Ask Naomi: expecting different results
I really do believe that you cannot keep doing what you have always done and expect different results- this applies to the job hunting world as well. If you only apply to one type of job (librarian) or at one type of place (public library, university, etc) and you aren’t getting hired then you need to broaden your approach. Even if you are vested in a system like teachers in a state school system is it better to be unemployed or should you start looking outside the box?
1) Look at companies! I spent part of my Saturday morning looking up companies (The Motley Fool, LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters etc) that I knew or found on Best Places to Work 2011 (or 2012 or 2013) lists and looking at their careers and jobs pages. Often we don’t do the due diligence of looking beyond jobs lists (online or newspapers) and look at companies. I have been called in for interviews from applications I put in and you could too. So these are jobs you might be missing.
2)List your skill sets! What can you do? If you have taught then you can do training. If you have done cataloging then you understand metadata. Librarians make great records management people too. What is your skill set and how can it be translated to other jobs?
These are just two ideas to start with 🙂
reposted from 12/12/11