{"id":33941,"date":"2013-08-05T10:30:49","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T14:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=33941"},"modified":"2013-07-30T07:02:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T11:02:56","slug":"prepping-for-the-job-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=33941","title":{"rendered":"Prepping for the Job Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Prepping for the Job Interview<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sara<\/a>For this blog post, I want to share some ways that I prepare for job interviews. I\u2019m told that I prepare too much sometimes, but I just feel more comfortable the more that I prepare.\u00a0 The one thing I try to remember, and I heard it quite a bit at the job workshops at ALA, is that the interviewer already knows you\u2019re qualified – it\u2019s why they chose you for the interview. \u00a0The interview is more about seeing how you would fit in with their organization.<\/p>\n

With that said, I give you this list of preparation techniques.<\/p>\n

Check Out Hiring Librarians<\/b> \u2013 This website is chock full of great resources for interviews!\u00a0 They conduct interviews and take polls from both librarians in the job market and those doing the hiring.\u00a0 You can pick up a lot of tips reading through some of those interviews.\u00a0 What\u2019s also fantastic about this site is that on the right sidebar, there is an interview question repository.\u00a0 Through an ongoing survey, readers can submit interview questions they have gotten along with what position, what kind (and size) of library they interviewed for, what type of interview (public, academic, school, etc), and lots of other pertinent information.\u00a0 I like to find a few questions and write out the answers to mentally prepare. I\u2019ve often been asked questions for which I\u2019ve prepared answers ahead of time.\u00a0 It\u2019s a terrific resource that I strongly suggest!<\/p>\n

Check Out the Organization\u2019s Website<\/b> \u2013 Many interviewers will ask why you want to work for their specific organization.\u00a0 Not having a good answer for this can spell DOOM for your prospects.\u00a0 Take a look at the organization\u2019s website.\u00a0 What kind of programs and services do they offer? How can you contribute to these services?\u00a0 What is their research focus?\u00a0 Knowing their specialties or where you can provide new ideas and insights will make you a stronger candidate.<\/p>\n

Build a Portfolio<\/b> \u2013 Did you get a chance to read the INALJ article<\/a> by Ohio Head Editor Brad McNally?\u00a0 Read it.\u00a0 I have an online portfolio that I share during the application process, but having something in hand when you head into your interview allows you to show your strengths as you talk about them with the interviewer.\u00a0 A fantastic idea that I will be using in my own future job search!<\/p>\n

Get Pumped!<\/b> \u2013 I get nervous before interviews.\u00a0 Who doesn\u2019t?\u00a0 I learned a technique in college to help ensure I wouldn\u2019t choke during super hard exams and forget all the things I studied.\u00a0 I discovered that listening to a fun, inspiring song right before the exam, such as the theme song from the Rocky movies<\/a>, got me pumped!\u00a0 For a few minutes, I would stop worrying about all the facts and figures I had studied and get lost in the song.\u00a0 Sometimes I would sway my head and sing along (which got me some looks).\u00a0 But by getting pumped, I would go into the exam exhilarated.\u00a0 \u201cI can do this!\u201d I would say.\u00a0 It always worked.\u00a0 I have started doing this right before interviews as well.\u00a0 I find that it calms me down so that I can go into the interview and show my best side.\u00a0 It may not be a song for you, but find something that pumps you up.\u00a0 Go for a run, do some yoga, play a video game! Whatever it takes to get you pumped!\u00a0 You got this!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve made it to the interview process, they have picked you out of hundreds of applicants.\u00a0 Just go in there and show them what makes you special.\u00a0 Remember, the job has to be a good fit for you too.\u00a0 So let your personality and strengths shine!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sara Dixon, Head Editor, INALJ Kansas Prepping for the Job Interview For this blog post, I want to share some ways that I prepare for job interviews. I\u2019m told that I prepare too much sometimes, but I just feel more comfortable the more that I prepare.\u00a0 The one thing I try to remember, and…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"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":[233,3592,5060,304,3708,5059,3836],"class_list":["post-33941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-articles-2","tag-blog","tag-get-pumped","tag-hiring-librarians","tag-inalj-kansas","tag-preparing-for-interview","tag-sara-dixon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-8Pr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33941","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\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33941\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}