This interview is over 1 year old and may no longer be up to date or reflect the interviewee/interviewees’ positions

Naomi House’s interview with success story Jeremiah.

Naomi: How did you find your current job?
Jeremiah: I think it was on inalj.com. In March I was browsing through state employment pages and just thought “Hey, why not apply for this?” A couple months later I got a request for more information, interviewed and was offered the job. I was pretty relieved to find something so soon after graduation.

Naomi: Favorite library you have been to and why?
Jeremiah: It’s probably not technically the fanciest library I’ve been to, but one of my strongest memories of childhood is going to the Alamogordo (NM) Public Library with my mom and sister and searching for books on how to build robots. That part never panned out, obviously, but the memory sticks with me.

Naomi: Favorite book?
Jeremiah: “The Windup Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami; “The Comedians” by Graham Greene. I could probably go on, so I’ll just leave those two.

Naomi: Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Jeremiah: I enjoy the fact that no matter where you are in the world, if you go to a library, you’ll find a place that serves as both as a community center and a place where learning is always going on. It’s exciting.

Naomi: Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Jeremiah: I’m hesitant to promote my blog since I so rarely update it, but check out http://jeremiahpwood.wordpress.com anyway. Hack Library School (http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/) is a good resource for MLS students who feel like they’re the only person in the world going through the uncertainty and confusion of all this. I also enjoy PC Sweeney’s blog (http://pcsweeney.com/) for his sense of activism. And of course inalj.com.

Naomi: Best piece of job hunting advice?
Jeremiah: 2Pac said it best, though in a different context: “Keep ya head up.” Job hunting is stressful pretty much up to the moment you get an offer (and maybe even beyond), but you WILL find a job if you are persistent. Also, being prepared, knowledgeable and open to possibilities will make you a more attractive candidate with more options.

I am a May 2013 graduate of the University of Arizona, and will be joining a university in the southeastern U.S. on Aug. 1 as an Instructional Services Librarian. My new career begins after I spent 10 years as a journalist, mostly in New Mexico and Arizona. Even as a journalist, I always loved libraries, so I’m really excited to start my first professional job. When not librarying or library schooling, I play music, read, write, take care of my 2-year-old daughter and watch soccer.

All Jobs for INALJ can be found here: http://inalj.com/?p=1441 Updated daily