by Michele Frasier-Robinson, Head Editor, INALJ Oklahoma The Cross-Country On-Campus Interview You have successfully navigated the telephone and/or Skype interviews and you have been invited for an on-campus interview—on the other side of the country! Congratulations! This often means you are one of two or three other candidates that received the same invitation. The cross-country or long distance on-campus…
by Alphild Dick, Head Editor, INALJ Washington Not Bossy—the Boss! 10 Tips for Building Librarian Leadership Skills Recently, a good friend confessed to me that she struggles with taking leadership roles at work. This friend is sharp, dedicated, and has years of experience in her field. She is one of the most competent individuals that…
by Brad McNally, Head Editor, INALJ Ohio Behavioral Interviews (And how you can use them to your advantage) As most other job seekers, I’ve been to many interviews in the past. Some have been extremely interesting, but a few stick out in my memory. There are many types of interview questions to prepare for, and…
by Shayna Monnens, Head Editor, INALJ South Dakota Getting Friendly in the Reference Section Unless one is a librarian, a student in the past 15 years, or an avid library user, you probably don’t know much about electronic resources. What are they? What can they do for the library? What can they do for the library patrons? We all…
by Diana La Femina, Head Editor, INALJ South Carolina What to Include in Your Online Portfolio Ladies and gentlemen, I have been true to my word. Due to some interesting developments in my professional life it hasn’t been easy, but I’ve successfully gotten my online portfolio in order. I’ll be constantly updating it, of course, but at least…
by Rebecca Vogler, Head Editor, INALJ Nevada How to Get Through an All-Day Interview After graduation, I was invited to an all-day interview about two hours south of where I lived for an adult services coordinator position in a public library. It was a scary prospect, knowing that I would be in the company of my possible future…
by Nicolas Resteiner, Head Editor, INALJ Mississippi Why I Chose to Become a Librarian I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know why I chose to become a librarian. As prospective librarians, we have people telling us that librarianship is a dying profession (I am reminded of a Parks and Recreation episode where Leslie tells a librarian…
Dillon Wackerman, Head Editor, INALJ France Becoming the Habitual Writer For most professional fields writing is important as an activity in several respects, with somewhat clear distinctions being present: at-work administrative (policies, reports, guidelines, agendas), at-work professional (presentations, tutorials, workshops, colloquiums) and away-from-work professional, which can be connected with the others in several respects (articles, books and book chapters, reviews…
Stephanie Sendaula, INALJ Associate Editor Making the Most out of OneNote I’ve found that one of the most innovative and interesting aspects of being a reference librarian is teaching computer literacy classes. Often times, I learn just as much from patrons as they do from me. I currently teach classes on three Microsoft Office applications:…
by Emily Guier, Head Editor, INALJ Wyoming Genealogy and Public Libraries In my first year of taking classes for my MLIS, I was working full-time as a legal assistant. In order to get some library experience, I volunteered with my local public library. The woman who was in charge of assigning volunteers tasks thought I would…
Stephanie Noell, Head Editor, INALJ Texas For Those Who Cannot Relocate As a job hunter, you may have people, blogs, and news articles telling you that you need to relocate to get a job (especially the one you want), but relocation may not be an option for you. You might have family obligations such as taking care…
by Rebekah Kati, Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina Attend Your Local Library Conferences! In mid March, I attended the North Carolina Serials Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I had heard of this conference, but had never attended until this year. As I sat through various sessions on serials assessment, I began to think about why I hadn’t…
by Rossy Mendez, Head Editor, INALJ Puerto Rico Virtual Connections: Mastering the Skype Interview When I found out my interview was going to be a video chat on Skype I was both horrified and relieved. Knowing my tendency to have clammy hands and a voice that changes pitch five times in the course of a minute, I was…
by Heidi Greathouse, Head Editor, INALJ Utah The Learning Curve Since my last post, I accepted a job as a Cataloging Librarian at an academic library. I’ve had to make many adjustments such as moving to a different state, making new friends, and being in a new environment. One major adjustment is of course the job I am…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Spring Clean your Resume Spring has finally sprung! With it, we all have our spring rituals—going back outside every day without being bundled, spring vacation, cookouts, and spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is probably the least favorite, at least for those who have to do most of it, but it is…
by Jennifer Devine, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland To Business Card or Not to Business Card With the Spring Conference season upon us I have been contemplating the relevance of business cards. In this world of technology you no longer have to write a phone number down on a piece of paper to remember it. You can easily…
by Naomi House, MLIS We Built a Community! Presenting at the 5th annual OCLC EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Regional Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa, Feb. 24, 2014 “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” –African proverb ***** It was my pleasure to present…
by Naomi House, MLIS Every night during dinner my husband and I watch Seinfeld. There is an episode (the one where Elaine dances) in which she makes a toast. “Here’s to those who wish us well, and those who don’t can go to hell” Job hunting can be a very stressful time, especially for the…
by Suzanne Schultz Pick, Head Editor, INALJ UK Academic Library Job Applications – What to Expect in the UK Many library jobs are posted through universities or colleges in the UK. Many of these jobs require applications rather than a CV/resume submission. So how can we make sure that our applications stand out? Let’s look at what the…
by Clayton Hayes, Head Editor, INALJ North Dakota Combating satisficing through relevance: Facebook, Reddit, and beyond The increased availability of information online has presented information seekers with an often overwhelming array of sources to choose from. This (along with other factors) has led to a growing concern in the academic world with satisficing. Satisficing, put briefly, is the…
by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania previously published 6/11/13 Soft Skills = Success: 5 Ways to Manage Your Emotions During the Job Hunt This is the fourth in a series of articles on soft skills. Job hunting is a stressful time – the effort you put into applications, the uncertainty of not-knowing when/if…
by Sarah Roark Schott, Head Editor, INALJ Arizona Interested in Applying for that Job in Tucson? 8 reasons you should consider relocating Have you been checking out different states on the INALJ job boards lately? Thinking about moving somewhere new? Have you considered Tucson, Arizona? With over 20 public library branches, a bunch of museums, the largest public…
by Sandra Hoyer, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington previously published 5/9/13 9 Ways to Brand Yourself: A Few Thoughts on Personal Branding and Standing Out Having survived the last year in the Washington, D.C. area in a large library, I spent much of that time absorbing and writing down what makes people successful in the…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana previously published 3/5/13 Applying for jobs isn’t fun Applying for jobs isn’t fun. Everyone has advice to give that supersedes what everyone else has to say about finding a job. And there’s the stress of filling out applications and waiting. And then, even worse than the “We’re Sorry”…
by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire previously published 5/21/13 Elevating your Elevator Speech We’ve all been told, at one time or another, that we need to perfect our elevator speech. The very name makes you think of something out of Mad Men– a chance encounter that leads to a pitch that leads to…
by Sheela Sur, former Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published on 3/25/13 The Importance of Saying Yes: My Job Hunt Story After our first round of INALJ Head Editor articles were posted, I believe Kristen Jaques’s (INALJ Maine Head Editor) “What I Learned During My Two and a Half Years on the Job Market”…
by Christina Wilson, Head Editor of INALJ Alberta and INALJ Manitoba Why Big Data Matters to Libraries Earlier this week I attended a lecture at Red Deer College as part of their “Perspectives on the World” series. I was invited to represent Red Deer Public Library, a co-sponsor of the series. The topic was “Big Data” and the engaging…
by R.C. Miessler, Head Editor, INALJ Indiana Low-Cost Emerging Tech Tools for Librarians Emerging technologies are inseparable from librarianship, especially when it comes to instruction and reference in an academic library. Sometimes acquiring certain tools can be difficult due to their expense; thankfully, there are lots of free and low-cost tools that librarians can use to…
by Elinor Crosby, Head Editor, INALJ Nova Scotia The Union and You: A Primer Most library jobs are unionized. What does this mean for the library job seeker? It certainly seems like it can make the job search harder in an already unforgiving economy. However, there are definite perks to landing a union job. Now, some people are…
by Julie Watson, former Head Editor, INALJ Pennsylvania Soft Skills = Success: Self-Awareness This is the second in a series of articles on soft skills. Employers are looking for soft skills in their in prospective employees and having these skills often makes the difference between who can do a job and who gets a job. Since…
by Ashley Crace, former Head Editor, INALJ West Virginia On Being a Good Mentee A mentor’s expertise is priceless. During graduate school, your job search, or your first years as a librarian or information professional a mentor can provide vital guidance and support. Mentors may be found among professors, internship or volunteer supervisors, colleagues, and…
by Rebecca Crago, former Head Editor, INALJ Virginia Professional Advancement for Shallow Pockets In the LIS field there is a huge emphasis on professional advancement, but the cost of doing so can be a barrier for many of us. Workshops and conferences are not cheap; they often require travel, registration and supplies costs. In many…
Amanda Brooks, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Adjusting to Different Cultures of Information – Shifting Orientation from Freedom of Information to Confidentiality of Information I always felt that freedom of information was core to my professional philosophy while I worked in public and academic libraries. In the public library, many people were happy being in their own world…
by Veda Darby Soberman, Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii Keeping a Career Journal We often get caught up in our busy lives. Do you ever have those weeks which zip by, but by the week’s end you can’t even remember what you did? Surely, you must have done something because you are completely exhausted. Keeping a career journal, like other…
by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, INALJ DC Making the Most of your MOOC Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are everywhere. Offered through platforms such as Coursera, Udacity, and EdX, MOOCs are providing thousands of people across the globe with access to amazing courses. They’re perfect for librarians and information professionals because you can bone up on some missed materials…
by Tracy Wasserman, Head Editor, INALJ Florida Crowdsourcing in digital libraries Libraries of all kinds hold countless items of significant historical value that most people never see. That is, never would see, until now, with the advent of digital libraries. Efforts to bring hidden treasures to light and make them readily accessible online have resulted in hundreds of…
by Roselle Pendergast, Head Editor, INALJ Minnesota How does a membership to a field-specific society/association help your career? There are TONS of different library societies/associations out there (large and small) and I have no doubt at all that there’s also societies founded within your own state; look at Minnesota for an example, Minnesota Library Association or Twin Cities…
by Courtney Baron, Head Editor, INALJ Georgia Interview Day Hacks I recently had an interview and thought I would share my day-of interview routine! Give yourself a buffer. Give yourself a buffer before the interview. If the interview takes place at a location you’ve never been before, but is within a commuting distance, I suggest checking out the site…
by Emma Pinault, Head Editor, INALJ Delaware Introverts Can Network, Too! Networking and making connections in your field is vital to career success, whether you’re just starting out and looking for a job or looking to move up into a more challenging position. We all know this. But not everyone is a people person, and the field of…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario So you’ve been laid off, what now? On February 4 2014 my, now former manager called me into her office at around 11am, it was a Tuesday, so this was normal, we had a regular 1-on-1 scheduled every Tuesday. Because it was normal I wasn’t mentally prepared for what…