{"id":4426,"date":"2012-10-04T14:49:54","date_gmt":"2012-10-04T18:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4426"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:20:10","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:20:10","slug":"qraigs-quest-job-de-script-ion-by-qraig-de-groot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=4426","title":{"rendered":"Qraig\u2019s Quest \u2013 Job De-\u201cScript\u201d-ion by Qraig de Groot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Qraig\u2019s Quest \u2013 Job De-\u201cScript\u201d-ion by Qraig de Groot<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of the biggest issues I have (and I do have a few) is that I\u2019m not the most outgoing person.\u00a0 Many times, I\u2019m downright shy \u2013especially when it comes to talking about me and my career aspirations.\u00a0 And this has proven to be a serious disadvantage in my job search!<\/p>\n

I really didn\u2019t become an introvert until entering junior high.\u00a0 Before that, I was a happy-go-lucky kid who would talk to anyone.\u00a0 The 6th<\/sup> grade class even voted me \u201cMr. Congeniality!\u201d\u00a0 They also named me \u201cBest Dressed,\u201d but that\u2019s not important right now.<\/p>\n

It was all downhill after grammar school.\u00a0 By high school, I didn\u2019t have many friends and spent most nights alone in my room doing things many shy kids do \u2013 watching tv, writing fanciful stories and reading the classics.\u00a0 But we\u2019re not here to psychoanalyze the reasons for my timidity.\u00a0 The fact is; my shyness was hindering my library-related job search and something needed to be done.\u00a0 But what?<\/p>\n

As many of you are well aware, one of the most common questions asked to a recent MLIS grad is, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your degree?\u201d\u00a0 Now if you\u2019re not looking to be a public or school library, the question can lead to a lot of confusion on both sides. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want to be a librarian<\/em>, then why did you study to be a librarian<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 It all comes down to semantics and then trying to explain what you can and want to do.<\/p>\n

But this is where my problem arises.\u00a0 I have a hard time putting into words what I want to do.\u00a0 I get nervous, stumble over my own tongue and end up confusing whoever asked the question in the first place.\u00a0 I cower away from the question and in the end, I\u2019m no closer to explaining what I want to do and they\u2019re no clearer on understanding what kind of jobs I\u2019m capable of doing \u2013 perhaps even at the company they work.<\/p>\n

After hearing me fumble my way through job related question after job related question, my boyfriend Jamey highly \u201csuggested\u201d that I write down what I\u2019d say the next time someone asked, \u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should really prepare a script,\u201d Jamey advocated.\u00a0 That way, not only will I get a grasp of what I want to say, I\u2019d also get a better sense of what I really want to do.\u00a0 \u201cWhen you get it clear on paper, it will become clear in your mind.\u201d\u00a0 As someone who\u2019s better getting my point across through writing rather than speaking, I knew this \u201cscript\u201d could be a great way to help me in networking and job searching.<\/p>\n

I got right to work on my script and found it rather easy to articulate my goals and ambitions onto paper.\u00a0 Eventually reaching my final draft, I was quite impressed with myself.\u00a0 My spiel would begin by explaining what I\u2019d ideally love to be doing \u2013 \u201cworking in a company\u2019s library or research department helping other employees with any informational gathering needs they may have.\u201d\u00a0 From there I\u2019d touch upon all the other types of positions a person with an MLIS degree could do including \u201cdata or records specialists who basically collect, catalog, file and store a business\u2019s array of documents, information and data\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

After this I would segue into another interest of mine \u2013 archiving and then finish with a brief synopsis of how technology has come to play an important role in many of the jobs I could conceivably be hired for. \u201cThere are new positions popping up all the time with titles like data officer, metadata specialist, digital archivist and even information architect \u2013 but they all basically come back to the essence of what a person with an MLIS can do \u2013 collect, maintain and distribute information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamey got a test run of my speech and after making of few suggested tweaks, I continued practicing on my cats – Wednesday and Pugsley until we all felt it was a solid \u201cpitch\u201d and truly gave insight into what I wanted to do.\u00a0 Now, I just needed to 1) memorize it and 2) make it sound like I wasn\u2019t reading off a script.\u00a0 Man, if I knew this would be part of my job search I would\u2019ve paid a lot more attention in that \u201cIntro to Acting\u201d class I took for easy credit during my undergrad days!<\/p>\n

Anyway, a few nights after preparing a script some friends invited us out for dinner thereby giving me the first chance to run it by someone besides Jamey and the cats.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be nervous,\u201d Jamey championed before heading out.\u00a0 \u201cJust really get across what you want to do and how they might be able to help.\u201d\u00a0 I nodded and began to mull over my script, getting more nervous the closer we got to the restaurant.<\/p>\n

It had been a while since we saw our friends so I should\u2019ve been excited to see them.\u00a0 Instead, I was sweating bullets and just waiting for the prerequisite, \u201cSo what are you looking to do, Qraig?\u201d\u00a0 But this time, even though my innate shyness would certainly try to shut me down \u2013 I\u2019d rebel and would answer concisely and confidently.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get some wine,\u201d I suggested.\u00a0 I needed something to calm my nerves.<\/p>\n

The conversation and wine flowed. We talked about our friends\u2019 recent trip overseas and about what sounded good on the menu.\u00a0 We ordered more wine.\u00a0 Jamey chatted about his job and one friend told us all about what was going on at his place of business.\u00a0 And then our other friend turned to me and asked, \u201cSo how\u2019s your job search going?\u201d<\/p>\n

So, it wasn\u2019t the same question I\u2019d been preparing, but was basically similar.\u00a0 And my memorized script wasn\u2019t set in stone.\u00a0 It would need to be geared toward certain audiences, cut apart, dissected, offered up in various ways and even improvised \u2013 but with my points still getting across.\u00a0 Again, why didn\u2019t I pay more attention in \u201cIntro to Acting\u201d class?<\/p>\n

I smiled, took a sip of wine and began, \u201cWell, thanks for asking.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been looking very hard – really trying to network and get the word out there of what I\u2019m capable of doing and what do I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

There it was.\u00a0 The question I was ready for.\u00a0 After another gulp of wine, I plowed ahead and gave the speech that Jamey and my cats were so familiar with.\u00a0 It flowed out quite easily and even with a few stutters, sputters and hesitations, I caught my friends listening intently and nodding interestedly.\u00a0 Winding down, I took another gulp of wine.<\/p>\n

My friends smiled as one of them said, \u201cWell, if anything along those lines pops up at my job, I will definitely keep you in mind.\u201d\u00a0 And with that, we proceeded to dig into our meals \u2013 and a few more glasses of wine.<\/p>\n

On the way home, I thanked Jamey for giving a shy guy like me the idea to write a script.\u00a0 Having it really proved useful.\u00a0 Of course, all that wine I consumed probably helped a lot too.<\/p>\n

Jamey and I have a few outings planned with friends over the next month or so.\u00a0 And there is also a family wedding on the horizon.\u00a0 It\u2019s inevitable that someone is going to ask me \u2018the question.\u2019\u00a0 Unlike in the past, I now have a secret weapon to use in getting over that shyness hurdle I once faced\u2026and it\u2019s not wine.<\/p>\n

Unless the question comes up at the wedding reception. Then there might be a few glasses of wine helping me overcome my bashfulness.\u00a0 But, I will still remember my script and use it to my full advantage.<\/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.<\/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. He may be contacted at qdegroot at rutgers.edu.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Qraig\u2019s Quest \u2013 Job De-\u201cScript\u201d-ion by Qraig de Groot One of the biggest issues I have (and I do have a few) is that I\u2019m not the most outgoing person.\u00a0 Many times, I\u2019m downright shy \u2013especially when it comes to talking about me and my career aspirations.\u00a0 And this has proven to be a serious…<\/p>\n

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