{"id":10344,"date":"2013-02-27T19:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-28T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=10344"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:19:37","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:19:37","slug":"on-the-other-side-of-the-table-interviewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=10344","title":{"rendered":"On the Other Side of the Table: Interviewing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, <a title=\"INALJ Massachusetts\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?page_id=5697\" target=\"_blank\">INALJ Massachusetts<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">On the Other Side of the Table: Interviewing<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/photo-21.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6056 alignleft\" alt=\"photo (2)\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/photo-21-274x300.jpg\" width=\"148\" height=\"162\" \/><\/a>Not very long after starting my current position I assisted the Library Director in interviewing candidates for a Circulation Supervisor position. It was my first time on <strong>the \u201cother side\u201d of the table<\/strong>, and I found the process very informative. To prepare we looked though hundreds of questions: the following are my top five. You may never be asked these questions, but I think they\u2019re worthwhile issues to consider before meeting with a potential employer. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>What is your favorite part of your current (or most recent) position?<br \/>\n<\/b>No matter how confident you are going for a job interview can make you nervous. People are often portraying their most professional self; for the interviewer it\u2019s important to get a feel for a candidate\u2019s personality. Asking about a positive aspect of their current work can relax a candidate and talking about something they\u2019re passionate about can bring out their best side. <b><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Based on the job description, which of the duties do you feel most comfortable with, and which do you feel may take some time to learn?<br \/>\n<\/b>This is a better version of \u201cname some of your strengths and weaknesses\u201d. Be sure to review the job description before the interview and have a copy in front of you if possible. This question can get to the heart of how a candidate\u2019s skills can translate to the job being discussed. The interviewers may also have an idea of which duties will have immediate priority and which will have time for a learning curve. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>What would you most like to accomplish if you had this job?<br \/>\n<\/b>As a candidate the goal at the forefront of my mind was landing the job. You may not be able to fully answer this question until you have some time under your belt, but it shows the interviewer that you\u2019re imagining yourself in the position just as they are; that you can demonstrate some knowledge of the institution, its mission and its goals; and that you have a philosophy of librarianship. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>When, in the past, have you found it important to disagree with your boss? How did you approach them and what was the result?<br \/>\n<\/b>Most of the time spent in an interview is largely positive but in the real world, conflicts happen. A carefully considered answer to this question will tell the potential employer your threshold for conflict, what type of issues you may be passionate about, and how you handle conflict. If unprepared this may seem a trap but it can be a way for you to show yourself in a positive light. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><b>How does this position fit into the career path you\u2019ve set for yourself?<br \/>\n<\/b>Not every job is a forever job, and employers understand this. If you\u2019re overqualified (which many candidates in this economy are) be sure to acknowledge this and have a good explanation as for why you would still be a strong candidate for the position. If you have just finished or are still finishing your degree and you\u2019re applying for a job that doesn\u2019t require it, employers may wonder if you see the job as a stepping stone. Also be aware that libraries often have vastly different rates of turnover: it may be years before a part-time position could provide a chance at full-time. Admit that you have a plan for your career, but try not to seem like you have one foot out the door. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Amanda Viana, Head Editor, INALJ Massachusetts On the Other Side of the Table: Interviewing Not very long after starting my current position I assisted the Library Director in interviewing candidates for a Circulation Supervisor position. It was my first time on the \u201cother side\u201d of the table, and I found the process very informative.&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=10344\">Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,3660],"class_list":["post-10344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-massachusetts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-2GQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}