Articles

Making an Impression: what to read this weekend

Making an Impression: what to read this weekend

by Naomi House, MLIS
previously published 6/15/13 – I added 2 more on 10/3/14

Making an Impression: what to read this weekend

Too often in the job hunt we reach a point where we are frustrated with the process and start becoming demanding and uncooperative.  We forget to take employers needs into consideration or we forget that we need to be proactive and instead focus on what we deserve.  I know I have hit that wall in the past and I am forever grateful for mentors and friends who helped me refocus and be goals oriented versus wants oriented.

We have had some fabulous articles recently on similar topics and what makes these stand out is their proactive yet kind approach to both the job hunter as well as the potential employer.  Some good reads for your weekend.

  • 480994_10152639287805043_64001079_nSo You Have Blue Hair by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia:  “The willingness to compromise is often a better indication of your temperament than attempting to look normal for an interview, and feeling completely uncomfortable.”

 

 

    

  • julie_watson5 Ways to Manage Your Emotions During the Job Hunt by Julie Watson, Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania : “Remember that feelings are the spice of life, but should be appropriate to the circumstance…Practicing self-awareness and emotional regulation to makes us better, more balanced humans (and better job candidates and employees, too).”

 

 

 

  • rachelwWhat I Learned About My Job Search by Helping Others Find Jobs by Rachel Wightman, Assistant Editor, INALJ Washington : “We’ve all heard the importance of continuing to look for a job until you have one: don’t stop looking just because you get an interview. But one of the caseworkers at this non-profit takes it one step further: ‘Keep looking and applying until you find a job…and know that you like it’.”

 

    

  • scottie kHow to stay positive during a long job hunt by Scottie Kapel, former Head Editor, INALJ Oregon : “For many of you reading, you may very well be on your fourth, fifth, or sixth month of your job hunt. For others, you may have passed that timeframe months ago. You’ve sent out countless resumes, perfected a cover letter that captures both your personality and qualifications, and had a couple of interviews, but you haven’t had any offers…yet.”

 

 

    

  • NaomiHouse ALA 2014 VegasIt is Never too Early to Job Hunt: Some Resources for New & Returning LIS students by Naomi House, MLIS  “One frequently asked question that I get from new MLS/MLIS/LIS and soon to graduate students is how early should they begin to apply for jobs? I say start looking (even just to get familiar with the market) now!  My personal job hunting philosophy is that it is never too early to begin applying for jobs that you already have the skills for and meet or will soon meet the requirements of.”

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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