Hey, a new survey!

Jill from Librarian Hire Fashion and I have put together a new survey seeking the opinions of hiring managers on what candidates should wear.

We started putting the word out on Tuesday, September 4th, and so many people have responded!  As of Sunday, September 9th, 154 people had taken the survey!  That’s more than the 146 responses I’ve gotten for the original survey, which has been up for about six months.  So far an overwhelming majority of them have been Academic, probably because the request for participation on the collib-l listserv went up on Tuesday, and the publib post didn’t go up until Friday.

So, if you know people who hire for archives, school libraries, special libraries, and public libraries, please invite them to take the survey!  (Please do share with people who hire Academic librarians too of course, we’re just more in need of those other groups.)

Thank you in advance for spreading the word, and thank you, thank you, thank you, to the people who have already responded.

First, a Word about the Survey

This survey is much heavier on the closed-ended questions.  Hopefully, this Stats and Graphs post will introduce you to the survey, and as I post individual responses later on the context of their answers will be clearer.  You can of course click in and look through this survey, or the original, without having to respond, at the links on the Participate page.

You may notice, as one respondent did, we’re big Ask a Manager fans.  One of the questions is inspired by The Great Pantyhose Debate of 2010 and caused one respondent to ask:

is this a serious question?

It is.  Deadly serious.

I hope that the answers will help as you stand in front of your closet trying to decide on the outfit you will wear to the occasion that may just TOTALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE!  However, I’d like to reiterate that this project isn’t precisely scientific, and you should feel free to disregard any of the results you disagree with.  As one respondent pointed out:

You should have someone vet this survey. The response are poorly articulated and are biased by the overly casual and poor attempts at humor. Survey response should not be jokey. I feel like you were wearing flip flops when you wrote it.

Incidentally, we did actually have friends and library contacts vet the survey, but didn’t always take their advice.  My sister, who blogs about gender and workplace bias in her blog Bay Area Actor, pointed out that the questions are more focused on women, but this was not corrected.  Partly because there are more women librarians, and partly because the survey was pretty long already without adding in questions about neckties.

I’m sorry, manbrarians.  A lot of the survey is still relevant to you, just not all of it.

RESULTS!

Anyway, enough rambling.  On to the stats and graphs!

Just to reiterate that the majority of respondents are academic librarians, who may or may not have more formal standards of dress, I’m going to share the demographics of respondents first.

Also to mention, I’m using Google forms, and the charts it generates cut off some of the answer choices.  However, it takes a while to do a post like this, and even longer to make it prettier in Excel, so I’ll ask you to please just excuse how sloppy it looks.  This is a labor of love, and I’m a busy lady.

Demographics

What type of institution do you hire for?

Academic Library		105	68%
Public Library		42	27%
School Library		0	0%
Special Library		3	2%
Archives		0	0%
Other		4	3%

Where are you?

Northeastern US		41	27%
Midwestern US		35	23%
Southern US		42	27%
Western US		21	14%
Canada		5	3%
UK		5	3%
Australia/New Zealand		1	1%
Other		4	3%

Where are you?

Urban area		42	27%
Suburban area		38	25%
City/town		53	34%
Rural area		19	12%
Other		2	1%

How many staff members are at your library?

0-10		35	23%
10-50		80	52%
50-100		17	11%
100-200		11	7%
200+		10	6%

Are you a librarian?

Yes		145	94%
No		4	3%
It’s complicated		5	3%

Are you now or have you ever been:

a hiring manager(hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise)		105	69%
a member of a hiring or search committee		131	86%
human resources		6	4%
Other		5	3%

What Candidates Should Wear

Should the candidate wear a suit to the interview?

Yes, absolutely! It shows respect and professionalism		23	15%
Probably, yes (but it’s ok if the candidate wears somethinga little less formal)		88	57%
Probably not (but it’s ok if the candidate does wear one)		23	15%
No way! It shows a lack of understanding about my libraryand/or the nature of librarianship		1	1%
I don’t care		8	5%
Other		11	7%

An outfit with a coordinated blazer and trousers:

Counts as a suit		113	73%
Is totally different		16	10%
I do not know and/or care		19	12%
Other		6	4%

Bare arms are inappropriate in an interview, even in the summer.

True		58	38%
False		47	31%
I don’t care		27	18%
Other		22	14%

If a woman wears a skirt to an interview, should she also wear pantyhose?

Never, pantyhose is for my grandmother		7	5%
No, but it’s not a dealbreaker		55	36%
Either pantyhose or tights. Bare legs are inappropriate		30	19%
Yes, true professionals always wear pantyhose		5	3%
Other		57	37%

Women should wear make-up to an interview:

Always		7	5%
I don’t care, as long as it’s not over-the-top		63	41%
I don’t care what’s on the face, it’s what’sin the brain that counts		69	45%
Never		0	0%
Other		15	10%

Do you expect different levels of formality of dress, depending on the position you’re hiring for?

Yes, the higher the position, the moreformal I expect the candidate to dress		118	77%
No		24	16%
I don’t care		7	5%
Other		5	3%

Which jewelry may candidates wear:

Single, simple necklace, bracelet, and/or ring		113	74%
A few simple necklaces, bracelets, and/or rings		118	78%
All of the simple necklaces, bracelets, and rings heor she can load on		27	18%
Arty or more elaborate necklaces, bracelets, or rings		88	58%
Nose Ring (nostril)		55	36%
Eyebrow Ring, Monroe piercing, septum piercing,or other face piercing		42	28%
Earrings		119	78%
Multiple Ear Piercings		90	59%
Large gauge ear jewelry (stretched ears)		34	22%
Other		51	34%

Which hair colors are acceptable for candidates:

All of them, even pink		87	56%
Natural colors (black, brown, red, blonde, gray)		48	31%
Other		19	12%

The way a candidate dresses should:

Show personality		32	21%
Be fairly neutral		63	41%
I don’t really care how a candidate dresses		18	12%
Other		41	27%

What the Library Wears

On a scale of  1 to 5, where one is too dressed up for your workplace, khakis and a polo shirt are:

1 –	Too dressed up for my workplace	1	1%
2		2	1%
3		116	75%
4		20	13%
5 –	Too casual for my workplace	8	5%

What’s the dress code at your library/organization?

Business formal		4	3%
Business casual		88	57%
Casual		31	20%
I don’t even know what any of that means		2	1%
Other		29	19%

Are there any specific items of clothing, etc. that are forbidden by your dress code?

Jeans		38	27%
Flip flops		58	41%
Visible Tattoos		16	11%
Short skirts/shorts		52	37%
Tank tops		53	37%
Logos/band insignia/slogans		46	32%
Sneakers/trainers		21	15%
N/A: We wear what we want!		38	27%
Other		87	61%

Librarians at your organization wear:

Name tags		66	64%
Badges		22	21%
Uniforms		1	1%
Shirt, waistcoat/vest, or other single pieceof clothing issued by the library		3	3%
Other		40	39%

When I start posting individual responses, you’ll see how the respondent answered each of these questions, as well as the following open-ended questions:

• Is there anything a candidate might wear that would cause them to be instantly out of the running? If you have any funny stories about horrifying interview outfits, we’d love to hear them.
• Can you share any stories about how a candidate nailed the proper interview outfit, especially if your organization does not expect suits?
• How does what a candidate wears affect your hiring decision?
• How do you dress when you are going to conduct an interview?
• Do you have any comments, or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?

If you have questions, comments or concerns, we’d love to hear them. You can either comment below, or email hiringlibrariansATgmail.

Thank you again, to all the respondents, and thank YOU for reading!