Job search tips from the pros

Earlier this month Adín Palau, a training officer for the UW Office of Human Resources, and Sandra Guthrie, Director of Business Services at Memorial Library, met with students to discuss job searching for librarians from diverse backgrounds. Below is a distillation of their advice by topic area.


Job search

You need to create a brand for your job seeking, with large pools of applicants you need to find a way to stand out (eg. at UW, there were 60 applications for a cataloger position, a position that normally gets many fewer applicants).

Depending on your background, there may be quite a lot of job offers. However, sometimes an employer will assume that everyone will want to hire someone with a diverse background, so no offer is made.

The interview is the last thing you have to take into consideration.

You have to know where you want to go and based on that prepare yourself. Do your homework for each job. Check the institution out.

Make sure your references are prepared, ask them ahead of time.


Resume

You can't be shy with your resume, it is a marketing tool. It needs to catch their interest early on. Have it reviewed by many people. No typos! In academia you can have more info (3 pages), but in other positions you need less. To write an effective resume use power verbs, address the resume to the job. If your resume needs to be longer, make it longer.

Do not just put your background out there. If a job is looking for a diverse individual you have to illustrate your commitment to diversity. Demonstrate your background. You need to augment your application to show commitment.


Cover letter

In your cover letter you need to speak to why would they benefit from hiring you, not about how much you would like the job. Bring up actual experiences, but do not overdo it.

Address the job posting requirements directly. Speak to the requirements in the cover letter. Job postings for academia are very intentional, the words are very carefully chosen.

A portfolio can really help to illustrate what you have done. Especially highlight volunteerism.


Interviews

Question: How are the interviews decided at academic libraries?
Answer: At UW-Madison everything goes through a search committee. They will set up a grid and have certain requirements. If you do not hit the required elements you will immediately be eliminated.

For libraries you need to show intellectual curiosity. Come to the interview with questions that show curiosity. Search and screen committees appreciate these questions. Managers will ask what applicants what they know about the place they are applying, they are looking for this. If you see weak spots at the university highlight those as opportunities to help them.

Treat everyone at your interview well! You don't know how connected they are.

Even when interviewing on the phone you should consider dressing up. It communicates to yourself your attitude.

Libraries do ask behavioral questions: "What would you do in this situation?" type of questions.

Keep positive about prior jobs.

Think about the questions you might be asked ahead of time: what is your greatest weakness? Spin it into a positive on what you are working on improving. Share a story about yourself to illustrate how you are improving yourself.

Why should I hire you? At this point drop the modesty. It is your closing statement.


After the interview

Persistence pays off. If you don't get a job with a place the first time, try again. Sometimes it will take 3 or 4 applications before getting a job.

If you get a personal call, that is a good sign. Stay on good terms for the future even if you do not get the job; maintain the relationship.

Send a thank you note.

Sometimes individuals might be pigeonholed by institutions into certain jobs based on their backgrounds, you should try to get a feeling for this during the interview. However, these situations can often be made into opportunities.

A job is what you bring to it.

Towson University Albert S. Cook Library Residency Librarian Program

Since it is the season when soon-to-be library graduates are looking for jobs (including myself) I thought that I would post some of the employment opportunities I have found focused on promoting diversity, starting with the following:

Towson University Albert S. Cook Library Residency Librarian Program

LAMP Now Accepting Applications for Fellowships and the Summer Institute (April 3 Deadline)

LAMP is now accepting applications for fellowships to prospective students at University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and undergrads interested in learning more about the field of librarianship can apply to attend the Summer Institute. You can find the full announcement here and application form here.

If you have any questions please contact me through the comments link below.

LAMP at ACRL Seattle

Check out LAMP scholar Roy Brooks' blog about his experiences at ACRL Seattle where he is presenting for the UW-Madison General Library System's ISIP program and LAMP.

A Visit to the Potowatomi Cultural Center

On Friday I went up to the Potowatomi reservation with the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums class. It is a good drive from Madison to Forest County, near Crandon in the north of Wisconsin. Most of the trip went pretty smoothly. We did manage to get lost in Rhinelander and learn that Google maps is not always perfect. Our main stop was at the Forest County Potowatomi Cultural Center Library and Museum. We were given a tour by Kim Wensaut, the cultural center's librarian, and Mike Alloway, the cultural center's director. The facility that they have is very new and well-equipped, and the library is an expansion from a much smaller one. In fact, it is new enough that the library still has many empty shelves waiting for books. The collection actually shrank some in the move from the old library to the new because many books that were racist and inaccurate were weeded out. Their current objective is to carefully collect materials that tell the story of the Potowatomi from a Potowatomi perspective and serve the community's needs. The first step down this path was to devise their own system for organizing the materials. In the past year Kim has been hard at work in this task had has created a system that reflects the priorities of the Potowatomi today (at the very beginning under the "A" heading is languge, reflecting their efforts to revive spoken Potowatomi among the people-- this is also reflected in the mural in the library with Potowatomi words for each of the months next to images). The museum adjoining the library is also very modern with multiple interactive video displays highlighting dances, language, and oral histories. It includes high-quality dioramas and artifacts, some on loan from the Milwaukee Public Museum.

The main challenge for the center today is educating the public on the services it provides and developing programming to increase library use. There have already been some successful programs, such as a Summer Creative Writing Workshop and the ongoing Neshnabemwen, or language classes, and it is likely that the community will become more involved as the word gets out about the services the cultural center provides.

Participate in Making Decisions on Campus

This year I have had the opportunity to serve on both the University Library Committee and University Child Care Committee as an Associated Students of Madison (ASM) representative. If you are a student at Madison I highly encourage you to look at the list of committees and apply for one or two. They do not require a large time commitment and they are valuable experiences that let student voices be heard.

Below is an excerpt from the announcement.

Want to help make decisions about campus life instead of reading about them in the paper?

Join the Associated Students of Madison (ASM) Shared Governance Committee – Apply for a standing committee seat for the 2009-2010 academic year!

Another 24 Hour Library on Campus?

The Daily Cardinal student paper reports that ASM, the student governing body, is looking into trying to increase library hours at Steenbock Library. With increased demand for expanded hours and shrinking budgets this could become a difficult issue to address.

Social TLAM

A lot that has happened since my last post (hello new president!). The LAMP, AOF, and international students at SLIS had an end of the year potluck social. We had way too much food since we were the recipients of food that was left over from a retirement party for Dian Bobb just before our event. Too much food is way better than too little, isn't it though? Some other things that are underway as well include planning for the 2009 LAMP Summer Institute and discussions about a Webpage redesign.

Potluck Social Participants

Trying out the different dishes.

The single largest diversity project that I have been involved in lately, however, is an independent study with nine other students (it is ony an "independent study" on paper, since there are ten students, one professor, and two librarians working on this) where we are creating a Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (TLAM) class. Our hope is that this will lay the groundwork for a class that could be offered next year as a regular topics course.Our focus has been on service learning, and one of our achievements already has been applying for a receiving a Kauffmann grant to help pay for trips and activities related to our study. One facet of our class has been to build on work that was done last year by three SLIS students (often referred to as the three Cs: Christina and Cat-- both of whom are in the current class as well-- and Chelsea). They conducted an assesment of the Red Cliff Reservation Community to determine whether it would be feasible to reopen their public library. Hopefully we will be able to help them take those first steps towards getting the doors open again, and eventually help lay a foundation that will lead to an entirely new library, since the existing facilities are inadequate. Other activities for this class have included numerous speakers visiting our class and getting ready to visit the TLAM at Oneida next Friday.

For more about our class experience please check out our class blog. I'll write more here in future as well. If you have any ideas or feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

Catching up: A social, WLA, and what's coming along

Catching up on where I ought to be with this blog . . .

There have been a few developments since the last time I posted. LAMP held its first social at Professor Robbins' house in mid-October. It was a hit, even if my son-- who came with me-- was a little ornery. It was a chicken dinner open to both LAMP and AOF students. We had over ten attendees altogether and everyone agreed that it would be worthwhile to do it again. So, I have to start thinking about that one. The idea of a potluck appeals to me since it is a way for people to express themselves and share a little about who they are while they are at it. Though, students might be too busy to make something.

Picture at WLA, left to right: Omar, Roy, Amani, Kristina, me, and Louise.

I also had the opportunity earlier this November to meet Amani Ayad, who is the backbone holding the LAMP program up, at the Wisconsin Library Association. Prof. Robbins, Amani, a number of LAMP scholars, and I had a lunch at WLA and talked about where the program is and where we are going. One of the primary efforts for LAMP right now is to reapply for funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. While not directly involved, I hope to provide Amani some assistance reviewing the grant narrative.



As for other projects being developed: I will be putting more of a focus on getting some panel discussions put together addressing diversity issues. More on that to come.

Prof. Robbins and I recently found out at a meeting that a small pool of funds may be available to help promote diversity issues at the library school. This might be able to help fund incidental expenses with the panel discussions, and perhaps it could be used to help create connections between librarians and library students. One idea I have to pay students to interview librarians and write up bios on them. This would help facilitate a mentor-like situation and help us promote the diverse backgrounds of existing librarians. In discussions I had with Adin Palau, a human resources diversity officer here, it became clear that the current UW website as it stands now is a poor tool for recruitment. Campus diversity is not well represented, but highlighting the diversity that we so have can be a way to help people imagine themselves working at Madison.

Introducing myself and LAMP

Hello, and thanks for checking out my blog on my involvement with LAMP. For those of you unfamiliar with LAMP (Library and Information Science Access Midwest Program), it is a program promoting and supporting diversity in the field of library and information studies (LIS). LAMP provides financial support to students from diverse backgrounds to enable them to attend a master's degree program in LIS from participating Midwestern universities. LAMP also connects students with mentors working in the field and provides networking support. I suggest checking out the website to learn more (http://www.lisaccess.org/).

I, myself, just started my involvement with LAMP last month. I am not a LAMP scholar, but rather a Project Assistant working to help administer and promote LAMP's objectives at UW-Madison. I am currently a second year student at UW-Madison in the School of Library and Information Studies. I hope one day to work in an academic library when a graduate and help to facilitate cross-cultural communication. Working with LAMP will be a good step in this direction.

My hope for this blog is for it to serve a few roles. First, I would like for it to be a way to help others understand the LAMP program better and how it works. In many ways I am still learning about my position as I go, so you can learn with me. I also hope that this blog can be used by people who might be interested in applying for a LAMP scholarship to learn more about the program and the scholars taking part in it. Along these lines, this blog will probably even be useful to people interested in generally knowing more about the library program at UW-Madison. But also one of the objectives of this blog will be to promote awareness of the existing diversity in libraries and the related issues to think about. I will be working to put together events that highlight topics relating to diversity, and hopefully they will get people talking about the issues (your ideas and suggestions on this count are more than welcome). And lastly, this blog will serve to help me to clarify my ideas about how to go about addressing the needs LAMP is focused on. Sometimes writing about something is a good way to see the progress you have made and where you might want to go.

Issues that I have been looking into lately for LAMP include:

• Funding: LAMP is at the end of a grant cycle and will be applying for a renewal. While I am not directly involved in this process, it will be interesting to see how it plays out, especially in a time of tightening budgets. I have also started to look for some other ways we can augment the funds we already have. One of the best goals I could achieve during my time with LAMP would be to expand the financial resources the Madison library program can direct at increasing diversity.
  
• Promotion: I am looking for local media that might be interested in highlighting the program or diversity issues in libraries.
• Events: This includes events for existing LAMP scholars, events to promote a dialog on diversity and libraries, and events to help promote the program to prospective LAMP applicants. There is a summer institute some months down the road, but there will likely be some other smaller events along the way, including one with the ISIP program for undergraduates, also at UW-Madison.

As these things form you should be able to read about them here. Often there are a number of false starts with projects, so you may find me starting out with something and then changing things as I evaluate their effectiveness. I definitely encourage readers of this blog to post their comments and suggestions. Hearing from you will help me to decide how to go forward. So please don't be shy (I'm fine with criticism, but feel free to be nice ;), like I said I'm learning here. Maybe, if I get my act together, I will even be able to talk others into contributing posts as well.