Tag Archive for tips

Optimizing Your Time: 8 Articles to Help

By Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor “You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.” -Stephen Covey Optimizing Your Time: 8…

Fun for all that librarians call their favorite time of year!

By Kate Kosturski, MLSIS, Canada and International INALJ Volunteer Coordinator Fun for all that librarians call their favorite time of year!   (Now you have the song from A Charlie Brown Christmas stuck in your head.   Sorry about that.  Okay, maybe not ) Much like the Golden Globes kick off the film awards season, January…

Ten Conference Tips for a First Timer

by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 2/21/14 Ten Conference Tips for a First Timer Last weekend, I went to my first big library conference, ALA Mid-Winter in Philadelphia, PA. I was very nervous and jittery going into this conference. It was my first conference, and I went by myself since my other librarian friends had…

Luck Is the Residue of Design

by Claire Schmieder, Senior Editor, INALJ NYC, INALJ New York State, and INALJ Texas Luck Is the Residue of Design Branch Rickey began his Major League Baseball career with the St. Louis Browns and the New York Highlanders in the early 1900s. He wasn’t a strong player and quickly left the MLB to attend college at the…

How to Avoid HR’s Wall of Shame. Job Application Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs (advice from non-library HR pros)

by Josh Rimmer, Senior Editor, INALJ Missouri, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana How to Avoid HR’s Wall of Shame. Job Application Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs  (advice from non-library HR pros) Definitively not a prestigious accomplishment to include on your resume, but mistakes do happen. Did you come across an ideal job opportunity and…

Five Tips for Interviewing Candidates Who Use a Wheelchair

by Leigh Milligan, Senior Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee Five Tips for Interviewing Candidates Who Use a Wheelchair In September I wrote the blog, Five Tips on Going on an Interview in A Wheelchair. The blog actually was a success, and I received some very positive feedback. One of…

Starting your Job Search

by Jennifer Devine, Senior Assistant, INALJ Maryland Starting your Job Search The beginning of your job search can seem daunting. What should you be doing? Where do you start? Well if you’re reading this you’ve found INALJ! *Pat your self on the back* you’ve discovered a great resource. We list jobs by states and provinces’ and provide…

Make a Lasting Impression in Your Exit Interview

by Ashley Mancill, Senior Assistant, INALJ Alabama Make a Lasting Impression in Your Exit Interview Most companies and organizations conduct exit interviews as a way of obtaining feedback that will (ideally) help improve the workplace and employee retention. From an employee’s perspective, this type of interview can be time-consuming (especially if scheduled close to the employee’s departure), cause uneasiness…

The Top 4 Ways to deal with new administration

by Jennifer Stevenson, Assistant, INALJ Illinois The Top 4 Ways to deal with new administration I have been a librarian for ten and a half years, during this time I have worked in both public and school library settings. I have devoted a decent amount of time tomy chosen field. During my career, I have encountered many…

5 Tips to Surviving (Institutional) Change

by Naomi Gonzales, Senior Assistant, INALJ Virginia 5 Tips to Surviving (Institutional) Change Recently, the institution I’m affiliated with underwent some organizational changes. It was a difficult few months for me, but I learned some valuable things along the way. The following are some survival tips for those of you dealing with a difficult work situation: 1)…

Librarians Against Bullying!

by Whitney Zahar, Senior Assistant, INALJ Pennsylvania Librarians Against Bullying! First, I want to open with a little personal story. During my elementary and middle school years back in the 80’s and 90’s, I was bullied frequently by my classmates. It was mostly emotional and psychological bullying; I was teased, ostracized, and manipulated for nearly 7 years. I’ll…

Job searching self-love – the food edition

by Holly Boyer, Senior Editor, INALJ Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia  Job searching self-love – the food edition So, you’re searching for a job or going through some kind of stressful period in your life or maybe you’re just busy. Eating right and regularly is so important for staying healthy and energized and ready for next interview.…

Interview Shopping for Every Budget

by Amelia Zavala Vander Heide ,Senior Editor, INALJ Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virtual Work Interview Shopping for Every Budget Whether it is for the big interview or the first day of work, buying the right clothing can be difficult and hard on the budget. I believe that every interviewee should have a few essentials in their closet: a…

Five Tips on Going on an Interview in a Wheelchair

by Leigh Milligan, Senior Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee Five Tips on Going on an Interview in a Wheelchair I work in an accessible library in a rehabilitation hospital that caters specifically to patrons in wheelchairs. Most of these patients suffer from spinal cord injury, brain injury or amputation. Some…

9 Tips for Getting Back to Work!

by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware 9 Tips for Getting Back to Work! This is a very exciting time for me as I plan my transition back to the field of librarianship. Leaving my dream job as an archivist in a museum library was a difficult decision for me:…

Good Questions to ask Interviewers

by Lauren Bourdages, Senior Assistant, INALJ Ontario Good Questions to ask Interviewers Some of you probably already know that I recently ended my job search by getting hired. I’m now in my first full time position in the industry as a Reserves and User Services Associate at the library of one of my alma maters. I’m super…

No Ouija Board Required! The Librarian Civil Service Exam

by Josh Rimmer, Senior Editor, INALJ Missouri, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana No Ouija Board Required! The Librarian Civil Service Exam While I have certainly tried it; however, I have yet to have my mechanical pencil hover over my ScanTron to deliver answers from another realm. Although maybe my lead breaking over the C bubble is…

Practicing for the Interview

by Clare Sobotka, Senior Assistant, INALJ Idaho Practicing for the Interview Very few people can eloquently wing an interview. For most of us, polishing our interview skills takes repeated practice, usually with a good dose of failure before we can perform well enough to impress a hiring committee. Official interviews are the best way to get experience,…

Easy Tips for Time Management – er, Maximizing Your Productivity

by Kate Kosturski, Senior Editor, INALJ Ontario and INALJ Quebec Easy Tips for Time Management – er, Maximizing Your Productivity The Doctor and the TARDIS.   Cher’s belief that she could turn back time.   Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Bill and Ted and their Excellent Adventures.    All these people make the concept of time travel – and by…

How You’re Screwing Up Your Job Search

by Rebecca Kluberdanz, Senior Editor, INALJ Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,  New Mexico, and Wyoming How You’re Screwing Up Your Job Search Like many of you out there I am ALWAYS looking for ways to improve my job searching and interview skills. That often involves reading all of the fabulous blog posts written for INALJ.com, as well as Googling around looking for any…

“You want to work, but where?”

by Amy Steinbauer, Senior Assistant, INALJ California “You want to work, but where?” Dear Desperate Job Searchers, I know you want a job, badly. You’ve applied for what feels like millions and millions of jobs. You’ve chatted awkwardly with alumni from your program, trying not to ask for leads, and smiling when they describe how much they love…

Some Advice Across the Board: Job Hunting Advice for Everyone!

by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta Some Advice Across the Board: Job Hunting Advice for Everyone! I’ve been giving some advice to a job hunter in my life outside of librarianship, and I realized that a lot of the advice I’m giving him can…

Keeping a Record

by Sarah Dashow, Senior Assistant, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon Keeping a Record Sometimes, it’s just time to move on from whatever job you have. Maybe you are tired of the same old thing, or maybe you just feel like your position is stagnant and you want a job where you can move up. Then,…

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, and…….Preparation.

by Josh Rimmer, Senior Editor, INALJ Missouri, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana Preparation, Preparation, Preparation, and…….Preparation. Preparing for a job interview is probably the least exciting of tasks to perform, but it should pay off in the long run, if you are diligent. When I think back to my first interview, I remember the mental…