This anonymous interview is with a job hunter who is currently employed (even if part-time or in an unrelated field), has been hired within the last two months, and has been looking for a new position for less than six months. This person is looking in academic libraries, at the entry level.
This job hunter is in an urban area in the Western US and is willing to move, but
only for a fantastic job.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Work that is a good fit for my background and interests – specifically, opportunities for teaching
A positive work environment – friendly people, realistic expectations about workload
Location
Where do you look for open positions?
professional listserv- ACRL Residency Interest Group
BayNet job list
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ No (even if I might think it *should* be)
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
Probably about 10 hours. I start with the job description, highlight key phrases, make notes about things I’ve done that relate, organize those notes into sections and use that for my cover letter, I then go through my resume to see if there are any changes that will be helpful to highlight or clarify different items
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
√ To follow-up after an interview
√ Once the position has been filled, even if it’s not me
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
√ Phone for good news, email for bad news
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
√ Meeting with HR to talk about benefits/salary
Are you hunting for a new LIS job? Take the survey! http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibJOBHUNTERsurvey
This survey was co-authored by Naomi House from I Need A Library Job – Do you need one? Check it out!
Hiring Librarians 