“It’s also okay if you decide to do something else for a while”
Please 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?
√ More than 18 months
Why are you job hunting?
√ This is the next step after finishing library/archives/other LIS graduate degree,
√ I’m underemployed (not enough hours or overqualified for current position),
√ Looking for a promotion/more responsibility,
√ I want to work with a different population,
√ I want to work at a different type of library/institution
Where do you look for open positions?
LinkedIn, Simmons Jobline, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners jobs postings, specific local libraries’ employment sites, HigherEdJobs
What position level are you looking for?
√ Entry level,
√ Requiring at least two years of experience
What type(s) of organization are you looking in?
√ Public library
What part of the world are you in?
√ Northeastern US
What’s your region like?
√ Urban area
Are you willing/able to move for employment?
√ No
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
public-facing work, professional-level title and equivalent responsibilities, located in or near my community
How many jobs have you applied to during your current search? (Please indicate if it’s an estimate or exact)
48 (exact)
What steps, actions, or attributes are most important for employers to take to sell you on the job?
√ Pay well,
√ Introducing me to staff,
√ 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?
Complete absence of EDI language in listing; listings that include mostly librarian-level work but are presented as para-professional roles
The Process
How much time do you spend preparing an application packet?
3-6 hours
What are the steps you follow to prepare an application packet?
research library, including department structure, major initiatives, and current staff; adjust resume language to create a version that mirrors job posting; adapt the most relevant previous cover letter to fit role; proofread
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
√ Email
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?
The average over my search has been about 75 days, so I guess that’s what I expect at this point. That’s pretty terrible, though.
How do you prepare for interviews?
Researching committee members, department, larger library system, relevant topics, etc. and typing up copious notes. Writing out answers to common questions to find articulate ways to say things (obviously I don’t read the notes in the interview, but writing through things helps me). Making an extensive list of questions that I want to ask. Reading up on recent literature in the field for areas that I have less direct experience with.
What are your most hated interview questions, and why?
“What tools or tricks do you use to stay organized?” – I don’t have many, but I’m still a pretty organized person, so it either comes off like I’m bragging or I haven’t thought about how to organize my work.
During your current search, have you had any of the following experiences:
- Submitted an application and got no response √ Happened more than once
- Had an interview and never heard back √ Not Applicable
- Interviewed for a job where an internal candidate was eventually chosen √ Happened the majority of the time or always
- Asked for an accommodation for a disability √ Not Applicable
- Withdrawn an application before the offer stage √ Happened more than once
- Turned down an offer √ Happened once
If you have ever withdrawn an application, why?
The position wasn’t ideal in the first place, but I really wanted to move on to a new thing. Then during the interviewing process it became clear that it was a bad match.
If you’ve turned down an offer (or offers), why?
It turned out that working with children and young adults was a much larger part of the role than I had anticipated, and while I wasn’t opposed to that, the pay was quite low so those two things combined made me think it wasn’t the right job for me. I kind of regret that now, though.
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:
I applied for a role that was fairly similar to the one I have now, but would have been a professional librarian position (my current role is classified as para-professional) and it was at a different type of library, about halfway between where I am now (academic special collections) and where I’d ideally like to be (public). During the interview, it became clear just how clearly matched my skills from my current role were to the role they were hiring for, and the hiring manager just said “I think you’d be bored in this job. Would you be bored?” I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but that was a weird thing to be asked/try to answer in an interview setting. Also I once went through four rounds of interviews for a job only to have one of the interviewers tell me (in a one-on-one zoom conversation) that I shouldn’t want the job because it would basically crush my spirit. Again, wasn’t wrong, but…how do you respond to that??
What should employers do to make the hiring process better for job hunters?
I know it’s never going to happen, but please, once you’re into final interviews, can you tell the rest of us that we’re out of the game?? Also, way more people should consider providing interview questions in advance, I don’t know why this isn’t normalized. Yes, many types of librarianship require being able to answer questions on the fly, but usually with resources at hand! And in a deeply interactive way! I’m also kind of sick of the idea of being “overqualified”–this is not my first career, I’m coming to it a little older than some others, and yes, I have the degree and some experience, but I can’t even get interviews for assistant/associate jobs, and I have to assume part of that is the assumption of being “overqualified” and/or that it would be a “stepping stone” but it’s really frustrating!
You and Your Well-Being
How are you doing, generally?
√ I’m somewhat depressed,
√ I’m frustrated,
√ I feel alone in my search
What are your job search self-care strategies?
keeping data on the search is helpful for me in terms of feeling informed and managing expectations; existentialism?? idk
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?
This is kind of the worst, and I know that’s not inspiring, but hey, solidarity. It’s also okay if you decide to do something else for a while–I’ve had like three and a half careers and have multiple advanced degrees and I’m still in my thirties, you can broaden your horizons and it’s not the end of the world.
Do you have any comments for Emily (the survey author) or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
I’ve been reading these for so long and the responses are always meaningful, even the ones that seem to have very little in common with my own experiences. I didn’t realize the survey was still open until today, but I’m thrilled to be able to participate! I really appreciate your work on the site (and the podcast!)–thank you for this!
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?)
2022
When did you start your first job search for a “professional” position (or other position that utilized your degree)?
√ After graduating with my MLIS/other LIS degree
In relation to your graduation, when did you find your first “professional” position?
√ Hasn’t happened yet – I’m still looking
What kind of work was your first post-graduation professional position?
√ N/A – hasn’t happened yet
Did you get support from your library school for your first job hunt (and/or any subsequent ones)?
Ha no. I tried working with career services for resume/cover letter review. They gave me one formatting suggestion (which I didn’t take) and told me that my cover letter was “one of the best” they’d seen–I mean, thanks? But it’s not working? So???
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about searching for or finding your first post-graduation position?
See comment about about the “overqualified” paradox. Also switching from one type of library to another is shockingly hard??
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