6 Career Journaling Techniques: Get Started Today! by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor Have you ever kept a travel diary, fitness log, or a personal journal? Each helps us reflect on activities and can serve as a source of motivation in the future. A career journal is simply a record of your professional experiences kept on…
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…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Find a Mentor, Be a Mentor Serving as a mentor is an excellent opportunity to serve others that can also contribute to your own personal and professional growth. A mentor can be anyone who is willing to invest time and commit to helping one…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Cover Letters & Resumes: Perfecting the Basics Here is a compilation of tools to help you get your cover letter and resume prepared for your next job application. These resources offer a myriad of opinions for formatting, how to convey your personality, and what…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Ask the Teens! Five Resources to Help Build a Teen Advisory Board The library offers a unique experience to each member of the community. Similarly, each member of the community can offer a special contribution to the library. Teens are a talented group…
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:…
by Valarie Swayze, Senior Editor, INALJ Plan Your Mission & Conquer Your Goals Setting goals and accomplishing them is a powerful experience, and one that can motivate you to being better every day. The first step to purposeful goal-setting is writing a personal mission statement. If life is a journey, a mission statement would be…
Valarie Swayze, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts Share Your Passion-Be a Library Advocate! One of the best qualities you can share during a job interview is your passion for what you do. Library advocacy is an ideal activity to demonstrate your knowledge and enthusiasm for your area of interest. Advocacy is a mutually beneficial endeavor as you help…
Valarie Swayze, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana The Library as a Makerspace: Celebrating & Inspiring Creativity Libraries across the globe are participating in the Maker Movement to celebrate the inventions and creativity of local Makers while inspiring others to join the fun. A Maker Faire, an event created by Make: magazine, is known as the greatest show-and-tell on earth…