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 Less than six months. This person is looking in Academic libraries, Public libraries, at the following levels: Entry level, Requiring at least two years of experience, Supervisory, Department Head. This new grad/entry level applicant has internship/volunteering experience:
I’ve been in the field for nearly nine years, but my internship was the most valuable experience of my graduate education.
This job hunter is in an city/town, in the Western US, and is willing to move anywhere.
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Community engagement, appropriate staffing (good leadership to front-line staff ratio), good morale in front-line staff.
Where do you look for open positions?
ALA Joblist, INALJ, Indeed
Do you expect to see salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Yes, and it’s a red flag when it’s not
What’s your routine for preparing an application packet? How much time do you spend on it?
Depending on the position, I’ll spend 2-5 hours per listing.
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 acknowledge my application
√ 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?
Which events during the interview/visit are most important to your assessment of the position (i.e. deciding if you want the job)?
√ Tour of facility
√ Meeting department members/potential co-workers
What do you think employers should do to get the best candidates to apply?
Take personal preferences and prejudice out of the equation.
What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
If you have no intention of hiring an outsider (or insider) don’t have them go through the process.
What do you think is the secret to getting hired?
If I knew that, I wouldn’t be looking right now 🙂
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 
So true. Another annoying thing is when the application requires you to fill out an online form describing your experience and education despite the fact that all of it is already in the resume.
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What should employers do to make the hiring process less painful?
If you have no intention of hiring an outsider (or insider) don’t have them go through the process.
This, unfortunately, is often a requirement from somewhere higher up in the chain, at least in the case of outside applicants. For whatever reason, many places will not simply allow a department to hire an inside applicant (my employer is one), but they’d have to conduct an open search. It’s actually rather frustrating from the departmental side too, believe it or not.
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