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, at the following levels: Director/Dean. This job hunter is in an urban area in the Northeastern US, and is willing to move in a
wide range of areas – need some opportunities for spouse.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Opportunity for prof dev
Respect
Indication that administration supports library
Where do you look for open positions?
ALA joblist, Chronicle of Higher Ed, INALJ
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ No (even if I might think it *should* be)
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
Depends what is required – for standard letter, cv, references, it takes me 2 hours to customize
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 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)?
√ Meeting department members/potential co-workers
What do you think employers should do to get the best candidates to apply?
Advertise widely, not for cookie cutter ads
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
Communicate
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
No idea … I used to get hired easily. Last 2 years, not so much …
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 
I wish there were some “secret potion” to getting hired. But there isn’t. I work full time at an academic library and we really need to hire about 10 people just to make the work flow more efficiently. But we don’t have positions to hire 10 people and I’m losing my part-time people because they can’t survive on a part-time salary. Sigh. It just has to get better. This is ridiculous. Lib schools need to be honest with people. It’s still a tough market out there, even if you are willing to move.
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