Voting is currently open for the California Library Association’s 2012 election. If you’re a member, cast your ballot by October 15th.
Questions about CLA:
In broad strokes, what do you think the CLA’s role is in library hiring and employment?
CLA is a professional organization. Its mission is to represent and serve the needs of its members who are the staff of all our libraries in California. CLA’s role is therefore to do what it can to help make the connection between those looking for work and those wanting to hire. This is achieved through several services which are described below.
How can the CLA serve unemployed or underemployed librarians? Please name specific programs or services that exist, or that you would like to see enacted.
The jobline is the primary source of connecting those looking for work and those looking to hire workers. Offering professional development opportunities helps prepare both the unemployed and the underemployed by teaching the skills that are in demand by potential employers.
In California we are fortunate to have an organization, Infopeople, which offers free and low cost training and development. It used to be largely supported by State and Federal funding. In these challenging times those funding sources are threatened and Infopeople has had to get more creative in finding support but continues to be an invaluable resource to all California librarians.
The Eureka! Leadership Program and CLA sponsored mentoring programs are both excellent resources that serve our profession well by preparing emerging leaders.
I think CLA can do more at the annual conference for job seekers and employers. Maybe this can also be developed into regional job fairs. At a minimum, providing practice interviews and resume review would be valuable additions to the conference program.
How can the CLA support library students in order to help them be best situated for future employment? Please name specific programs or services that exist, or that you would like to see enacted.
CLA does have a library school representative on the Executive Board. This provides good input from the student perspective while providing the student with excellent leadership experience.
Perhaps the two Library Schools in the State could be the sponsors of the conference program and regional job fairs that I mentioned in the previous question.
Internships are another excellent way for library school students to get professional experience and to get known by potential employers. CLA could work more closely with the library schools and work with them to figure out how CLA can play a role in brokering this process.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about the CLA or your candidacy?
I know this is a difficult hiring environment for new graduates. I do believe the job market is loosening a bit. In my library we are no longer reducing and have started adding back. We are also starting to see more retirements which will result in more opportunities for new graduates. I know this isn’t directly related to CLA or my candidacy but if there is a way the CLA President can help, I will be looking for it.
Questions from the survey:
What are the top three things you look for in a candidate?
1. Technical skills
2. An understanding of the changes facing libraries and a willingness to be flexible, innovative and not afraid of change.
3. Able to relate to people and understand the meaning of excellence in customer service.
Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?
I hate it when candidates have not done their research on the library and specific job for which they are applying. I actually had a phone interview with a candidate who asked where the library was located.
What are you tired of seeing on resumes/in cover letters?
I find objectives to be useless. If someone is applying for a job with my organization then that is their objective. They will have time to talk about career goals in the interview.
Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?
I like to see a connection between the jobs they have performed and what knowledge, skills and abilities doing that job required. For customer service and supervision, I am very willing to give credit for non-library jobs that show they have specific skills. I can teach them how to use our computer system or how to do do a reference interview but the basic ability to relate to people is either there or it isn’t.
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, I want to look at every accomplishment
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?
Show interest in the position and knowledge about my library. Be confident, make eye contact with everyone, let your personality show so we can both look for best fit.
What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?
Not dressing appropriately. Not being prepared. Not asking specific and interesting questions.
How has hiring changed at your organization since you’ve been in on the process?
I am in an unusual situation in that my first three years at my current organization involved severe reductions. It is only now that we are starting to hire again. We have several staff who have gotten their MLS and have been waiting for several years so the next couple of librarian hires will most likely be in-house. In about another 6 months or year we will start hiring from the outside.
We are changing our interview process and trying to make it more of a dialogue between candidate and interviewers. We will do this by providing some questions ahead of time and having less questions with more time to go in depth. We are also going to include a session where the candidate meets with the staff in the division where the opening is and will spend some time talking with them and doing a session where they have to “teach” something.
Anything else you’d like to let job-seekers know?
No matter how badly you need the job, remember that fit is important from both perspectives.
Hiring Librarians 