Sofía Becerra-Licha took the Job Hunter’s survey on 12/28/2012. Her responses appeared as Be Realistic about How Many Applications Job Seekers are Forced to Put Out. We followed up with her on January 13, 2014.
Your Job
What’s your current work situation?
Employed (full time, permanent position).
Is this job the same as you had when we followed up with you last year? If not, please describe briefly how you got this new job.
Yes.
Is your job commensurate with your skills and experience?
Yes.
Is the pay scale higher or lower than you were looking for?
Market rate for an entry-level position.
How your job different from what you thought you might do, when you first embarked on your job hunt?
I’m currently in my first professional position. Based on my work experience and the competitive nature of the archives job market, I thought it more likely my first job would be as a music cataloger rather than as an archivist.
Have you had a chance to participate in hiring any LIS workers? Any lessons or observations from the experience?
No.
Have you had a chance to negotiate a raise and/or title change? What was that like?
No.
What’s the next step for your career?
Developing a more specialized skillset and potentially gaining supervisory experience.
Your Perspectives
Was job hunting a positive or negative experience, for the most part?
Positive outcome, demoralizing experience overall.
Would you change your answer to “what’s the secret to getting hired”?
Nope!
Do you have any advice for job hunters and/or library school students?
Start preparing from your very first semester: conduct informational interviews; join professional organizations; attend conferences (many have student scholarships!); and look at job ads to see what’s in demand for your area(s) of interest. Be prepared to be flexible, given the state of the job market, but also be proactive about setting yourself up to be able to capitalize on opportunities that may come your way.
Do you have any advice for hiring managers?
I really love seeing job ads that convey a little institutional personality and have well-thought-out (realistic) descriptions, particularly with regard to required skills.
What’s your ideal work situation?
A musical environment, preferably on an academic campus, in an archives with audiovisual holdings. Regular hours, a challenging but manageable workload, and opportunities for professional development and/or advancement. Above all, a collegial and supportive working climate.
Hiring Librarians 