Articles

Finding your Niche in 3

by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden

Finding your Niche in 3

Lisa1For my first blog post, I thought I’d write to you about something that greatly affected my job hunt: finding my niche within the library/archives/museum field. First, I have a confession. I don’t have an MLS and I do have a full-time position in the library/archives field (please don’t hate me).  I do, however, have an MA from Syracuse University in Museum Studies (and took some LIS courses), and work, volunteer, and intern experience in libraries, archives, and historical societies, as well as museums. And, I found my niche.

As you’ll notice, I’m the head editor for the INALJ Sweden page. But I don’t live in Sweden. Scandinavian-American cultural organizations are my area. Specific enough for you? In college, I majored in Scandinavian Studies because of my family heritage, my interest in world cultures (anthropology was my double major), and because I wanted to learn another language. Family and friends questioned the sanity of my decision: would this major translate into a “real job” after college?

And yet, when I started applying for jobs near the end of graduate school, it was mostly Scandinavian heritage organizations that called me for interviews. Could it be that my specific passion was paying off? In short, I believe, yes.

I’m sure countless sources have told you to find what you’re passionate about and pursue it, and even other INALJ articles have reminded you about the value of finding a hobby. All true advice, but how exactly do you go about doing this? How can you translate your hobbies and interests into a professional niche? Here are some tips that have helped me find my niche – and thus a job– in this competitive job market:

  1. Learn a language. This isn’t always easy or accessible, but in terms of personal and professional development, it can help immensely. Plus, it’s a fun party trick to speak Swedish.
  2. Become an expert in something. Or at least go all out. Maybe you love playing guitar and know all about different makes and models. Learn as much as you can! Then when you see a position opening at the Guitar Hall of Fame, for example, you’ll be able to talk specifically about why your professional and personal experience makes you a great candidate for the job.
  3. Invest in your passion. Are you passionate about Benjamin Franklin? Travel to the U. Penn archives and do your research. Maybe you want to know everything about Peruvian textiles? I think a trip to Peru would be in order. Again, go all out with your passion (as much as you’re able). This type of experience really illustrates your passion and dedication to your subject area.

Of course, none of this is guaranteed to get you a job, but pursuing an interest is never time wasted, right? Good luck finding your own personal and professional niche!

 

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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