Katherine Clemens writes “Here are the “notes” from the Roundtable that my Dean, Sherrie Schmidt, and
I facilitated at the ACRL Conference several weeks ago. Many thanks to Emily
Rogers, a MSLIS student at University of Illinois, for compiling these.
Emily also participated in an excellent panel presentation at the meeting on Recruitment and Retention of New Academic Librarians.
I hope you find these notes useful. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Katherine Clemens writes “Here are the “notes” from the Roundtable that my Dean, Sherrie Schmidt, and
I facilitated at the ACRL Conference several weeks ago. Many thanks to Emily
Rogers, a MSLIS student at University of Illinois, for compiling these.
Emily also participated in an excellent panel presentation at the meeting on Recruitment and Retention of New Academic Librarians.
I hope you find these notes useful. Please contact me if you have any questions.Converging Different Points of View about Hiring Processes in Academic
Libraries: A Discussion with Next Gen and ‘Seasoned’ Librarians” Roundtable
Session, ACRL National Conference, Minneapolis Saturday, April 9, 2005
Facilitated by Katherine Clemens and Sherrie Schmidt, Arizona State
University Libraries Notes by Emily Rogers, University of Illinois MSLIS
Student
This roundtable discussion featured a number of librarians who make
recruiting and hiring decisions at their libraries, several “new”
librarians, and several recent or near graduates actively seeking jobs or
looking ahead to a job search within the next year.
As a current MSLIS student, I (Emily Rogers) took notes about issues current
and recent job-seekers have confronted as well as tips offered by deans,
directors, and human resources librarians. I offer them here in a Q&A
format, cumulative and anonymous:
Q1: Why do so many job advertisements sound as though they’re seeking
someone who can do EVERYTHING?
A1: A library has to hire a candidate who fits within the job description.
Therefore, a broad job description, especially in regard to preferred
qualifications, lets the library justify considering a broad range of
candidates. Affirmative action policies require a library to comply with the
job requirements in hiring, so preferred qualifications allow a library to
state qualities the library wants but still consider someone who meets the
requirements but doesn’t have all the preferred qualifications.
Q2: Sometimes there’s a position that I seem perfect for, but I don’t even
get a nibble, and then I see the search extended a few months later. What
happened? Should I reapply?
A2: One possibility: Applicants who are currently in MS. programs should
keep in mind that most jobs require the MS in hand by the start date; i.e.,
if you won’t have the MS in hand until mid-August, you can’t be hired for a
stated July 15 start date, even if you’re otherwise well-suited for the job.
Once it was clear you didn’t qualify, the review process probably stopped
there. The same thing might have happened if you didn’t have enough years of
experience for the position. If you now fulfill the requirements, then it
doesn’t hurt to reapply (unless you’ve received word otherwise).
Q3: Academic libraries often include wording about “demonstrated ability to
publish in accordance with tenure requirements.” How can I demonstrate that
if I’m early in my career or still in the MS program?
A3: Even without a publication in hand, you can show your capabilities by
being professionally active. Show awareness of current scholarship in your
area. Poster sessions at conferences show your commitment to research, even
if you’re not yet to the publication stage. An electronic portfolio on the
Web is a great way to show your work. Be prepared to talk about research
you’d like to pursue in the future. Sell yourself as a good investment;
libraries want to hire librarians who will be successful in the tenure
process. Show that you’re creative, innovative, a decision-maker; you can
draw on other experiences besides librarianship to help make your case.
Q4: What can I do to help my letter of application and r?sum? gain better
attention?
A4: Make sure you’ve tailored your letter to the specific job and
institution, not merely sent in a one-size-fits-all letter. Demonstrate in
that letter how you fit that particular job, rather than just reciting your
education and experience, or why you want the job. There’s no excuse for
typos. Some committees don’t want to see your courses listed on your r?sum?,
especially if they’ve requested transcripts. Most assume you as a librarian
have basic skills such as MS Word and e-mail, so you don’t need to repeat
them on the r?sum?.
Q5: What should I be prepared for when I visit a campus to interview?
A5: Libraries want to hire people who’ll succeed there. Librarians who
make hiring decisions want to see how you’ll fit within the library and the
larger academic community, so be sure to do your research and gain
familiarity with the school and library. Be prepared to give a sense of your
expected career trajectory: how you want to move up; how you want to
contribute to the library’s (and institution’s) mission in the future. Be
honest about yourself and your expectations; no one benefits if the job is a
bad fit in ways that could have been foreseen if you’d represented yourself
honestly.
Know the members of the search committee and their positions and specialties
ahead of time. It’s impressive to be able to say a little about search
members’ fields as well as your own specialty. Know the library’s strengths.
Be prepared to offer genuine compliments and even suggestions on the
library’s web site. Practice using the library’s OPAC ahead of time.
If you’re to give a presentation during your visit, practice it ahead of
time. You can’t practice it too much, especially in different settings; try
to imagine dealing with emergencies. Even if you’re not applying for a
public services position, the committee will still want to see how you’ll
represent the library at conferences, to the rest of the university, in the
community. Don’t hold onto or hug the podium; touch it now and then for
balance. Several hirers said they’d seen several recent presentations that
were quite successful without using Powerpoint.
You’ll probably meet with different people throughout the day, so think
ahead and be consistent in your answers. Your interviewers will notice
inconsistent answers when they discuss you later, and they will compare
notes.
Some interviewers like behavioral interviewing techniques: “How have you
behaved in the past when you’ve encountered this type of problem?” “What’s
an instance when you’ve dealt with conflict, and how did you contribute to
resolving it?”
Some questions you can almost predict: “Why do you want this position?”
“What drew you to librarianship?” “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
Be honest, but try to avoid boring answers (not just “a love of reading”).
Don’t beat up on your current institution! Not even if you’re encouraged to!
One director admitted that she liked to schedule her own meeting with a
candidate at the end of the visit in order to check the fatigue level. True,
interviews are stressful and exhausting, but she still hopes to see some
enthusiasm and upright posture by the day’s end. Several like to know how
the candidate’s perceptions of the position or the library have changed by
the end of the visit.
Be prepared to ask questions as well; it’s a way to show that you’re
curious, interested, and observant. “What’s a typical day like in this job?”
“What role does this position play in fundraising?” “What’s the person who
last held this job doing now?”
Q6: What should I do after the visit?
A6: Write an email or a letter thanking every member of the search
committee.
Q7: What are they (the recruiters/hirers) really looking for?
A7: Creativity. Enthusiasm. The ability to collaborate and work with other
staff and with faculty and students. Adaptability. Interpersonal skills.
Leadership potential. Intelligence. Curiosity.
Q8: What’s negotiable, and what should I be sure to ask?
A8: Sometimes salary is negotiable, but often not. More likely to be
negotiable: funding and/or leave time for professional development,
conference travel, and moving expenses.
Ask when the next pay increase will come, and if you’ll be eligible for it
(if you’re hired in March and cost-of-living increases occur in July, be
sure you don’t have to wait for the next July to be eligible).
Ask how the hiring date affects your status, tenure, and/or performance
reviews. If you’re hired mid-year, how does that factor in when you’re up
for tenure?
Good luck!
Questions about this roundtable? E-mail [email protected] Questions
about these notes? E-mail [email protected]”
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