by Kristen Jaques, Head Editor, INALJ Maine

Outside-the-Box Jobs in Maine and Beyond

Hello, jobseekers!  If you’ve been perusing the job listings on the beautiful and fascinating INALJ Maine page lately, you may have noticed that I post an assortment of jobs which do not feature the word “library” or “librarian” in the title, and are for some reason not comfortably nestled into library or archive settings.  Some of these inclusions might seem strange for those who are scrolling through the page to find the 5-10 postings for actual library job positions that tend to be open in the state of Maine at any given time, but I include these postings because I believe many of these employers can offer you as much as you can offer them.
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I Need a Library Job has consistently promoted additional compelling and fulfilling career options that use and build upon our skill set.  On the INALJ homepage, Editor Naomi House has compiled a list of approximately 50 search terms that we use to find such outside-the-box job postings.  If you are already overwhelmed just searching for librarian positions, and it sounds daunting to have type all those search terms into your job search databases, the good news is that you usually won’t need to, because the other INALJ editors and I are now doing this on a weekly basis.

Here are three fun examples of outside-the-box positions with duties librarians would generally be qualified to perform that were recently featured on the INALJ Maine page:

• Web Content Editor.  This job involved editing and proofreading website content as well as web marketing campaign content, creating and writing web content, establishing guidelines for style and online content, and serving as a user experience advocate.

• Media Buyer.  This job involved attracting new media partners and maintaining relationships with current media partners, devising plans to increase business with partners, analyzing online media buys, negotiating deals with publishers, and executing, analyzing, and optimizing online acquisition campaigns.

• Researcher for a Transportation Options Database.  The job duties included: using internet, email, and telephone to research all transportation services available to seniors in the United States; conducting informational telephone interviews and completing surveys with transportation providers; responding to inquiries from the public for transportation guidance in a timely manner; tracking sources of information and methodology; fact-checking; classifying and categorizing information; and helping to build and maintain the company’s brand quality and awareness.

Other promising jobs I have found include: Social Media Manager (also known as my new dream job), Database Administrator, Director of Communications, Technical Writer, Information Analyst, Technology Support Specialist, and Email Marketing Assistant.

If any of these titles appeal to you, you’ll be happy to know that similar openings are unearthed in my searches daily.  Some sites I use to find these positions are: JobsinME.com (my personal favorite), Tech Maine, Indeed.com, LinkUp.com, and Mediabistro.com.

If you are still convinced that a library is the only workplace place for you, it can be helpful to remember that many library job searches can take several months to over a year, so you may as well use the waiting time productively.  In librarianship, as in every field, the candidates who are the most attractive to potential employers are those who can show that they have been using the time outside of employment in their chosen field to build their skills and demonstrate their value through new career-related achievements and responsibilities.  Keep going after your dream, whatever it may be, but don’t let other great opportunities pass you by in the meantime.