by Paula Pergament, Volunteer for ALA’s NMRT Resume Review Committee
Resume Review Service
We hear this job-seeking advice all the time: it’s important to make the most of professional conferences by networking, and to have your resume and cover letter reviewed by an experienced professional in your field. However, finding the right professional to look over your resume and cover letter can be challenging, and networking can be intimidating at conferences, especially if you struggle with finding a way to start a conversation with a complete stranger. An upcoming event offers a great opportunity to address these challenges and more: the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting.
The New Members Round Table (NMRT) Resume Review Service Committee is recruiting resume reviewers and booth greeters as well as taking resume review appointments for ALA’s 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. The Midwinter meeting begins on Friday, January 30, 2015, and concludes on Tuesday, February 3, 2015.
Volunteers are needed to greet participants, and/or review resumes and cover letters of those who are undergoing a job search in this challenging economic climate. The conference review service is free of charge to anyone. Librarians from all types of libraries and specializations are invited to volunteer. The Resume Review Service is especially in need of Public, Special and School Media Specialists volunteers. Volunteering as a booth greeter is a great way to meet people at the Midwinter Conference, and presents a natural invitation to start a conversation with fellow job seekers and librarians.
The NMRT Resume Review Service booth, located inside the ALA Placement Center, is open Saturday, January 31, and Sunday, February 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Appointments are 30 minutes long and usually fill up quickly. The last appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes before closing each day. More information is available at http://bit.ly/1vArIPT. If you have questions, please contact the NMRT Resume Review Service Committee Chair, Nicole Spoor, at nicolespoor@gmail.com.
In addition to the Resume Review Service, the Midwinter Conference also offers other resources for job seekers:
Stop Running on Empty! How to Build Up Your Physical and Emotional Reserves, Saturday, January 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Stress from work or our personal lives can wear us down. Everyone experiences stress, but some react to it better than others. Learn how to improve your reaction to stress to better support your health, and to bounce back from stressful experiences and move forward.
Career Autobiography, Saturday, January 31 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: A career autobiography can capture information and provide a narrative flow. It also can reveal patterns about career choices and help remind you of forgotten skills and accomplishments, in both text and graphic formats. This hands-on workshop will help you create a document that can assist you on current and future job hunts and career decisions.
Check Out a Librarian, Saturday, January 31 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Talk with working librarians who are doing great and interesting things with their careers. Find out how to get a job, move into a more specialized area, or move into your career goals. All types of libraries will be represented.
The JobLIST Placement Center will host an Open House on Sunday, February 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Representatives from various libraries and library-related companies will be available to talk with conference attendees about their individual work environments highlighting various aspects that make their institutions special. All conference attendees are welcomed and encouraged to attend. There is no cost to participate in the Open House.
Hope to see you there!