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:
all
This librarian works at a library with 50-100 staff members in an urban area in the Western US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ more than 100, but less than 200
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Had qualifications asked for in the ad, was not asking a ridiculous salary
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
No applications are weeded out by HR before they get to us, which is a real waste of time. If we don’t want anyone without an MLS, we shouldn’t see those. So we have one person on the committee throw those out right away. After that, we have rubrics and measures based on the description in the ad.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
No MLIS or related degree
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?
Write a good cover letter that addresses the actual job you are applying for and why you are qualified
I want to hire someone who is
qualified
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 50-100
How many permanent, full time librarian (or other professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 3-4
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?
√ I don’t know
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with para-professional workers over the past decade?
√ Yes
Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?
There are so many applicants that some experience will really help them stand out.
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
Still plenty to do
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.
Ok, but what is a proposed salary ridiculous enough to automatically disqualify you? Is any salary data for your institution publicly available before you ask applicants to name their own price? This always feels like a way to rig the game, especially against new graduates or those whose experience may be solely based on unpaid internships or a hodgepodge of part time/hourly positions. Unless the job ad specifies a standard salary range, applicants often worry that institutions are just looking for the cheapest labor.