This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a hiring manager, a member of a hiring or search committee, and a human resources professional. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
liaisons
tech services
eResources
This librarian works at a library with 50-100 staff members in an urban area in the Southern US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ 75-100
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
qualifications matched what was in the posting
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
search committee forms a matrix based on qualifications listed in the posting
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
does not meet one of the require 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?
match qualifications and address them if they don’t have the experience in terms of what they will do to fill the gap
be focused and serious
investigate the organization and share insights
be personable but sincere
I want to hire someone who is
personable
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?
√ 2
How many permanent, full time para-professional (or other non-professional level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 3-4
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ There are fewer 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?
no professional experience required for residency position, others will have some type of specialty request
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
it will be modified from its current state but not eliminated
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For some context, look at the most recent summary of responses.
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