by Amanda Viana , Head Editor , INALJ Massachusetts . . . Founders’ Day : what library outreach can look like Every community has its own unique events that bring people together. In the town where I work, the Founders’ Day Picnic is one of those events. Organized by the town’s Recreation Department (all volunteers), Founders’…
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Podcasts to make your commute bearable
by Scottie Kapel, Head Editor, INALJ Oregon Podcasts to make your commute bearable I had intended to write this post earlier in the summer in preparation for the height of vacation season, but time got away from me, and now here we are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from fall. Until the holiday…
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How to apply for a job: resume & cover letter advice
by Tiffany Newton, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri How to apply for a job: resume and cover letter advice I’d assumed that anyone with a bachelor degree knows how to apply for jobs, but I was surprised by how many graduating students asked me for help at the reference desk at an academic library. Usually when…
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Informational Interview
by Chelsea Jordan-Makely . . . . .Informational Interview These past few months, I’ve been practicing off-road job searching, pursuing a library job through unconventional means. I live in Oregon, a slow library job market, and days would pass when no new jobs were posted. So, I took it upon myself to “knock on some…
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Discovering Your Strengths
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina Discovering Your Strengths I’m being hard on myself again. I’m at a perfectly good job, with wonderful coworkers and an environment that’s anything but stale. Problem is, this isn’t where I had envisioned myself a few years ago (or even one year ago, or six months ago).…
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Mapping out your library career – 3 great reads
by Mary-Michelle Moore, Head Editor, INALJ Vermont Mapping out your library career – 3 great reads How to stay afloat in the academic library job pool edited by Teresa Y Neely So you want to work as an academic librarian but you’re not sure what the interview process will look like or what the search committee…
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Translating Your Resume Language
by Caitlin Moen, Head Editor , INALJ Louisiana Translating Your Resume Language Prior to and while attending grad school for my MLIS I worked for 3 ½ years at a church. This is a huge chunk of my work experience, yet, the religious nature of the position makes it a little tricky to speak to.…
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Spotlight on Libraries-Egypt
by Sarah Parramore , Head Editor , INALJ Middle East / Arabian Gulf Spotlight on Libraries-Egypt What is it? The New Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) Where is it? On the Corniche in Alexandria, Egypt http://www.bibalex.org/Home/Default_EN.aspx Why should you visit? Because this library originated in around 200 BC!!! It should be like Mecca to librarians. The new…
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Career Sustainability
by Ryan Nitz, Head Editor, INALJ Alaska Career Sustainability Monique Valcour over at Harvard Business Review recently wrote a piece entitled Craft a Sustainable Career. This is a thought-provoking read and one that provides a great framework for analyzing the way in which you think about your career. And in terms of sustainability, we’re not…
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Some Thoughts as a Novice Researcher at a New Job
by Matthew Tansek, Head Editor, INALJ Rhode Island Some Thoughts as a Novice Researcher at a New Job One thing that can be hard to do once you get settled into any new job, is find avenues of research. Perhaps those fresh from college, with professors words still ringing in their ears will jump onto…
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5 Fun and Interesting Blogs to Follow
by Kiersten Bryant, Head Editor, INALJ California 5 Fun and Interesting Blogs to Follow Need to lighten up your blog reading? Here are five blogs to check out when you need a break from the job hunt, or temporary relief from work doldrums. Reel Librarians Reel Librarians was created by academic librarian Jennifer Snoek-Brown who…
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Prepping for the Job Interview
by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Prepping for the Job Interview For this blog post, I want to share some ways that I prepare for job interviews. I’m told that I prepare too much sometimes, but I just feel more comfortable the more that I prepare. The one thing I try to remember, and…
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July 2013 Roundup (INALJ Stats )
Over 350,000 page views in July! July saw our busiest day ever at 16,464 views on 7/8, and busiest week ever with 81,992 views the 28th week of the year, and the absolute busiest month ever at INALJ.com with 352,754 views, over 30,000 more than June! Some fast stats for July 2013: 2,372,145 total INALJ.com page…
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INALJ Book Club : 5 Recommended Reads
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming INALJ Book Club I recently moved to a new town, and in doing so, left my established book club in Laramie. I’m going through book club withdrawal and have subsequently been brainstorming different book club scenarios I could create in my new town. That got me thinking about…
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Spotted the Perfect Job? So Did Your Friend …
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Spotted the Perfect Job? So Did Your Friend – The SAME Perfect Job This is it. You are at the stage where you are looking at open positions. Your head is 100% in the game. You have scoured the job market. The market is plumb for the…
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Positively Pleasant : Being positive and optimistic in the workplace
by Courtney Butler, Head Editor, INALJ Idaho Positively Pleasant While I have my share of awful, grumpy days (and I don’t think anyone would refer to me as one of those “always happy” people), I make a strong, concerted effort to always be a positive, optimistic force in the workplace. I do this for a…
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What are your Weaknesses?
by Ashley Crace, Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia What are your Weaknesses? When I practiced for job interviews, I used notecards with common interview questions, gathered from varied sources. I started doing this on recommendation from a friend and it worked well for me. I felt more prepared and articulate in the actual interview. One…
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What I Gained from Living and Working in a Small Town
by Kristen Jaques, Head Editor, INALJ Maine What I Gained from Living and Working in a Small Town From the moment I relocated to Simmons College in Boston for library school, I took right to city life and imagined that from then on, I would always work and live in the city. When I graduated…
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Job Searching Tips for Introverts
by Amanda May, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Job Searching Tips for Introverts If you are an introvert, like me, you may not be the biggest fan of social interactions. If I had to choose between a large group meeting and going to the dentist, I would probably choose to go to the dentist. Nonetheless,…
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References upon Request
by Marlena Barber, Head Editor, INALJ Tennessee References upon Request When I was in undergrad, my advisor recommended adding “References upon Request” to the end of our resumes. In between that time and graduating with my MLIS, that common practice had changed. Internship and full time positions frequently come with online applications and ask for…
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Teamwork
by Nicole Usiondek, Head Editor, INALJ Michigan Teamwork Not too long ago I wrote a blog on the seminar I attended that focused on work style preferences. The seminar was very insightful and was followed by a second seminar on effective teamwork strategies. In every work place scenario, teamwork comes into play some way or…
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Rejected
by Shelley Macon, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Rejected Two months ago I tentatively dipped my toe in the job market. I applied for a job. So, now it has been two months and I haven’t heard anything from the employer. No call. No email. Nothing. Now I know I shouldn’t take it personally. In fact, several…
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Best Regional Job sites
by Alexis Stapp, Head Editor, INALJ Minnesota Best Regional Job sites As a seasoned job hunter, you probably have some key websites you check daily for jobs, and/or subscribe to RSS feeds and are on various listservs. INALJ is one of them, obviously!, but the ALA JobList makes the cut, too, I’m sure. Perhaps the…
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Picking up a new language: Helpful tools for developing a new skill
by Yandee Vazquez, Head Editor, INALJ Texas Picking up a new language: Helpful tools for developing a new skill As an individual applying for jobs in Texas, one of the more common preferred skills I see in job descriptions is the ability to speak at least some Spanish. Other states along the border probably ask…
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How to Deliver Great Customer Service: Lessons from an ALA Webinar
by Rebecca Crago, Head Editor, INALJ Virginia How to Deliver Great Customer Service: Lessons from an ALA Webinar As a newbie to public libraries, I was thrilled to participate in an ALA sponsored webinar on delivering great customer service a few weeks ago. While the session wasn’t taught by a librarian, the overall points discussed,…