This anonymous interview is with a job hunter who has not been hired within the last two months, and has been looking for a new position for More than 18 months. This person is looking in Public libraries, at the following levels: Entry level. This new grad/entry level applicant has internship/volunteering experience:
I have volunteered in four positions in the past two years, three currently. I volunteered with Multnomah County Library as a technohost for a little over a year and am currently volunteering through Answerland (Oregon’s virtual reference service) and have been since February 2013. I also volunteer for Cedar Mill Community library as a tech tutor and the BAM!: Books Adapted to Movies book club facilitator to gain programming experience. All of these have given me good fodder to talk about in interviews.
This job hunter is in a suburban area, in the Western US, and is willing to move anywhere.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Full time
Pay is in line with cost of living
Entry level/willing to train
Where do you look for open positions?
INALJ, Indeed.com, libraryjobline.org, Twitter, and a list I created myself of all the libraries in Washington and Oregon
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Yes, and it’s a red flag when it’s not
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
Most of the jobs I apply for are through governmentjobs.com, so the main application part stays the same, but I change the cover letter to reflect the specific job duties.
Have you ever stretched the truth, exaggerated, or lied on your resume, or at some other point during the hiring process?
√ Other: Technically, the only paid library work I have had had the job title of “page,” but the work was more like a library assistant, so I put library assistant/page on my application and if called for an interview, explain why.
When would you like employers to contact you?
√ To acknowledge my application
√ 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)?
√ Tour of facility
√ Other: Jiving with the people that interview me
What do you think employers should do to get the best candidates to apply?
Be honest. If you want five to ten years of experience, state that on the job description. If you state less than two years of experience, give a newbie like me a chance to prove myself!
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
Let me know if I haven’t been selected for an interview within 2-3 weeks of the job closing…don’t leave me hanging for months on end. I have waited up to three months before before hearing back a “no.”
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
If I knew that, I wouldn’t be still looking for a job. But I think confidence and competentcy are the big ones.
Do you have any comments, or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
Maybe ask surveyees to estimate how many jobs they have applied to in the past week/month/year.
For some context, take a look at the most recently published summary of responses.
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 