This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a hiring manager and a member of a hiring or search committee. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
subject liaisons, special collections librarians and archivists
This librarian works at a library with 100-200 staff members in an urban area Southern US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ 25 or fewer
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Having any experience at all in the areas we need.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
The HR application software asks questions that are supposed to weed out people who do not have our minimum requirements, though many applicants do not answer these truthfully, in order to get their cvs to the committee. We use search committees as well as a matrix based on our required and preferred qualifications.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Not having one of the required qualifications.
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ No
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
Demonstrate interest in this particular library.
I want to hire someone who is
curious
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 100-200
How many permanent, full time librarian (or other professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 5-6
How many permanent, full time para-professional (or other non-professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 5-6
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ There are more positions
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?
√ No
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with para-professional workers over the past decade?
√ No
Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?
Yes, we do, but only 6 months for most positions and we accept internship or student jobs
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
The field has changed.
Do you have any other comments, for job hunters or about the survey?
— It is very obvious when you send one cv or cover letter to many jobs, even if you change the name of the university.
— Do some research into the library you are applying to, and demonstrate your knowledge in your cover letter.
— If something is listed on the job announcement as required, we are unable to hire someone without that requirement without closing the search, getting approval from HR, and starting a new search.
Do you hire librarians? Take this survey: http://tinyurl.com/hiringlibjobmarketsurvey or take other Hiring Librarians surveys.
For some context, look at the most recent summary of responses.
Hiring Librarians 