This anonymous interview is with a job hunter who is 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 More than 18 months. This person is looking in Academic libraries, Public libraries, at the following levels: Entry level, Requiring at least two years of experience. This new grad/entry level applicant has internship/volunteering experience:
My internship and volunteering was great, I got to do a lot of things and came out with strong references from people I still consider friends.
This job hunter is in a city/town, in the Midwestern US, and is willing to move anywhere.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
It’s full time.
It’s not a children’s librarian position.
I’m qualified to do it.
Where do you look for open positions?
ALA joblist, inalj.
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Other: I don’t consider it a “red flag” necessarily, but sometimes a posting won’t have a salary OR say whether it’s part time or full time. In those cases I’m not sure if I’m wasting my time or not, since I can’t afford to move out of state for a part time salary.
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
Depends on the application. Filling one out online can be excruciating. Sometimes it’s fairly painless, but sometimes I have to dig up info I don’t have on hand for most of the questions, or they ask something in such a way that I can’t answer it, yet it’s a required field.
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
√ 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?
Which events during the interview/visit are most important to your assessment of the position (i.e. deciding if you want the job)?
√ Other: I’m in no position to turn down a full time job. Nothing will sway me from accepting if it’s ever offered. After 6 years of searching, I will take the very first full time job offered, no matter what.
What do you think employers should do to get the best candidates to apply?
Post well in advance, not when you want to start making choices next week.
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
It would be nice if they just decided on a salary they were willing to pay, rather than asking us what salary we want. If they would make that decision first, we could look at that salary and decide to apply or not, rather than us taking our time to apply, then them taking their time to look at our application and decide if that salary is in their ballpark.
Besides, all I want is a living wage, I’m not trying to play hardball here.
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
Being literally anyone but me. Other than that, know people and hope the people you know will be hiring, or will know other people who are hiring.
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 