This anonymous interview is with a job hunter who is not currently employed (even if part-time or in an unrelated field), has not 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, Library vendors/service providers, Public libraries, School libraries, Special libraries, and Anywhere my skills are applicableat the following levels: Entry level, Requiring at least two years of experience, Supervisory, Department Head, Senior Librarian, Branch Manager, Director/Dean. This new grad/entry level applicant has internship/volunteering experience:
2 year internship as a reference assistant also working on special projects, co-ordinated a professional conference, spoken at a conference
This job hunter is in an urban area, in Canada, and would prefer to live in an urban area..
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
– interesting/innovative work
– livable salary & benefits
– in an urban centre
Where do you look for open positions?
SimplyHired, Indeed, LinkedIn, Code4Lib, individual institutional sites, Toronto iSchool list, CharityVillage, The Partnership, government job banks
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?
Write cover letter, check resume, export as PDF, email or submit. ~2 hours.
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 acknowledge my application
√ To tell me if I have or have not been selected to move on to the interview stage
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
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
What do you think employers should do to get the best candidates to apply?
Make your requirements short and realistic. Be clear about who you’ll be reporting to. Salary and benefits listed, including if there is financial aid for long-distance moves.
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
Don’t expect too much. Have some appreciation for the fact that most people are applying to literally dozens of jobs before getting an interview.
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
First, being white, middle-class, and female for most jobs, but male for IT/tech/science jobs. Second, years of experience. Third, socially engaging and charming.
Do you have any comments, or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
There are very few jobs being advertised that will accept someone with less than 5 years of experience and there are lots of management/director-level jobs. What this says to me is that libraries are not interested in promoting people from within or hiring people and then training them for a job, they just want to hire someone ready-made. Is that really sustainable?
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 