{"id":67854,"date":"2014-04-09T13:45:56","date_gmt":"2014-04-09T18:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=67854"},"modified":"2014-04-09T02:02:28","modified_gmt":"2014-04-09T07:02:28","slug":"confidence-goes-a-long-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=67854","title":{"rendered":"Confidence Goes a Long Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Pennsylvania<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Confidence<\/span> Goes a Long Way<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"leigh.milligan\"<\/a>Once upon a time back in 2011, I graduated library school. I was getting called into\u00a0interviews left and right. I had been volunteering at a public library and had many\u00a0great skills and qualifications to share. But it never got back the interview stage.<\/p>\n

I took an oral exam to work in the library system I volunteered for. Yes oral exam\u00a0not interview. I was so excited! I was so sure I was going to get hired.<\/p>\n

Boy was I\u00a0wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had to recite my answers to four questions in front of a panel. I wasn\u2019t\u00a0referred to by name, only a number. I had a half hour to prepare my answers. I got\u00a0to the panel and recited my answers, only to be greeted with blank stares. It was\u00a0terrible and very intimidating. A couple weeks later I find out I failed the test. I was\u00a0so upset; I had no idea how I could fail, especially since I already was working in\u00a0the library. I went to do a review of my test results and received so many negative\u00a0comments. I was so put-off by this, I started to question if I was even in the right\u00a0profession. I was always overly prepared for my interviews, I practiced constantly\u00a0and had many questions to ask the interviewers, but I couldn\u2019t figure out where I\u00a0was going wrong.<\/p>\n

I had a talk with a good friend about the horrible oral exam experience. She said\u00a0once a librarian, always a librarian.<\/strong> My friend also told me to think about the\u00a0reasons I became a librarian and to keep those reasons in mind when applying to\u00a0jobs and interviews. It took me awhile to come up with a good reason about why\u00a0I am a librarian. I mean the obvious: I love books and doing research. I want to be\u00a0in a place where I can enable growth. But here\u2019s the real reason: I want to make a\u00a0difference in ones life. But you might ask can\u2019t you do that as a teacher or a nurse\u00a0or really anything? Sure you can, but as a librarian, you can have fun doing it. And\u00a0research, books, learning and making a difference, seems like a win-win situation for\u00a0me.<\/p>\n

Over the last two years, I haven\u2019t had many library interviews, but I have been\u00a0working on myself as a librarian and developing my skills and more to add to my\u00a0resume. I moved on from the public library world to volunteering in a small medical\u00a0library and I became a Head Editor for the states pages for INALJ. The key skill that I\u00a0have developed though both of these opportunities is confidence<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The medical library is in a rehabilitation hospital that serves mostly disabled\u00a0patrons. Before working at the medical library, I never really was around disabled\u00a0people or hospitals, I usually felt pretty uneasy in situations involving either.\u00a0Helping these patrons at the medical library has given me so much confidence<\/strong><\/span> in\u00a0working with people with disabilities. The patrons I serve really have so much spirit\u00a0in working around their disabilities especially in using our computers, I almost\u00a0never even notice their disabilities.<\/p>\n

I have developed even more confidence<\/strong><\/span> through my work at INALJ. I can\u2019t even\u00a0thank Naomi enough for giving me a voice online, in the library and info pros\u00a0community through blogging and social media. I absolutely love blogging and\u00a0chatting about libraries and job searching. I never realized how much I love writing,\u00a0until she gave me this opportunity. It has given me the confidence<\/strong><\/span> to work on my\u00a0writing skills in a public forum, as well as help others in their own job searching. I\u00a0also find that I am able to translate my voice in the online forum to my cover letters,\u00a0resume, interviews and the professional world.<\/p>\n

Confidence<\/strong><\/span> seems to be starting a trend in this post, right? Yes you are right.\u00a0Over the last year and a half, I was also trying to figure out where I went wrong\u00a0in the interviews and the oral exam. You guessed correctly, I didn\u2019t have or show\u00a0confidence<\/strong><\/span>. I would get all worked up, stressed and would beat myself up before\u00a0and after the interview. I would go in completely panicked. I bet it showed. I could\u00a0definitely feel it in my shaky voice when speaking. Lack of confidence<\/strong><\/span> could have\u00a0put off the interviewers. I knew this was something that needed to change or I\u00a0would never get a job that way.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, an opportunity came up to take the oral exam again. I was a little\u00a0hesitant to take it again because of my last horrible experience. I decided to take it\u00a0again, I had nothing to lose. If I failed again, maybe that library just isn\u2019t the right fit\u00a0for me. I also decided to get advice on answering the questions from a retired library\u00a0director. Getting this advice gave me more confidence<\/strong><\/span> in answering the questions\u00a0for the exam. It helped me to not get so stressed out and to go into the exam more\u00a0confident<\/strong><\/span>. I went into the exam and I really felt good about it. Instead of blank\u00a0stares when I answered the questions, I got smiles and nods. The nervousness I had\u00a0at all the other interviews previous was gone, and it really paid off this time. I ended\u00a0up passing the test and now I am on a list to be hired when any positions open up.<\/p>\n

Based on all my experience here\u2019s what I leave to you. When applying to jobs,\u00a0interviewing for jobs, going to a conference, or really anything in the library and job-searching world, have confidence<\/strong><\/span>. You will get so much farther in life if you have\u00a0confidence<\/span><\/strong> in what you do. It has really helped me in the long run, as you can see\u00a0from my experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Pennsylvania Confidence Goes a Long Way Once upon a time back in 2011, I graduated library school. I was getting called into\u00a0interviews left and right. I had been volunteering at a public library and had many\u00a0great skills and qualifications to share. But it never got back the interview stage. I…<\/p>\n

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