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The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center |
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The Small World of Librarianship: Be Wary of Taking
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This past April, I joined thousands of other academic librarians for our migration to the biennial Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Minneapolis. Conferences always have fabulous presentations, flashy exhibits and cramped poster sessions, and ACRL was no exception. Most importantly for the new job-seeking librarians, conferences are the backdrop for informal discussions and networking opportunities. Much of the discussion overheard at the 2005 ACRL Conference had to do with the tightening job market for new librarians. When you're looking for a job, everyone has advice for you. I'm here to tell you that there is good advice when it comes to interviewing and job seeking, and then, there is bad advice. Watch What You Say! While mingling and answering questions after my own presentation at ACRL, I overheard one new librarian offering advice to a new graduate who had been on the job market for nearly a year without one job offer. The employed librarian assumed the problem was the unemployed librarian's interviewing skills. So, she enthusiastically offered her some advice. "Go on practice interviews! That's what I did," she exclaimed. As library school students and new librarians, you may have heard this advice before. I’m here to ask you to refrain from this practice. In fact, I’m here to beg and plead with you not to do that. Why? The larger answer, and the point of this piece, is that librarianship is actually a pretty small world. The more immediate response is because we are all struggling in times of budget cuts and fewer job openings. Spending vital resources on candidates that aren't interested in a position is a waste of everyone's time and energy. When you accept an invitation for an on-campus interview, it should be with full faith that you actually – from what you know from your research, possible phone conversations, and the job description – would be willing to take this job. When you are invited for an interview, the interviewing library is doing you the same courtesy. From what we know of you, we think you might be a good fit. It’s a Small World After All As a native Floridian, I am intimately familiar with the Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite rides, ever since childhood, is the "It's a Small World" exhibit. What’s my point? I would like to impress upon everyone that librarianship is a small world too. As proof of this assertion, I’ll offer a few personal examples. I happened to chair a committee of the ALA New Members Round Table last year. Out of the dozens of volunteers for committees, a person was placed on my committee that happened to be interviewing for my previous job. She took the liberty of asking me my thoughts on the place and position. I also attended a work-related program in 2004. My instructor for the program worked at the very first place at which I interviewed right out of library school. I did a presentation this year with a woman who works at another place where I once interviewed. You will repeatedly work with the same people through e-mail and in person; you will bump into people you meet at conferences and during interviewing; and you might even work with people in places where you'd previously interviewed or with people who have the job that you applied for and didn't get. One of the most surprising things to me since becoming a librarian is realizing how small our professional world actually is. I have been fortunate to meet fabulous colleagues along the way and I’ve run into them again and again. I have had contact with librarians informally through listservs who work at the school where I went to graduate school. I once received e-mail from a librarian who was an undergraduate at the institution where I worked. As the next generation of librarians has been warned, those in positions of hiring you and furthering your career can easily search for you on the Internet, find your blog and read your comments. The same advice holds true for your in-person impressions and conversations at national conferences. The Other Side of a Search Committee Treat others in a professional and courteous manner--all of the time. Someday, you might be on a search committee that occupies six or eight months of your life (from job description to hiring) and you want the best fit all around. There is not, however, a library out there that wants to be your practice interview. We’re all in this together, and if we start promoting unethical behavior, we run into the chance of losing the collegiality and mutual respect that actually drew many of us to this profession. I'd like to offer you a view of what an academic library goes through when conducting interviews for open positions. I've tried to make this a general outline and it's not specific to my institution. There is, of course, the initial screening of many applications, followed by meetings and discussion. Then there are usually phone calls, recommendations, and more discussion. After we invite an average of three candidates to campus, we reserve hotel rooms and create information-packed interviewing sessions. This takes a lot of time and money. We often pay for meals, hotel rooms, and staff time to create a day revolving around you and your interview. A day in the life of a search committee member is frantic and, actually, often comical. You need to be on the ball, ready to ask and answer questions at a moment's notice, and actually doing your own job while also being a Search Committee Member. Here's a view of what a day might look like: Librarian picks the candidate up for breakfast at 7:30. They meet in the lobby of candidate’s hotel. Librarian drives candidate to campus at 8:30 and drops candidate off at the front office. Librarian sprints to her office to check his or her e-mail and put personal belongings down, then dashes to the conference room for the first meeting of the search committee with the candidate. Librarian then escorts candidate somewhere at 10:00. Librarian now has two hours to go through four shelves of approval books, answer twenty-five e-mails, read through a final draft of a committee report, and look over notes for a class next week. Noon—time for lunch with the whole search committee! Then, from 1:30-2:30 Miss Librarian again has time to run back to her office, finish planning for said class, consider the candidate, check e-mail again and make photocopies for said class. At 2:30, it’s back on for the search committee for presentations, more meetings, and then a wrap-up in the afternoon. No doubt, interviewing is exhausting for candidates, but it’s also hard on those already working at the library. Even in a Tight Market Ideally, we should all work together for the good of the whole. That is true at the institutional level, outside of the organization, or even within a department. An academic library search committee takes a long time to find the right person to hire because they want to make an investment in that person’s professional future, just as you will be investing in your place of employment. As a professional librarian, you will also undoubtedly make many contacts along the way. You may choose to be involved in a state, regional or national library association and serve on committees. When you apply for jobs, be honest with yourself and the institution. If you do not want to live in Texas, then do not apply for a job there. If you can’t live in cold weather, then Chicago might not be for your cup of tea. Go with your instinct, but the best advice I have to all of the job seekers out there is to read the job description carefully. If someone offered you this job, would you take it? If everything else were perfect, would you be interested? It’s perfectly fine to go out on a limb and apply for a wide variety of positions; just make sure you’re not leading anyone on or playing “practice” with other people’s time and money. If you really feel you have questions or need help preparing for interviews, ask your library school to hold mock interviews or get a group of interested students to do so with you. Your local librarians might even be willing to help out as well. Check out the American Library Association's New Members Round Table Resume Review Service. If you have questions about a job, I highly suggest contacting the institution. Show them that you really are interested! There are also several active listservs that might be able to help you with interviewing questions as well. Conclusion As librarians, you might find yourself in the situation where, right in the middle of an interview or even right at the beginning, you can tell something is not right and this is not the place for you, despite all of your own research. This can happen. I certainly do not mean to insinuate that it wouldn't occur and that everything should always be perfect. Make the best of a disappointing interview and keep going right on to the next interview. Remember, we are all in this together. If you're having problems landing a job, keep trying and do not be discouraged. You happen to be entering an encouraging profession and we will do our best to help you along the way, as long as you do your best to uphold the ethical standards of interviewing. Michelle S. Millet is the Information Literacy Coordinator at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She received her M.L.S. from the University of South Florida in 2001. Check out her website at http://www.trinity.edu/mmillet. Article published July 2005 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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10/03/2005
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