Hey, look! A new feature! In this segment of Hiring Librarians, we will talk to people who run job or career websites for librarians (and archivists and info professionals etc. etc.). I’m very happy to kick this off with Naomi House, who somehow has turned a megapile of LIS job listings into a community.
What is it? Please give us your elevator speech!
INALJ is the most extensive single resource for jobs for information professional (like librarians & knowledge managers) online. But we are more than just jobs; we are a community that serves to connect and educate job hunters to be realistic in a positive way on a series of platforms (FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, INALJ.com).
When was it started? Why was it started?
October 16, 2010. I had recently been hired as a Reference Librarian for a federal government contractor and I was only half-way through my MLIS. I was still getting job ads and wanted a way to share them with fellow classmates in an organized one-stop-shop method.
Who runs it?
Me! Naomi House, MLIS. Elizabeth Leonard, MLIS, my fellow Rutgers classmate set up the Facebook and twitter feeds and these days 60+ volunteers help add content and format INALJ.
Are you a “career expert”? What are your qualifications?
I aim to be! Having real work-world experience serving on search committees, helping supervise and staff libraries and INALJ, has helped me become more expert, but I like to think I am learning more each day.
Who is your target audience?
Anyone hunting for a job or internship in the in
formation sciences fields (libraries, competitive intelligence, archivists, knowledge managers, etc). Anyone curious about the field and/or job hunting in general.
What’s the best way to use your site? Should users consult it daily? Or as needed? Should they already know what they need help with, or can they just noodle around?
Honestly as new jobs are added daily there is a real advantage to using the INALJ Daily Digest Daily.
Does your site provide:
√ Job Listings √ Interviews √ Articles/literature √ Links
√ Advice on:
√ Cover Letters √ Resumes √ Interviewing √ Networking
√ Other: Volunteering; Strategizing in your job hunt
Should readers also look for you on social media? Or is your content available in other formats? Please include links, subscription information, or other details if pertinent
√ Twitter: @needalibraryjob
√ LinkedIn: INALJ- The I need a Library job Group
√ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ineedalibraryjob
√ Newsletter: (this is something I am moving away from)
Do you charge for anything on your site?
Nope. Donations encouraged though 🙂
Can you share any stories about job hunters that found positions after using your site?
I can share tons! As of today I have 144 interviews with success stories published on INALJ.com
Anything else you’d like to share with my readers about your site in particular, or about library hiring/job hunting in general?
Focus on you. Do not obsess over a job or interview. Once the interview is over, send a thank you and move on. If it was meant to be it will be. Don’t rest, keep job hunting! Remember to be civil and not demanding on social media. We are a tight-knit community and our collective memory is long.
If you’ve got questions for Naomi about INALJ, please go ahead and put’em in the comments section.
If you run a job or career website for librarians (and archivists and info professionals etc. etc.), and you want to share it here, get in touch with me at hiringlibrariansATgmail.
Thanks for reading!
Hiring Librarians 
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