Articles

For Those Who Cannot Relocate

Stephanie Noell, Head Editor, INALJ Texas For Those Who Cannot Relocate As a job hunter, you may have people, blogs, and news articles telling you that you need to relocate to get a job (especially the one you want), but relocation may not be an option for you. You might have family obligations such as taking care…

March 2014 Roundup (INALJ Stats)

5 million total page views reached in March! What a great month!  The big news is we reached over 5 million page views at INALJ.com on 3/30! In addition it was the best month at INALJ.com for all stats! Our busiest day EVER was 20,026 views on 3/24, and our busiest week EVER at 104,475…

Attend Your Local Library Conferences!

by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Attend Your Local Library Conferences! In mid March, I attended the North Carolina Serials Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I had heard of this conference, but had never attended until this year. As I sat through various sessions on serials assessment, I began to think about why I hadn’t…

Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview

by Rossy Mendez, Head Editor, INALJ Puerto Rico Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview When I found out my interview was going to be a video chat on Skype I was both horrified and relieved. Knowing my tendency to have clammy hands and a voice that changes pitch five times in the course of a minute, I was…

The Learning Curve

by Heidi Greathouse, Head Editor, INALJ Utah The Learning Curve Since my last post, I accepted a job as a Cataloging Librarian at an academic library. I’ve had to make many adjustments such as moving to a different state, making new friends, and being in a new environment. One major adjustment is of course the job I am…

Spring Clean your Resume

by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Spring Clean your Resume Spring has finally sprung! With it, we all have our spring rituals—going back outside every day without being bundled, spring vacation, cookouts, and spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is probably the least favorite, at least for those who have to do most of it, but it is…

To Business Card or Not to Business Card

by Jennifer Devine, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland To Business Card or Not to Business Card With the Spring Conference season upon us I have been contemplating the relevance of business cards. In this world of technology you no longer have to write a phone number down on a piece of paper to remember it. You can easily…

5 Million page views!!!

by Naomi House, MLIS 5 Million page views!!! Today at Noon Central time we hit the 5,000,000 page view mark!  We have had a remarkable month hitting new ‘bests’: best day ever, best week ever, best month ever and now also hitting 5 million before the end of the month.  I want to thank all…

Academic Library Job Applications – What to Expect in the UK

by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Head Editor, INALJ UK Academic Library Job Applications – What to Expect in the UK Many library jobs are posted through universities or colleges in the UK. Many of these jobs require applications rather than a CV/resume submission. So how can we make sure that our applications stand out? Let’s look at what the…

Combating satisficing through relevance: Facebook, Reddit, and beyond

by Clayton Hayes, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Combating satisficing through relevance: Facebook, Reddit, and beyond The increased availability of information online has presented information seekers with an often overwhelming array of sources to choose from. This (along with other factors) has led to a growing concern in the academic world with satisficing. Satisficing, put briefly, is the…

5 Ways to Manage Your Emotions During the Job Hunt

by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 6/11/13 Soft Skills = Success: 5 Ways to Manage Your Emotions During the Job Hunt This is the fourth in a series of articles on soft skills. Job hunting is a stressful time – the effort you put into applications, the uncertainty of not-knowing when/if…

9 Ways to Brand Yourself

by Sandra Hoyer, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington previously published 5/9/13 9 Ways to Brand Yourself: A Few Thoughts on Personal Branding and Standing Out Having survived the last year in the Washington, D.C. area in a large library, I spent much of that time absorbing and writing down what makes people successful in the…

Applying for jobs isn’t fun

by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana previously published 3/5/13 Applying for jobs isn’t fun Applying for jobs isn’t fun. Everyone has advice to give that supersedes what everyone else has to say about finding a job. And there’s the stress of filling out applications and waiting. And then, even worse than the “We’re Sorry”…

Elevating your Elevator Speech

by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire previously published 5/21/13 Elevating your Elevator Speech We’ve all been told, at one time or another, that we need to perfect our elevator speech. The very name makes you think of something out of Mad Men– a chance encounter that leads to a pitch that leads to…

The Importance of Saying Yes: My Job Hunt Story

by Sheela Sur, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published on 3/25/13 The Importance of Saying Yes: My Job Hunt Story After our first round of INALJ Head Editor articles were posted, I believe Kristen Jaques’s  (INALJ Maine Head Editor) “What I Learned During My Two and a Half Years on the Job Market”…

Zen and the Art of Unemployment-or-Catcher in the Wry

by John Jay Miller, librarian Zen and the Art of Unemployment-or-Catcher in the Wry February 3, 2014 Dear reader: “I am a sick man… I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man”. It is 2:00AM on a Tuesday and I am unemployed. I have applied for over 70 jobs and remain unemployed after…

Why Big Data Matters to Libraries

by Christina Wilson, Head Editor of INALJ Alberta and INALJ Manitoba Why Big Data Matters to Libraries Earlier this week I attended a lecture at Red Deer College as part of their “Perspectives on the World” series. I was invited to represent Red Deer Public Library, a co-sponsor of the series. The topic was “Big Data” and the engaging…

We Built a Community (on the rocky sea)

by Naomi House, MLIS We Built a Community (on the rocky sea) Community building can happen at unexpected times and in unexpected ways. I was a breakout speaker at OCLC EMEA‘s regional conference in Cape Town, South Africa on February 24.  I was speaking in a session called “We Built a Community” and the day…

Low-Cost Emerging Tech Tools for Librarians

by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Low-Cost Emerging Tech Tools for Librarians Emerging technologies are inseparable from librarianship, especially when it comes to instruction and reference in an academic library. Sometimes acquiring certain tools can be difficult due to their expense; thankfully, there are lots of free and low-cost tools that librarians can use to…

The Union and You: A Primer

by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia The Union and You: A Primer Most library jobs are unionized. What does this mean for the library job seeker? It certainly seems like it can make the job search harder in an already unforgiving economy. However, there are definite perks to landing a union job. Now, some people are…

Soft Skills = Success: Self Awareness

by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania Soft Skills = Success: Self-Awareness  This is the second in a series of articles on soft skills. Employers are looking for soft skills in their in prospective employees and having these skills often makes the difference between who can do a job and who gets a job. Since…

On Being a Good Mentee

by Ashley Crace, former Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia On Being a Good Mentee A mentor’s expertise is priceless.  During graduate school, your job search, or your first years as a librarian or information professional a mentor can provide vital guidance and support.  Mentors may be found among professors, internship or volunteer supervisors, colleagues, and…