This anonymous interview is with someone who hires for an:
√ Academic Library
Title: Associate Dean
Titles hired include: Records Manager, Clinical Librarian, STEM Librarian, Assessment & Analytics Librarian, Social Sciences Liaison, Business Liaison, Hospital Library Manager, Metadata Librarian, Technical Services Librarian, etc.
Who makes hiring decisions at your organization:
√ Library Administration
√ The position’s supervisor
√ A Committee or panel
Which of the following does your organization regularly require of candidates?
√ Online application
√ Cover letter
√ CV
√ References
√ Proof of degree
√ Demonstration (teaching, storytime, etc)
√ More than one round of interviews
√ A whole day of interviews
√ A meal with hiring personnel
√ Other: Meetings with non-library stakeholders
Does your organization use automated application screening?
√ No
Briefly describe the hiring process at your organization and your role in it:
I serve ex-officio on all librarian search committees to oversee process integrity. Our process generally follows the ACRL Guidelines for Recruiting Academic Librarians
Think about the last candidate who really wowed you, on paper, in an interview, or otherwise. Why were they so impressive?
Someone who has clearly done their homework about the institution and the clarity of responses to our questions. I prefer and brief but direct response to a question than a lot of rambling. Someone who has concrete examples for each of the qualifications in the job announcement.
Do you have any instant dealbreakers?
Not meeting the minimum qualifications; a cover letter that is not written for our job and does not attempt to match experiences and background with our requirements
What do you wish you could know about candidates that isn’t generally revealed in the hiring process?
I think we do a very good job of learning about the experience and interpersonal skills of the candidates during our interview process. We spend a lot of time designing the interview experience for the purpose. A challenge sometimes for committees is figuring out how to weigh experience against someone who has strong interpersonal skills and may have the potential to be exceptional in the position. A well-prepared candidate can overcome this with having examples of how they demonstrated such things as collaboration or project management even if they don’t have much actual library or other work experience. On occasion, I have been surprised at how differently someone behaves on the job compared to how they responded during the interview, but fortunately this doesn’t often happen.
How many pages should each of these documents be?
Cover Letter: √ Two is ok, but no more
CV: √ As many as it takes, but keep it reasonable and relevant
What is the most common mistake that people make in an interview?
Lack of preparation; not doing homework about the institution; vague responses to questions; bad-mouthing current employer
Do you conduct virtual interviews? What do job hunters need to know about shining in this setting?
That is all we have been doing for the past few years. Candidates should prepare exactly as they would for an in-person experience. Also, make the effort to make sure the technology will work and you have a private space for the interview. I always offer to do a trial run but not many people take me up on the offer. Someone who is not prepared to share a document for example using our platform will perform less well than someone who knows how to make it work.
How can candidates looking to transition from paraprofessional work, from non-library work, or between library types convince you that their experience is relevant? Or do you have other advice for folks in this kind of situation?
Make sure you can connect the dots between your experiences in a paraprofessional role and the requirements of the position. If your job has not allowed you to have certain experiences, e.g. project management or supervision, at least be prepared to describe best practices you have observed.
When does your organization *first* mention salary information?
√ Other: The minimum is posted in the job ad (not a range) but is not discussed in detail until an offer is made.
What does your organization do to reduce bias in hiring? What are the contexts in which discrimination still exists in this process?
Committee members are required to complete an implicit bias training and the university has created some best practice guidelines and oversight to ensure committee are following best practices. My role on the committee is also to help the group mitigate biases. Although each committee is constructed to have at least one member who is a person of color, the norms for the process and candidate screening are still pretty centered on whiteness and could introduce discrimination at any point. The goal at this time is awareness and mitigation.
What questions should candidates ask you? What is important for them to know about your organization and the position you are hiring for?
About priorities for the job; how will success be measured; questions about working environment; really anything that conveys an interest in our job, not just a job.
Additional Demographics
What part of the world are you in?
√ Southeastern US
What’s your region like?
√ Urban
Is your workplace remote/virtual?
√ Some of the time and/or in some positions
How many staff members are at your organization?
√ 101-200
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Hiring Librarians 