Hi!
Remember the blog Hiring Librarians?
The basic premise was that I created a survey which could be completed anonymously (or not), by anyone who might hire a librarian, in all library types, as well as in non-library organizations that hire information professionals, and then I posted responses to that survey on the blog. You can see what that looked like here.
I stopped posting new content in 2016 because I was working full time and wanted more of my non-working hours for fun things. But now I am transitioning to consulting and have a lot more flexible time. So, I’ve been thinking about starting the blog up again. I’m currently looking at how I might revamp that original survey
So my question for you is:
If you could ask a large number of people who do library hiring some questions, what questions would you ask?
If you’re interested, the questions I asked on the original survey are:
- Do you have any instant dealbreakers, either in the application packet or the interview process?
- What are you tired of seeing on resumes/in cover letters?
- Is there anything that people don’t put on their resumes that you wish they did?
- How many pages should a cover letter be?
- How many pages should a resume/CV be?
- Do you have a preferred format for application documents?
- Should a resume/CV have an Objective statement?
- If applications are emailed, how should the cover letter be submitted?
- What’s the best way to win you over in an interview?
- What are some of the most common mistakes people make in an interview?
- How has hiring changed at your organization since you’ve been in on the process?
- Demographic info (library type, region, size, etc.)
I’m also happy to hear any other feedback you might have. Thanks!
Hiring Librarians 
Does your future blog still plan to limit scope just to the library profession? Records management continues to grow to take advantage of our skill set, if we position ourselves. Keep up the good work!
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Do you prefer a resume or a CV?
Knowledge Management seems to be a good transition career for librarians. What additional skills do I need to make the transition successful.
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Great questions, thanks!
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Thanks! Right now I’m leaning to a general survey that’s mostly library/archives focused, with one-off monthly (weekly?) questions that are more targeted. Someone who hired info professionals for records management could totally fill out the general survey, but I don’t know where to shop it to those people – aren’t they scattered across industries? Or is there a listserv somewhere for people hiring records management folks?
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As you know ARMA is the go-to, initial organization for this. Archives in my opinion, is narrow. Alot of organizations don’t have/can’t afford archives services/operations vs. more likely, records management
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I think you need define for all regular readers the difference between CV and resume. The academic institutions use term, CV alot more. Elsewhere it’s resume, resume, resume. Personally I haven’t heard CV reference and I’ve worked for some large, complex organizations.
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In all frankness, if it isn’t folks like ours with MLIS/MIS training, the information technology just muscle into records management with their own approaches. It’s that simple for the 21st century.
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Thank you for starting this up again! I’m in the process of looking for a new library job so this will be helpful.
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You’re welcome – good luck!
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Thank you!
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