{"id":4157,"date":"2013-03-30T14:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-03-30T18:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4157"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:17:01","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:17:01","slug":"qraigs-quest-iwalj-sizing-up-the-job-search-go-big-or-stay-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4157","title":{"rendered":"Qraig’s Quest (IWALJ) \u2013 Sizing Up the Job Search: Go Big or Stay Small?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Qraig De Groot<\/em><\/p>\n

\"qraigsquest\"<\/a>Since graduating from Rutgers<\/a> in May 2012, many have asked me, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your degree?\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a very valid question, but I\u2019ve found it so difficult to answer.\u00a0 The reasons are because there are just so many things a person can do with a Masters of Library and Information Science degree\u2026and I kind of want to do it all!<\/p>\n

My quandary is: Will this desire to do everything help or hinder my job search?<\/p>\n

When I first entered Rutgers, I already knew what I didn\u2019t<\/em> want to do. That being a stodgy librarian depicted in countless movies and tv shows shushing everyone and practically lobbing off heads when a book was returned late.\u00a0 Though the old, bun-haired female is more predominant, there are plenty portrayals of the raggedy cardigan wearing male counterpart with massive glasses, greasy hair and socially awkward characteristics.\u00a0 Besides the chunky horn-rimmed glasses which I always found to be fashionably forward in a dorky way, none of those other attributes attracted me.<\/p>\n

But otherwise loving the idea of librarianship, I began my Masters pursuit.\u00a0 Through my varying array of courses, I discovered there were a lot of other avenues other than a \u201ctypical\u201d librarian where I could utilize my fascination with research, data management and cataloging.\u00a0 And let\u2019s not even mention the \u201cKeywords for Job Searching\u201d list offered by INALJ<\/a> on a weekly basis.\u00a0 The roster, which includes such wonderful titles as: Information Professional, Data Management Analyst, Knowledge Coordinator, Indexer and Digital Content Curator makes my head explode (in a good way) each and every time I scan through it!<\/p>\n

When thinking about what I want to do and can actually accomplish, the options seem limitless.\u00a0 But, is that beneficial or detrimental to my job search?\u00a0 Should I focus on one skill I\u2019ve mastered in past positions and use that as my starting point?\u00a0 Would that be a too limiting job search? Or should I just apply to all jobs I find remotely interesting and see what happens?\u00a0 Would this approach be too convoluted and a complete waste of time?<\/p>\n

Honestly, I have always been the \u201capply to everything and see what sticks\u201d kinda guy.\u00a0 There are so many jobs and businesses out there that capture my interest that I don\u2019t see the point of concentrating on just one aspect of my skills and\/or knowledge base.\u00a0 I could conceivably do a lot of different things and probably would be happy doing them.<\/p>\n

Or maybe I am just fooling myself.\u00a0 This could be the case considering that, so far my \u201cwilly-nilly\u201d job search has resulted in a lot of dead ends and unfortunate employment missteps.\u00a0 I already mentioned my job in the porn industry, right?\u00a0 Then again, besides the curmudgeonly socially awkward librarian there is also the image of the \u201csexy\u201d librarian that runs rampant in popular culture. Perhaps I could use what I learned back in my \u2018adult entertainment days\u2019 and parlay that into a library career\u2026but, I digress.<\/p>\n

So, should I keep up the \u201cbroad\u201d job searching habit now that I actually have a bit clearer view as to what I want to do with my life?\u00a0 Or will I just end up like I have in the past \u2013 feeling exposed, overwrought and confused? And that is not a reference back to my adult entertainment stint.\u00a0 Okay, maybe it was \u2013 a little.<\/p>\n

As you are all well aware, there is just so much out there for someone with an MLIS degree.\u00a0 But how do you actually land one of these jobs?\u00a0 Is it through a concentrated search based on experience and skill or one that is much-more far reaching and all encompassing?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s these concerns about the job market that excite and terrify me both that the same time.<\/p>\n

And then what about job location?\u00a0 Is it better to just focus on where you are living now or perhaps ponder the idea of relocation?\u00a0 Should salary be a top concern?\u00a0 And working hours??\u00a0 How about the size of an organization and the staff you might be interacting with?\u00a0 What about those things????<\/p>\n

BLAM!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There it went.\u00a0 My brain has officially exploded.<\/p>\n

Actually, that feels a lot better. Now where were we?\u00a0 Oh right.\u00a0 Sexy librarian\u2026<\/p>\n

-Qraig<\/p>\n

Qraig recently earned his MLIS from Rutgers University with a concentration in Digital Libraries. He is currently looking for a job. Ideally, he\u2019d love to be the first billionaire librarian, but at this point he\u2019d settle for anything where his skills and education can be utilized. Paid vacation time and health benefits wouldn\u2019t hurt either.<\/em><\/p>\n

Still a Jersey boy at heart (and will always be), Qraig currently resides in Manhattan where he spends much of his time watching ridiculously trite reality television, reading astonishingly atrocious autobiographies, writing preposterous prose and cleaning up after his two black cats. It\u2019s truly a life of which dreams are made.<\/em><\/p>\n

Reposted from 9\/19\/12<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Qraig De Groot Since graduating from Rutgers in May 2012, many have asked me, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your degree?\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a very valid question, but I\u2019ve found it so difficult to answer.\u00a0 The reasons are because there are just so many things a person can do with a Masters of…<\/p>\n

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":[416,303,415,448,4031,276],"class_list":["post-4157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-iwalj","tag-mlis","tag-qraig-de-groot","tag-qraigs-quest-2","tag-quest","tag-rutgers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-153","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4157","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=4157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4157\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}