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Top of the Heap or Bottom of the (Trash) Barrel?
Tips for Job Applicants
by
Beatrice L. McKay, Trinity University,
and
Clare Dunkle, Trinity University
[reprinted by permission from
NMRT Footnotes,
v.22, no.2, January 1993] |
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The job market is looking tight -- or hadn't you
noticed? When applications flood in,
reviewers must make a first cut, and it is often a deep one. Perhaps
over a hundred people have applied for the job but only a handful will
be interviewed. Your cover letter and resume must stand out from among
the many for serious consideration.
The following DOs and DON'Ts suggest ways to leap
over the hurdle of this tough first cut.
Cover Letter Do's:
- Because people have varying levels of
sensitivity, tend toward reserve and respect rather than humor or
familiarity in your writing.
- Write short, clearly focused paragraphs and be
brief in general.
- Explain why the job and/or location interests
you.
- Tie your professional experience to the primary
job duties as announces. Keep it concise. Use the resume to flesh out
your qualifications.
- Use the correct forms of address for the person
to whom the letter is directed: Dr., Ms., Mr., etc. Consult the
Directory of Library and Information Professionals or call the
library in question, and ask.
- Apply for only one position if the library has
several open. Otherwise, you may appear directionless.
- If you do apply for more than one position,
apply for each separately, tailoring the cover letter and resume to
each.
Cover Letter Don'ts
- Don't be too casual, familiar, anecdotal or
aggressive. This shows a lack of respect for the audience and the
institution.
- Avoid easy generalizations that may strike more
experienced librarians as empty-headed.
- Don't go into detail about your current
institution's practices unless they supply specific information about
your qualifications for the position.
- Don't use words with negative connotations; for
instance, write "some speaking knowledge of Chinese" instead of
"limited speaking knowledge of Chinese."
- Avoid using inaccurate terminology; for
example, "online searching of CD-ROM products."
- Don't mention irrelevant skills; you may appear
snobbish or aimless. For instance, a cataloger need only indicate that
she reads Chinese; speaking ability is probably irrelevant.
- Don't discuss spouse, children or other
domestic arrangements unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Including such information weakens the impression of professionalism
which you are seeking to convey.
- Don't ask for further information about the
library, the university or the city. If you want more information, do
the work yourself.
- Don't use "cute" signatures.
Resume Do's
- Include all professional experience pertaining
to the announced job requirements. Omit irrelevant experience unless
it is particularly impressive in a general sense.
- When considering the layout of your resume,
think of it being read quickly. Try skimming it to see if the most
important elements stand out. Some search committees must read many
resumes, and while they try to give each full attention, they will be
more pleased to read yours if it is organized and attractive.
- Explain why persons listed as references are
qualified to discuss your skills.
- Address anything in your work history which
could trigger a question. Your reader won't simply overlook such
things as frequent or very regular moves, unexplained gaps or long
periods of seemingly unrelated employment.
- List all publications, even if your
publications are all in areas outside librarianship. It shows you
can publish.
- Use consistent, clear citation style for
publications.
Resume Don'ts
- Don't allow your resume's layout to obscure
pertinent information. Tailor it to the position. Your reader is
probably using a checklist based on the announced qualifications:
every relevant item you exclude will result in a negative mark on the
checklist.
- Don't use obscure abbreviations and acronyms;
for example, foreign university degrees.
- Don't use artsy letterhead.
- Don't make it massive. An eight-page resume is
too long.
- Don't list each committee membership or
internship separately. Instead, put all under the heading of the
particular division or organization.
- Don't list every workshop or seminar ever
attended. Omit those irrelevant to the position for which you are
applying.
- Don't include a "family status" section. Of
importance is your professional, not personal life.
- Don't include a "hobbies" section. You risk
being stereotyped or alienating your reader, whose personal interests
may run counter to your own.
Finally, it goes without saying that you must keep
your entire application free of spelling, punctuation and usage errors.
Don't rely exclusively on your word processor's spell checker for
proofreading; it misses mistakes such as there/their and
though/through/thorough. James M. Hillard related a pointed anecdote to
illustrate the importance of this tip in a recent article in American
Libraries (October 1981, p. 559): "Once I spoke to a young person
whose job application had some of these same faults, telling her that
the time taken to prepare a neat-appearing vita sheet would be
well-spent. Her indignant reply was that she was applying for a
"professional" position, not one as a clerk typist; she was considered
for neither."
Disclaimer: The
ideas expressed in LIScareer articles are those of their respective
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the LIScareer
editors.
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