This anonymous interview is with an Academic librarian who has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring committee. This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members.
What are the top three things you look for in a candidate?
people skills, technology skills, intelligence
Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?
sloppy application, hostility toward patrons
Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?
links to personal websites/blogs
How many pages should a cover letter be?
√ Only one!
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?
√ No preference, as long as I can open it
Should a resume/CV have an Objective statement?
√ I don’t care
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 friendly
What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?
Be socially inept, show hostility toward people, be arrogant
How has hiring changed at your organization since you’ve been in on the process?
More regimented, with human resources representative at interview, restrictive rules on what we should look at. Insistence upon asking exact same questions of every interviewee. Less-competent human resources department, which means our department needs to take more initiative in advertising postings.
Hiring Librarians 