by Diana La Femina previously published 9/8/14 The Power of Introversion I’ve been reading Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler. It’s an interesting, short book explaining how introverts can make the most of their innate strengths and translate these strengths into their careers. Kahnweiler discusses six main strengths: taking quiet time,…
Six Tech Teaching Tips for Public Librarians by Alphild Dick, Senior Editor Before I joined the library world, I honestly didn’t spend much time thinking about technology. My father taught my brother and I how to use computers and type when we were in grade school. I have had a cell phone since I…
Amanda Brooks, former Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia previously published 3/13/14 A Day in the Life of a Conflicts Information Specialist “What is a Conflicts Information Specialist?” you may be asking yourself after reading that title. I certainly was when I stumbled across a job posting for this position. The purpose of a Conflicts Information Specialist…
Why Running Makes Me A Better Librarian by Alphild Dick, Senior Editor I’m not fast. I don’t wear a GPS watch. I don’t track my mileage on MapMyRun and I usually wear my old winter reading sweatshirts on cold runs rather than the high tech gear my family buys me for the holidays. But I…
Ask and (Hopefully) You Shall Receive: Advocating for Yourself at Work by Alphild Dick, Senior Editor Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are our careers. Both in the cases of empires and professional credibility, you often have to construct from the ground up. That means that no matter how insightful, innovative, or just…
by Alphild Dick, Senior Editor Please Remain Seated: 5 Tips for Dealing With Coworker Turbulence When we train to be librarians, we talk a lot about how to work with patrons. Libraries are people places, and it’s easy to get jazzed up about a career spent helping people. However, libraries are people places beyond patrons;…
by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta How to List Your Accomplishments In my last blog post I talked at length about what should go into your resume. Now, I want to discuss how to list accomplishments. You’ve heard it over and over again: you…
by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta The Anatomy of Your Resume A resume is a powerful tool. While your cover letter should be used to explain why you are the best person for this position, your resume should show who you are. It should…
by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta Make Sure You Look the Part Appearance matters, whether you want it to or not. But it’s not so much how you look as it is how you present yourself. Anyone who knows me personally can tell you…
by Diana La Femina, Senior Editor, INALJ Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta Some Advice Across the Board: Job Hunting Advice for Everyone! I’ve been giving some advice to a job hunter in my life outside of librarianship, and I realized that a lot of the advice I’m giving him can…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, former Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia previously published 8/1/13 How to Get Out of the Job Search Head-Space and Do Something Else with Your Time You’ve been clicking refresh on your email like you’re waiting for your Nigerian pen-pal to send you your millions. You’re checking your phone like someone’s having…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, former Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia previously published 5/5/13 First Rule of Book Club Imagine if book clubs were run like Fight Club – if it’s your first night at book club, you have to talk. There is little else worse than going through the work of setting up a book…
Amanda Brooks, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia A Primer For Conference Volunteers The INALJ community’s recent discussions about the ALA conference and Lisa Huntsha’s How Volunteering May Actually Be Hurting Your Job Hunt were added incentives to write my planned recommendation for volunteering for conferences. As Lisa pointed out, you should not volunteer in a role which replaces a…
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 Stephanie Taylor, Head Editor, British Columbia Oh, Sit! Gone are the days when job searching meant actually walking the streets, moving and shaking, hustling your groove. Much to the chagrin of my parents, job searching in 2013 is done sitting on your gluteus maximus while you pore over job websites (like this one!) with…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia What Not to Do While Job Searching Everybody has a piece of advice that they like to trot out when somebody they know is searching for a job, likely because they feel it’s how they got their job. I’m no better, and have been known to…
by Stephanie Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Job Searching by the Book I was having coffee with someone I knew in high school, and we were talking about our jobs. I recently landed a pretty sweet job in a my field (library technician) at a time when a lot of people just starting out…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Creating your brand as a job searcher When we’re looking for a job, especially these days, it’s tough to have your personality come through on an online application form. This is where branding yourself online, using social media and blogging, are definite aids in the job…
by Stephanie Leigh Taylor, Head Editor, INALJ British Columbia Why We Do What We Do the Way We Do It What draws a person towards a career as an information professional? Is it an obsessive need to have things in their right place, the satisfaction of everything formatted correctly, the thrill of a perfectly set-up…