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 A year to 18 months. Requiring at least two years of experience . This job hunter is in a city/town, in Canada and is willing to move anywhere.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Stability
Reasonable renumeration
Opportunity for professional development
Where do you look for open positions?
Monster
Eluta
Professional listrv
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Only for certain kinds of employers
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
I spend approximately 60 – 90 minutes tweaking the cover letter and résumé to include keywords used in the job description and on the organization’s website.
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)?
√ Tour of facility
√ 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?
Be completely transparent in the hiring process, including salary and professional expectations.
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
Acknowledge my application, and offer advice re my interview if I’ve haven’t been hired.
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
A combination of honed skills, nepotism, and dumb luck – right place, right time.
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 