiring institutions, especially because it can be difficult to learn so many different skills in a non-professional position such as an internship. On the other hand, the clear interest among hiring institutions in a variety of skill areas may present more opportunities for prospective job candidates, particularly if they are able to think creatively about what they can bring to a job.

To be more specific, we found that entry-level candidates can expect a wide variety of responsibilities in their first professional positions.

  • The “traditional” duties of reference, information literacy, collection development, and liaison work are still in high demand.
  • In addition, “emerging” duties in technology, promotion and marketing, planning and implementation, assessment, and scholarly communication now appear in job descriptions, indicating that the nature of reference work is branching out into these areas.

Based on recent job ads, then, the expectations for what entry-level candidates should know or be able to do seem to be quite high.

Implications for Job Hunting Grads

So, what does this mean for the new LIS graduate? Most significantly, it is essential to gain some kind of practical teaching and reference experience before obtaining the degree. For example, according to our findings, teaching is as intrinsic a skill as providing references services. The ability to teach an information literacy session as well as work a shift at the reference desk will be expected from day one on the job. LIS students should explore opportunities to gain experience, especially teaching experience, even if it is on a volunteer or temporary basis.

The other “traditional” duties of liaison work and collection development are intertwined. Both duties require interaction with faculty and knowledge of their research projects and classes taught. Our research also found that 43% of ads listed promotion/marketing/outreach as a duty. How do you plan to reach out to faculty? How about other campus groups? What about non-campus groups in the community at large? What ideas do you have to promote the library’s services? It’s important to have strong answers to such questions.

Our study also uncovered other “emerging” duties not traditionally associated with reference. How does one gain experience with assessment, scholarly communication, or shared governance?  The answer is that you probably cannot, but graduates should be able to talk intelligently about these topics during their interviews. So, in addition to gaining experience in the field, graduates need to keep abreast of current trends. Be prepared to talk about the role of assessment in evaluating library services; be able to articulate the role of scholarly communication in academia. You don’t need to be an expert in everything, but you need to show that you’re familiar with the current professional landscape and that you’re ready to learn new things.

Conclusion

Successful job candidates do their homework about the institution and the position, and they are able to talk knowledgably about trends in librarianship and at the hiring institution. They also specifically address how they will fulfill the duties and the requirements of the job ad. It is a competitive field, but candidates who are prepared will have the advantage in the hiring process and be better prepared for the first day on the job. Ultimately, there are many ways to get your foot in the door, particularly if you can balance traditional reference skills with some kind of specialized knowledge or experience that will set you apart from other candidates. Good luck!

Robert Detmering is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Information Literacy Services at Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville. His research interests include information literacy pedagogy, popular culture in libraries, and professional issues in academic librarianship. He has authored or co-authored publications in a number of academic journals, including College & Research Libraries, portal: Libraries and the Academy, and Journal of Business and Finance Librarianship.

Claudene Sproles is Associate Professor and Government Documents Librarian at Ekstrom Library, University of Louisville. She has published articles in College & Research Libraries, Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, Choice, and other journals. Her research focuses on government documents, as well as entry-level librarianship and associated professional issues.

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by | December 17, 2012 · 8:00 am

Researcher’s Corner: Education, Training and Recruitment of Special Collections Librarians

This post presents research by Kelli Hansen. As in Eamon Tewell’s research on jobs for Academic librarians, you’ll see that she finds that entry-level positions are scarce.  However, she also identifies characteristics and skills that candidates can cultivate to improve their chances, and I’m intrigued by her findings about the increasingly multi-disciplinary nature of these jobs.  I hope you enjoy this post, because I’m very proud to be able to share it with you.

This project started as a student paper in Michael Laird’s class on Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Texas at Austin in spring 2009.  Some of our readings raised questions about employers’ expectations of new special collections librarians.  I was preparing to start my job search at the time, and I wondered whether some of the answers could be found in position advertisements.  Here’s what I found out.

Methodology

For the purposes of this study, I was only interested in job ads for entry-level special collections librarians.  It was difficult to define entry-level because very few job advertisements suitable for recent graduates openly represent themselves as such.  Unexpectedly, it was also difficult to define special collections and even librarian.

In the end, my criteria for including advertisements were as follows:

  1. One year of experience or less; or, length of experience not specified; and
  2. No supervisory duties over other professionals; and
  3. Position assigned to special collections or rare books (with at least 50% of job duties in one of those areas); and
  4. Title and requirements that reflect training in librarianship (as opposed to training in archives, conservation, museum studies, or digitization).

I did not keep track of a total population of job advertisements because I did not intend to estimate the percentage of jobs available to new graduates.  I only wanted a snapshot of the skills and experience employers were looking for in entry-level applicants, and the responsibilities and environments recent graduates could expect in their first positions.

I had a hard time locating advertisements, primarily because of the ephemeral nature of online postings. Eighty-eight position announcements, culled from various print and electronic sources from 2004 to 2009, fit my criteria and were included in the study.

Findings

After I collected all of the advertisements, I broke down statistics for features like salary, professional status, geographic location, and institution type.  I found that the largest number of positions was in the Northeast.  The median salary was $40,000, and academic or research environments made up the overwhelming majority.  Over 75 percent required a single master’s degree – either the MLS or a master’s degree in a subject area.  About 30 percent of the advertisements specified that another advanced degree, in addition to the library degree, was preferred.  Almost half of the advertisements required the candidate to have some experience (of an unspecified amount), and over seventy percent of the advertisements stated that experience of some sort was preferred.

In order to measure more subjective requirements, I also did some basic text analysis on the qualifications sections for common keywords, which I classified into broad categories based on the white paper Competencies for Special Collections Professionals.   In the qualifications, keywords varied widely.  The most common single keywords were history, cataloging, and technology.  The competencies with the highest frequencies were Teaching and Research and Public Service, followed closely by Cataloging and Processing and Information Technology.

When I analyzed the duties sections of the advertisements in the same way, there was much less variation.  The most frequent single keywords for duties were reference and research.  The category with the highest frequency was Teaching and Research, appearing in 73 percent of advertisements.  However, the following categories all appeared in 72 percent of the advertisements: Management and Administration, Promotion and Outreach, and Public Service.  Cataloging and Processing was represented in 70 percent of advertisements.

Conclusions

To summarize very briefly, I reached some of the following conclusions:

  1.  Entry-level positions in special collections are scarce, and they aren’t so entry-level.  Like many library jobs, there’s an overwhelming preference for candidates with some prior experience.  Nearly a third of hiring institutions also prefer candidates with additional graduate education.  These facts indicate a very competitive job market.
  2. The job advertisements reflect overlap among libraries, archives, and museums.  There has been much talk about library-archive-museum convergence over the past decade, and the job announcements confirm that idea.  It may be useful for job seekers to cultivate skills and experience in all three areas.
  3. Institutions seem to be looking for candidates who are both generalists and specialists.  Most of the skills mentioned in the advertisements – reference, research support, instruction, cataloging – apply to librarians of all stripes.  However, the position responsibilities and requirements suggest that aspiring special collections librarians need to combine comprehensive library skills with specialized knowledge of subject areas and materials.

The Future

The full version of this research was published in RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage in September 2011.  I only touched on the surface with this article, and there’s still a lot to find out about hiring and training librarians in this field.  Feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.

Kelli Bruce Hansen earned her MSIS from the University of Texas at Austin in December 2010, and her MA in art history from the University of Missouri in 2003. Currently, she’s a librarian in the department of Special Collections and Rare Books at the University of Missouri Libraries, where she focuses on instruction, outreach, and reference. She can be contacted at hansenkb@missouri.edu.

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Filed under Archives, Cataloging/Technical Services, Entry Level, Guest Posts, Instruction, library research, MLIS Students, Northeastern US, Researcher's Corner

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by | September 21, 2012 · 8:00 am

Further Questions: Should Coursework Go on a Resume?

This week I asked people who hire librarians:

Under what circumstances, if any, would you want to see coursework listed on a resume?

Laurie PhillipsI think there are times when I’ve seen a heading for “Coursework In:” on a resume and I think that’s helpful if someone is coming right out of library school. More often, I like to hear in the letter of application how the person’s coursework and particular experiences in those courses might relate to the job I’m posting. For example, we’re a team based organization so I want to hear how the person has worked collaboratively and successfully on group projects. But, if the person has particular technical skills associated with coursework, that can be great on a resume.

- Laurie Phillips, Associate Dean for Technical Services, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans

Marge Loch-Wouters

Rule of thumb: do not go over the top on this. I like to see only coursework pertaining to the position in the resume. If there is other coursework that might be pertinent based on the posted job description, that can go in as a mention in the cover letter.

- Marge Loch-Wouters, Youth Services Coordinator, La Crosse (WI) Public Library

There are no circumstances under which I’d want to see coursework on a resume.  On an application, yes but not on a resume even for brand new grads.

- Melanie Lightbody, Director of Libraries, Butte County

I am not interested in seeing coursework on a resume. I can’t think of any circumstances in which I would want to see it, though it would be a good addition to a cover letter, if it was relevant to a special project mentioned in the ad. It would also be a good topic to discuss in the interview. It could also be a separate page, like publications and speaking engagements, with course title and description. Instructor might also be useful.

- Jaye Lapachet, Manager of Library Services, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP

Nicola FranklinCoursework could mean a list of modules taken during an MLS, or the dissertation topic.  If it’s the second, I would expect to see it listed on a new (or relatively new) graduate’s resume, and especially so if it were relevant to the post being applied for (eg something on an aspect of public library policy or on diversity outreach, when applying for a public library job).  If it’s the first case, I don’t think I’d ever advocate to include a full list of all modules, since they can take up a lot of space and it’s almost impossible for all of them to be relevant to any one job.  Sometimes it might be useful for a new graduate to include one or two modules they’ve taken where those are directly relevant to the job being applied for (cataloguing for a cataloguing job, or information retrieval for a research job, for example).

I wouldn’t advise a more experienced candidate to include either modules or dissertation title on their resume / CV, just to put the awarding institution and qualification gained.  They should have plenty of other experiences, skills and achievements to talk about on their resume!

- Nicola Franklin, Director, The Library Career Centre Ltd.

J. McRee Elrod

Since not all library schools now require cataloguing, we are only interested in what cataloguing courses have been taken.

- J. McRee (Mac) Elrod, Special Libraries Catalouging

Marleah AugustineIt would be most important and most valuable to see coursework if a person were applying for a job with a specific specialty area or if they did not major in that specific field. If someone is applying for an ESL position and they have an MLS, I’d like to see examples of the language or education coursework that would be applicable. My husband, for example, has a philosophy degree and worked as a computer programmer. He listed networking and computer coursework that he had taken on his application, since at first glance the philosophy degree does not tell you why he might be qualified.

- Marleah Augustine, Adult Department Librarian at Hays Public Library

Petra MauerhoffI would like to see coursework listed on someone’s resume if it is relevant to the position and the person graduated within the past 12 to 18 months. Meaning, if they do not have a lot of professional experience related to the position for which they are applying, but have completed relevant course work. That also means that I really only want to see coursework listed on a resume if the application is for an entry level position. If you are applying for a management position and you are telling me what courses you took in library school related to the position, I will assume that you don’t have enough actual experience to apply for that job.

- Petra Mauerhoff, CEO, Shortgrass Library System

Emilie SmartI guess if the candidate is a new grad and took some specialized courses that ran outside the norm for library school, it might be useful to list them — but only if they are really special. If the candidate has library experience and took specialized coursework as continuing education, I’d probably like to see what those courses were.  It would be a good indicator that the candidate is interested in professional growth and upward mobility.

- Emilie Smart, Division Coordinator of Reference Services & Computer Services at East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Terry Ann LawlerI would only want to see course-work on the resume if it was something really, really impressive.

I understand that it is difficult to flesh out a resume when you haven’t had a lot of jobs and it is tempting to put “relevant” course work on your resume to make it seem less sparse.  If that is your issue, I would urge you to find other resume formats that don’t leave you looking at white space.  For example, a skills based resume could highlight all the things you learned in school without actually referencing actual course work and would conveniently fill in a paragraph or bulleted section.  In fact, this type of resume is very handy for both the prospective employee and the employer.  It allows the hiring supervisor to scan through it quickly to check off the necessaries and allows the future employee to highlight outstanding skills and specialties that might not be obvious in a more traditional or chronological resume.

On the other hand, if you did something really cool that no one else you know has done, by all means, show it off!

One great way to show off your coursework is to have an online profile.  You can reference your online profile on your resume without having to put everything in it on actual paper.  This allows you to really highlight your technical skills, volunteer work and other parts of your personality and skill set that you might have a spot for on your resume. It also allows you to network on a social media level.  Try Google + or Yahoo for free resume/profile websites.  I’ve even seen profiles on Prezi.  Good luck!

- Terry Lawler, Assistant Manager and Children’s Librarian, Palo Verde Branch, Phoenix Public Library

Thank you as always to our contributors for their time and insight.  If you’re someone who hires librarians and are interested in participating in this feature, please email me at hiringlibrariansATgmail.

Comments are a girl’s best friend, and  I could really use a friend.  Thanks for reading!

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Filed under Academic, Cataloging/Technical Services, Entry Level, Further Questions, Management, MLIS Students, Other Organization or Library Type, Public

by | August 12, 2012 · 12:00 pm

Did you miss the LLAMA webinar?

Remember this post, which talks about how Megan Hodge and Nicole Spoor (who had previously been guests for this post) were going to do a free webinar entitled:

How to succeed in an entry-level librarian interview: Research and experience-based tips.

?

Alfred Nobel looking like hes remembering something

 

 

 

 

Well, do ya remember?

Megan was kind enough to provide the link to the recording of webinar and the presentation slides.  So if you missed it, you can still get the information if you point your browser to:

http://www.ala.org/llama/7-25-12-llama-webinar

***I was very very very tempted to pretend that this was the link to the LLAMA webinar, by the way.  Very tempted.

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by | April 25, 2012 · 8:00 am

We are Generally Looking for People Who Will Be Able to Grow and Change with the Library We Now Work In

Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge, ca. 1865-1885Here is another anonymous interview with a non-librarian! This person has worked in human resources and has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring committee at an Academic Library with more than 200 staff members.
What are the top three things you look for in a candidate?

ability to work with others OR managerial and supervisory skills/experience
creativity
knowledge of and ease with technology

Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?

If it seems like someone is dishonest on their resume or in answering questions, or inflating their experience, it can really turn everyone off.

What are you tired of seeing on resumes/in cover letters?

People who say they love to read, love books, have always wanted to be a librarian. We are generally looking for people who will be able to grow and change with the library we now work in. People who have a broad range of skills, are adaptable, and (often, depending on the job) with other work experience outside libraries will get more attention.

Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?

Numbers! How many people did you supervise? How many records do you catalog each month? What size budget were you responsible for? etc.

How many pages should a cover letter be?

√ Only one!

How many pages should a resume/CV be?

√ Other: depends on age, experience, position type

Do you have a preferred format for application documents?

√ No preference, as long as I can open it

Should a resume/CV have an Objective statement?

√ No

If applications are emailed, how should the cover letter be submitted?

√ I don’t care

What’s the best way to win you over in an interview?

Be prepared. Show you did some research on our organization. Listen and ask good questions. Be honest about what you know and don’t know. Sense of humor!

What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?

Not preparing. Think about your past work experience and specific examples of projects you’ve worked on, problems you’ve solved, what you like and don’t like. You don’t know exactly which questions you will get, but if you prepare in this way, you can use different examples where you need them.
Presentations that go over the time allotted. Better to pick one area you know well, refine it, and be ready for questions. You can always say what else you could do with more time.

How has hiring changed at your organization since you’ve been in on the process?

I have been here in HR about 6 years. We receive more applications in the past few years, especially for entry level jobs. More and more aspects now go through electronic communication, including rejections (instead of doing them by phone).

Anything else you’d like to let job-seekers know?

Don’t take it personally when you don’t hear back after applying. You have no way of knowing who you are up against. Take time to write a cover letter and tailor your resume specifically and you will see more results that throwing in lots of applications all over. We want to know why you are interested and the right fit for that specific job. Also, networking is still a good way to get an in, so someone at least looks more carefully at your application.

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by | April 24, 2012 · 8:00 am

Every Accomplishment Isn’t Important Since Oftentimes Those Accomplishments Overlap

Botany Library, Field Columbian Museum, 1912This anonymous interview is with a librarian from a special library with 0-10 staff members. S/He has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring committee.

What are the top things you look for in a candidate?

Commitment to librarianship and the particular area of librarianship that I am hiring for.
Confidence in existing experience and in any learning that will be required in the position being hired for.

Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?

Not really but not applying your application to the job you are applying for makes me weary.  I work for a very specific type of library and many applicants apply to jobs I have available as if they were just any kind of library job.  While any library/librarianship experience will be important and relevant, for example if you’ve spent most of your time at a reference desk and you are applying for a cataloging position please tell me how your experience makes you a good candidate for the job, don’t just tell me that you worked at a reference desk and therefore can do any library job.

Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?

I’m tired of new librarians or those early in their careers leaving out other work experience.  You may not have a lot of library experience, but then you need to showcase how your other experience qualifies you for the job.

How many pages should a cover letter be?

√ Only one!

How many pages should a resume/CV be?

√ Other: This really depends on the applicant.  Early career librarians need not have a long resume, nor try to beef it up with  unnecessary material, theirs should be just one page.  But if you have more extensive experience, by all makes, more pages is fine but it should still be kept short and sweet, every accomplishment isn’t important since oftentimes those accomplishments overlap.

Do you have a preferred format for application documents?

√ No preference, as long as I can open it

Should a resume/CV have an Objective statement?

√ Other: I’m inclined to say no.  They aren’t particularly useful, and are always quite generic.  I think the cover letter should focus on that.

If applications are emailed, how should the cover letter be submitted?

√ I don’t care

What’s the best way to win you over in an interview?

Appear interested in the job you are applying for and conversational.  Don’t just repeat what you’ve written in a cover letter/resume.  Be yourself.

What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?

Talk in bullet points.  I am hiring a person, employee, not a resume.

Anything else you’d like to let job-seekers know?

Do what you can to connect to the job you are applying for.  Of course there will be times when you are applying for jobs that might not be your ideal employment, but find a way that you could make that job yours, what you can bring to it, what you can get out it.  Be honest, don’t just say what you think the interviewer wants you to say.

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Filed under 0-10 staff members, Cataloging/Technical Services, Entry Level, Management, Public Services/Reference, Special

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by | April 10, 2012 · 8:00 am

We work with the Public All Day; They Need to Hear You Speak

Belmont Branch Construction, 1956This anonymous interview is with a public librarian who has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring committee at a library with 50-100 staff members.

 

What are the top three things you look for in a candidate?

People Skills: I want staff that enjoys working with the public as well as with other staff.
Desire for growth: I want to hire staff that are interested in moving up in the organization; or interested in developing their own unique skill sets as a professional. A library is a place of learning, so demonstrate your curiosity!
Trainability: I want to know if you will be able to learn the skills necessary for the job, and willing to learn from your peers.

Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?

Sloppy resumes/cover letters: I get a lot of resumes that it is obvious that they just tweaked a template or copied it off the internet, or filled in some online form. Please take the time to make a comprehensive, personal resume/cover letter.
In the interview: if you are too quiet for me to hear you clearly. We work with the public all day; they need to hear you speak.

What are you tired of seeing on resumes/in cover letters?

For some reason people seem to include that they are physically in good health a lot in their cover letters.
Having no demonstrated interested in libraries. I’ve had applicants with pharmacy tech. degrees and no experience apply; if that is your background please include some information as to why you want to work in library.
Education without any experience, please at least volunteer at a library or do an internship/practicum at one.

Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?

Include customer service experience! I hire for the circulation desk and sometimes don’t hear about a person’s customer service experience until I pry it out of them in an interview. I’ve had people with and an MLIS only talk about their education; if you were a waitress, bartender, worked retail I want to know because it shows me how you work with people.

How many pages should a cover letter be?

√ Two is ok, but no more

How many pages should a resume/CV be?

√ As many as it takes, but keep it short and sweet

Do you have a preferred format for application documents?

√ .pdf

Should a resume/CV have an Objective statement?

√ Other: If you have one make sure it shows that you could grow in my organization.

If applications are emailed, how should the cover letter be submitted?

√ As an attachment only

What’s the best way to win you over in an interview?

Be interested in working with the public, excited is even better. Show me that you are not only interested in the job but also the organization. Bonus points if you show that you are interested in the community. Be enthusiastic about librarianship and aware of recent developments in libraries in general, keep up with your current events.

What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?

They treat it more like a question answer session than a conversation. Feel free to think about what I am asking you, and elaborate on your responses. If there is a natural segue into something  you are interested or know something about than feel free to talk about that.
I like long interesting interviews where the person is comfortable talking to me.
They don’t dress appropriately. Iron your clothes, wear something business like. Don’t come to an interview with me in khakis and polo. Libraries are business casual, but management here tends to be less casual than regular staff so you don’t want to underdress for the interview. If you can walk through the library at least once to get an idea how staff dress, step it up a notch from that or if you see someone in management match their level of dress.

How has hiring changed at your organization since you’ve been in on the process?

I hire for the circulation department, library subs, and other management. Since I came on board we look more at customer service skills and trainability over just education. Also for entry level jobs we look more closely at a potential growth path for that employee.

Anything else you’d like to let job-seekers know?

Be willing to move, jobs are hard enough to come by without limiting yourself to a specific location.

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Filed under 50-100 staff members, Circulation, Entry Level, Management, Public, Substitutes/Pool

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by | April 6, 2012 · 9:00 am

Further Questions: Would you Hire Someone Without Library Experience for a Librarian Position?

Welcome to a new Hiring Librarians feature, which looks at a single hiring issue from multiple perspectives.

This week’s question, inspired by comments and tweets following this post, is:

Would you hire someone for a librarian position if s/he had no library experience? If yes, under what circumstances? If not, why not?

Barbara Stripling

I would hire someone without experience, but not without ideas.  I expect any new graduate to come to an interview armed with high-quality projects completed in school or at least firm ideas about beliefs, vision, goals, and strategies.  I expect anyone I am interviewing to have self-confidence that he or she can build an effective library program.  I also need to know that the applicant can get along well with others, so if there are no job references, then I would hope to see other references to contact, recommendation letters from college professors, volunteer or student teaching experience, or some other way to determine the applicant’s ability to work with others and contribute to an organization.

- Barbara Stripling, Asst. Professor of Practice at Syracuse University iSchool, Former Hirer of School Librarians

Marleah AugustineI do more hiring for librarian assistants (more of a page/clerk/shelver/desk work position). If the individual had previous customer service experience, I would consider that in lieu of library experience. Additionally, if they had no library experience but they answered the library-specific questions in the interview well, then I would consider them. Now, for an actual librarian position, I would expect at the very least some library work experience at a lower level, or an MLS.

- Marleah Augustine, Adult Department Librarian at Hays Public Library

Yes, I have hired someone for a librarian position who had no library experience. It was for a part time position at an institution that most librarians from outside the province may not even have heard of. It actually ended up being the one of those “beggars can’t be choosers” situations.  We received applications from a lot of under qualified librarians (including a hand-written one from a member of the community who felt he was suitable for the position because he loved to read) and it was a very difficult decision because the budget did not allow for more than the 40% part time hours, we were desperate to fill the position and hoped that the relatively new grad without experience would be able to grow with us. And it actually worked out nicely.
 - Anonymous (Public Libraries)
Colleen HarrisIt depends, and having no library experience is a definite severe hurdle. To impress me enough to make it into my pile of maybes, you would have to very clearly and concisely demonstrate to me that the experience you do have is utterly translatable to the library position you want in terms of being able to pick up new software and processes quickly, customer service experience on a front-line service desk, and you would have to have a really, really good reason for never having stepped foot in a library as a volunteer or unpaid intern. You need to do this concisely (cover letters shouldn’t run overlong), with personality, and while connecting yourself to every single one of my required qualifications. It can be done, but it’s rare, and difficult. I’ll also note that it may be easier to land a staff level position with no library experience than a professional librarian position (at least in academic libraries, in my experience across four of them).
(Some background for discouraged seekers with no library experience: The problem nowadays is that the economy is so poor still that you are competing with folks with tons of experience. For instance, a recent  poorly-paying open ILL staff-level position garnered more than 50 applications, at least half of whom had the MLS, there were a handful of MLS/JD and MLS/PhDs, many were from out of state and willing to move – for a  staff level slot! – and there were at least 7 people with significant and immediately transferable ILL experience which is both rare and hard to beat as a non-experienced candidate. All of this stacks up against the no-library-experience candidate in a big way. I don’t mean to discourage, but having an accurate picture of your competition is really important when you’re on the job hunt.)
- Colleen  S. Harris, Head of Access Services & Assistant Professor, Lupton Library,University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Toby Willis-CampI would hire someone with no library experience if they could showed a good customer service work ethic, a dedication to learning new skills, and the demonstrated ability to commit to something (a job, volunteer experience, degree program, etc.)  Sometimes you have to be willing to take a risk on someone that doesn’t have all the skills on your list, but they come to the interview with new ideas and a true passion for the organization’s goals and how they would work within those goals.  I’ve had people take chances by hiring me for jobs I wasn’t exactly qualified for so I feel that I should pay it forward where appropriate.
- Toby Willis-Camp, Director of Libraries for The Law Society of Saskatchewan
John StachaczThe answer is depends….I’ll gamble on someone who I think may be very good.
- John C. Stachacz, Dean, Farley Library, Wilkes University
I would definitely hire someone with no library experience for a library assistant position. I would not rule out hiring someone without library experience for a librarian position, but in this environment it would be very difficult for them to be successful. We work in a high stress, short deadline kind of environment and sometimes there are just no spare seconds to answer questions. There is also a steep learning curve. In order to be considered, the person should be smart, willing to learn, be customer service oriented and be committed to working as part of a team. I would not hire someone who had no library experience and no MLS even if they had a JD unless I was forced to do so. If you want to work in a law library, work as a library assistant, so you can see how the processes work and learn the terminology.
- Jaye Lapachet, Manager of Library Services, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP
Marge Loch-WoutersI would consider hiring someone who has no library experience (and I am assuming no MLIS) if their skill set closely matched what we are looking for and I felt that the candidate would bring something to the position that we were sorely lacking and were not finding in our MLIS candidates applying.  I would be aware that the training for the new hire would be much more time and information intensive to help them develop library skills/philosophy (intellectual freedom; information access; service equity; programming and service philosophy; daily oversight/understanding of library processes and reference and reader’s advisory, etc etc). They would not be paid at the level of an MLIS hire – the degree definitely improves the wage no matter how much MLIS librarians complain about low salaries.
- Marge Loch-Wouters, Youth Services Coordinator, La Crosse (WI) Public Library
Photo of Daveta CooperOur library requires the MLIS degree, although some institutions will accept work experience in lieu, so the degree would be a requirement. Most degree programs now require some kind of coop or intern experience in order to graduate, so I would consider that library experience. I would hire someone with the degree but without library experience if they had experience that demonstrated an ability to solve problems through research, or deal with people in difficult situations, or if they possessed technology expertise that the organization lacked. In hiring customer service paraprofessionals I have observed that the best employees often have had successful retail rather than library  experience.
- Daveta Cooper, Library Manager,Technical Services, Benicia Public Library
Yes, if they are able to produce acceptable AARC2/MARC21 records in English and French.
- J. McRee (Mac) Elrod, Special Libraries Catalouging
Terry Ann Lawler
Yes, I would hire someone with no library experience.  There is a wealth of experience to be had at other jobs in other industries.  If, for example, I was looking for a storytime presenter, I might pass on someone with 15 years of cataloging experience in favor of someone with 15 years of grade-school teaching experience, MLSs being equal.  It all depends on two things: 1) what I need as far as job duties and 2) who you’re up against.  I certainly would pick someone with 15 years of actual library storytime experience over the above two examples.
- Terry Lawler, Assistant Manager and Children’s Librarian, Palo Verde Branch, Phoenix Public Library
Laurie PhillipsI would, in general, not hire someone who had no library experience. I think it would be odd for someone to decide to become a librarian if he or she had never worked in a library. That said, we did not require library experience for the position I recently posted. We would have looked at someone who had publishing experience or had worked for a vendor, but a person in that position would really have to work hard to sell his or her experience and skills for the position. That is key. Too many people use the cover letter to reiterate their resume. What they need to do is to use the cover letter to show how their skills and experience fit the position being advertised.
- Laurie Phillips, Associate Dean for Technical Services, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans
Thank you so much to these Hiring Librarians for answering my question!
If  you would like to participate in this feature as a manager, the manager or director of a manager, a member of a search committee, a hiring committee member, a human resources professional, or a hirer of librarians in some other capacity, please contact me at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
If you are a job hunter with question suggestions, send ‘em to me at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Thanks for reading!  The comments are open and waiting for your opinions.

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Filed under Academic, Adult Services, Cataloging/Technical Services, Entry Level, Further Questions, Law Library, Other Organization or Library Type, Paraprofessional, Public, Public Services/Reference, School, Special, Youth Services

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