This anonymous interview is with an academic librarian who has been a member of a hiring or search committee. This person hires the following types of LIS professionals:
web/UX, preservation, cataloguers, project managers, client services
This librarian works at a library with 10-50 staff members in an urban area in the Canada.
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?
√ 51-75 %
And how would you define “hirable”?
Their cover letter suggested their were competent and ready to learn.
How are applications evaluated, and by whom?
Committee members each make a top ten list, then we interview the common names across lists. If a committee member feels very strongly about a candidate who isn’t on many lists, we usually interview them as well.
What is the most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Cover letter is sloppily done, or not tailored to the position. Lately we’ve been hiring junior positions, so we don’t interview people who graduated more than 2-3 years ago.
Do you (or does your library) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: if they ask, which is rare
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve his/her/their hirability?
You don’t have to have every single qualification, you just need to explain how you’d get there. Once you’re in the interview, be honest about what you don’t know and how you’d figure it out— this looks 100 times better than when someone pretends to know everything but can’t actually answer in any depth.
I want to hire someone who is
smart
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 10-50
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?
√ 2
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?
Some experience that the candidate can demonstrate the relevance of — but this experience is not necessarily closely related to the job.
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Why or why not?
We’re very, very busy and always looking to expand.
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 