Winter Reruns: “After 14 years as a librarian, I honestly don’t recommend librarianship to anyone anymore.”
After taking a few months off, I’ve decided to sunset this project. I’m finishing up my scheduled selection of Hiring Librarians’ greatest hits and most reviled posts, and then will stop updating in late February/early March. Thanks so much for reading!
This survey response was submitted on February 6, 2023 and the post originally ran on June 9, 2023. It’s fairly high up in my “most viewed of all time” list, especially for a more recent post. I think perhaps it’s the quote I pulled for the title; many of the most-viewed posts express some form of library doomsaying – librarianship is dead, we’re tired, things aren’t what they used to be, etc.
Walton LaVonda, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsPlease note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest.
Your Demographics and Search Parameters
How long have you been job hunting?
√ Less than six months
Why are you job hunting?
√ Looking for more money
√ Because I reassessed my priorities after COVID
√ Other: Looking to possibly get out of librarianship
Where do you look for open positions?
Indeed, ALA jobs, CCC registry, friends
What position level are you looking for?
√ Other: Something that pays better than librarianship
What type(s) of organization are you looking in?
√ Other: Maybe higher ed (but not a library) or an organization or company or work from home
What part of the world are you in?
√ Western US (including Pacific Northwest)
What’s your region like?
√ Urban area
√ Suburban area
Are you willing/able to move for employment?
√ No
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Flexibility, work from home, better pay
How many jobs have you applied to during your current search? (Please indicate if it’s an estimate or exact)
None. I’m willing to go to a community college library but nothing open. All other jobs are entry level and pay is very low. No good jobs to apply to.
What steps, actions, or attributes are most important for employers to take to sell you on the job?
√ Pay well
√ Having (and describing) excellent benefits
√ Funding professional development
√ Prioritizing EDI work
√ Prioritizing work-life balance
Do you expect to see the salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Yes, and it’s a red flag when it’s not
Other than not listing a salary range, are there other “red flags” that would prevent you from applying to a job?
Jobs that say you may need to work overtime often
The Process
How much time do you spend preparing an application packet?
2-5 hours: the cover letters take a while and having to repeat my resume on an online application is a time waster.
What are the steps you follow to prepare an application packet?
Carve out time to do it
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
√ Phone for good news, email for bad news
When would you like potential employers to contact you?
√ To acknowledge my application
√ To tell me if the search is at the interview stage, even if I have not been selected
√ Once the position has been filled, even if it’s not me
How long do you expect an organization’s application process to take, from the point you submit your documents to the point of either an offer or rejection?
Depends on the institution but academics take months. Took 6 months from application to hire in my current job.
How do you prepare for interviews?
Review questions, review position description
What are your most hated interview questions, and why?
Why do you want this job? (Because I need money. It’s like jobs want you to tell them that it’s your dream to work for them. I need money to live)
What are your strengths and weaknesses? (Again, we all know they want a weakness and how we make it a strength).
During your current search, have you had any of the following experiences:
- Submitted an application and got no response √ Happened the majority of the time or always
- Had an interview and never heard back √ Happened more than once
- Interviewed for a job where an internal candidate was eventually chosen √ Happened more than once
- Asked for an accommodation for a disability √ Not Applicable
- Withdrawn an application before the offer stage √ Not Applicable
- Turned down an offer √ Happened once
If you want to share a great, inspirational, funny, horrific or other story about an experience you have had at any stage in the hiring process, please do so here:
Haha! The whole process of applying and interviewing is a joke. Applications are repetitive and waste time. The actual interviews are awful most of the time. People are not welcoming and a whole day interview for an academic librarian job is just unnecessary. Stop acting like jobs are sacred. It’s a job! Hire the person that can do it and don’t take 6 months. People need jobs asap. If a job doesn’t post the salary I no longer consider it. Low ball offers are a waste of time.
What should employers do to make the hiring process better for job hunters?
Actually respond to people, add a decent salary, make the interviews less than 1 hour, be friendly and inviting, answer questions honestly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve actually gotten to a second interview and then heard nothing. I’ve learned about not getting the job by seeing LinkedIn postings of people sharing their new jobs. HR depts need to do better.
You and Your Well-Being
How are you doing, generally?
√ I’m frustrated
What are your job search self-care strategies?
I only apply to jobs worth my time now. No more jobs with no salary posted or jobs that list everything under the sun with low pay.
Do you have any advice or words of support you’d like to share with other job hunters, is there anything you’d like to say to employers, or is there anything else you’d like to say about job hunting?
Don’t give up and only apply to jobs worth your time. Something great will come along, whether it’s a library job or not.
Do you have any comments for Emily (the survey author) or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
Maybe add questions about salary (like what do you make and what should you be making and how long you’ve been in libraries), are you looking for jobs other than library jobs, are you thinking of leaving librarianship. After 14 years as a librarian, I honestly don’t recommend librarianship to anyone anymore. It’s low pay, people don’t respect us, and there are no jobs. Ask about the kind/type of library jobs they’re looking for.
Job Hunting Post Graduate School
If you have an MLIS or other graduate level degree in a LIS field, what year did you graduate? (Or what year do you anticipate graduating?)
Got my MLIS in 2009
When did you start your first job search for a “professional” position (or other position that utilized your degree)?
√ Six months before graduating with my MLIS/other LIS degree
In relation to your graduation, when did you find your first “professional” position?
√ I was actually hired before I graduated
What kind of work was your first post-graduation professional position?
√ Full Time
Did you get support from your library school for your first job hunt (and/or any subsequent ones)?
Nope! Library’s school did nothing.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about searching for or finding your first post-graduation position?
I started my search about 3-4 months before graduation and was lucky to start a month before my graduation. Unfortunately, I was laid off a year later. Only reason I feel I got lucky was because I had been working in libraries PT before I graduated so I had some experience. My advice: don’t get a non-librarian job once you get the degree. Only apply to librarian jobs.
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Hiring Librarians
