{"id":62672,"date":"2014-02-26T11:30:54","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T16:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=62672"},"modified":"2014-02-28T09:50:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-28T14:50:18","slug":"overcoming-roadblocks-when-job-searching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=62672","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming Roadblocks When Job Searching"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Courtney Baron, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Georgia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Overcoming Roadblocks When Job Searching<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"courtney.baron\"<\/a>I have decided this is the year I will get a library job. I\u2019ve been looking for\u00a0a paraprofessional position since I enrolled in the MLIS program at my\u00a0university in January 2013, but so far I haven\u2019t had any luck. I learned a\u00a0lot during my search last year and I chronicled some of these lessons in\u00a0my last INALJ blog post (https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=58807<\/a>). So why do I think this\u00a0year will be any different? Because I\u2019ve decided to be more intentional with\u00a0my job search and overcome my personal job searching roadblocks.<\/p>\n

Allow me to explain. I work a full time job in student affairs at a university\u00a0and I\u2019m in graduate school working on my MLIS. I\u2019ve found several part-\u00a0time jobs during my search, but I haven\u2019t applied for them because\u00a01) I\u00a0don\u2019t have the time or energy to work a part-time job in addition to working\u00a045 hours a week and attending graduate school and\u00a02) The jobs didn\u2019t\u00a0have enough hours or pay to replace my full time job. I don\u2019t mind working\u00a0two part time jobs, but I wasn\u2019t in a position to accept job number one. I\u2019m\u00a0geographically bound to a specific area – at least until my husband finishes\u00a0up his program – and full time library jobs within an hour or so commute\u00a0are rare. Library and information science is a difficult field to break into\u00a0and you have to make sacrifices to get your foot in the door. I\u2019ve realized\u00a0that finding a full time job might be not possible, or at least will take some\u00a0time, and I don\u2019t want to delay getting crucial library experience before I\u00a0graduate from library school.<\/p>\n

So, once I realized how much my reluctance and financial inability to apply\u00a0for, and thus potentially accept, a part-time library job, was hindering my\u00a0job search, I decided to do something about it. I\u2019m trying to set myself\u00a0up so that I can apply for any position of interest and not worry about the\u00a0consequences of a part-time job or lower salary. Besides, even though\u00a0I would prefer a full time job, I know that a part-time job would allow me\u00a0the schedule flexibility I need to volunteer or intern in a library as well as\u00a0spend extra time on my professional commitments, thus having more\u00a0impressive content on my resume! I chose this profession for a reason and\u00a0my personal happiness is worth making some sacrifices.<\/p>\n

Once you have identified your roadblock(s), craft a plan of action. Here are\u00a0a few steps I\u2019m taking to overcome my roadblock:<\/p>\n

1. I\u2019ve cut back on unnecessary expenses or found ways to reduce\u00a0expenses.<\/strong> Couponing and meal planning or fewer trips to Starbucks\u00a0are a good place to start, but here are a few specific things I\u2019m\u00a0doing: I canceled a few fun weekend trips I had planned this year\u00a0to save money for conference travel. I was looking forward to those\u00a0trips, but I\u2019d rather look forward to going to my job! I also bought a\u00a0package for a year\u2019s worth of online barre classes that costs less\u00a0than the cost for one month of unlimited barre classes at a studio.\u00a0I\u2019m trying to get used to living on less now so a lower salary or hourly\u00a0wage won\u2019t sting so much.<\/p>\n

2. I\u2019ve started saving money to have a cushion to fall back on.<\/strong> This is\u00a0what you should do with the money you save in step number one!<\/p>\n

3. I vow to be proactive about job searching and apply for jobs I find\u00a0within 24 hours of the posting.<\/strong> I don\u2019t always feel sharp enough to\u00a0write a fabulous cover letter after work, but I know sometimes the\u00a0applications get cut off before the deadline arrives and I want to\u00a0make the cut.<\/p>\n

4. I will update my MLIS portfolio with content from my classes and\u00a0post every few weeks on my personal blog.<\/strong> My portfolio and blog\u00a0have been neglected and I want to keep my information fresh for\u00a0prospective employers.<\/p>\n

5. I\u2019m doing my best to maintain a positive attitude because I\u2019m\u00a0taking the steps necessary to get the job I want.<\/strong> It\u2019s easy to get\u00a0discouraged or feel hopeless, especially if you are currently working\u00a0a job that makes you unhappy, but being proactive and intentional\u00a0keeps you focused. Once I decided to just go for it and gave myself\u00a0permission to apply for part-time jobs, I felt like a weight was lifted\u00a0off my shoulders, and I\u2019m sure that comes across in my cover letters\u00a0and interviews.<\/p>\n

You may be in an entirely different position. However, regardless of your\u00a0situation, we all face roadblocks while job searching. Perhaps there are\u00a0positions that caught your eye but you didn\u2019t have some of the required\u00a0skills. Enroll in a Photoshop class or take a MOOC to brush up on some\u00a0tech skills. Or maybe you\u2019ve seen a few jobs that require evenings and\u00a0weekends and those hours conflict with your daughter\u2019s ballet classes.\u00a0Perhaps arranging a carpool with a fellow dancer is worth it to get your foot\u00a0in the door? Figure out what your personal job searching roadblocks are\u00a0and make a plan to tackle them head on, so this will be the year that you\u00a0get your library job!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Courtney Baron, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Georgia Overcoming Roadblocks When Job Searching I have decided this is the year I will get a library job. I\u2019ve been looking for\u00a0a paraprofessional position since I enrolled in the MLIS program at my\u00a0university in January 2013, but so far I haven\u2019t had any luck. I learned a\u00a0lot during my…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60585,"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":[69,3592,3867,3593,5961,4340,5983,5982,111],"class_list":["post-62672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-courtney-baron","tag-inalj-georgia","tag-job-search-tips","tag-job-searching","tag-overcoming-roadblocks","tag-part-time-jobs-vs-full-time-jobs","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/courtney.baron_.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-giQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62672","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=62672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}