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 / technology / outreach services
This librarian works at a library with 100-200 staff members in a rural area in the Midwestern US.
Approximately how many people applied for the last librarian (or other professional level) job at your workplace?
√ 25-75
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Meeting all job requirements and demonstrated understanding of position through cover letter message.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
Some are weeded by HR. Committee sets priorities for position. Rubric is loosely created.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Lack of relevant experience or inability to translate transferable skills to the position applied through cover letter.
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: If requested
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
If unsure about job, submit a query by email or phone to increase understanding.
I want to hire someone who is
Both experientially and educationally suitable for an academic library position.
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?
√ 3-4
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time librarian positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ I don’t know
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?
√ Yes
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with para-professional workers over the past decade?
√ I don’t know
Does your workplace require experience for entry-level professional positions? If so, is it an official requirement or just what happens in practice?
Yes, and more the latter.
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ Other: Only if our definition and how we convey it doesn’t demonstrate relevance
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 