{"id":70687,"date":"2014-05-05T11:30:40","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T16:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=70687"},"modified":"2014-05-04T19:27:26","modified_gmt":"2014-05-05T00:27:26","slug":"so-ive-graduated-library-school-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=70687","title":{"rendered":"So I\u2019ve graduated library school\u2026 Now what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angie Solis, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Missouri\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve graduated library school\u2026 Now what?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"AngieSolis\"<\/a>As I write this on the eve of my graduation from library school I find myself caught up in feelings of joy,\u00a0fear, worry, happiness and relief. The feelings of elation come from the fact that I can stand up and\u00a0proudly announce: \u201cI have a Master\u2019s degree!\u201d But these feelings of happiness are quickly cast into a\u00a0deep dark hole as soon as I think about my impending future. Can I get a job? How long will it take?\u00a0Am I good enough? These feelings of doubt have definitely weighed heavily on my mind as I\u2019m sure\u00a0they have with other future professionals, but I\u2019ve found some helpful hints on getting past the doubt\u00a0and moving on with the rest of your life (and career).<\/p>\n

First things first, tell the world about your accomplishment.<\/strong> Updating your resume and social\u00a0networking sites like LinkedIn<\/a> will let the world know you have an education and you\u2019re ready to use\u00a0it. And, it will help you be prepared in the event that the job of your dreams (or a good entry-level\u00a0position) has just opened up in your area. If you need help with your resume show it to family, friends,\u00a0co-workers, school contacts and even strangers; a fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference. Also,\u00a0brush up on your cover letter skills. Knowing how to write a good cover letter will come in very handy\u00a0during your job search and can help you stand out from the pack. I keep a template on file and adjust it\u00a0for the specific job I am applying for.<\/p>\n

When I asked other professionals for advice on what to do next, the top tip I received was to BE\u00a0PATIENT!<\/strong> It make take some time to find a job after graduation so getting discouraged early on could\u00a0hinder your chances of find a job later on. While looking for a job get involved in the LIS community.\u00a0Join local associations and attend meetings and conferences. Volunteer to get job experience and learn\u00a0more about the profession. I found that getting involved in inalj.com has been an amazing experience.\u00a0Not only do I use the site to look for jobs but I have found smart advice, support, experience and\u00a0networking opportunities that have been so useful in this journey. Volunteering at your local library is\u00a0also an important step to gaining real life experience and meeting people who could help you get an \u201cin\u201d\u00a0to the industry.<\/p>\n

This brings me to networking. Finding ways to network and get involved<\/a> in this field is your key to\u00a0success!<\/strong> Volunteering, joining associations, attending conferences and getting involved are definitely\u00a0ways to network. I saw a tip once that joining the ALA New Member Round Table<\/a> (NMRT) mentor\u00a0program was a possible start to meeting other professionals and finding guidance in your job search.\u00a0Joining is pretty simple. All you have to do is go to the Membership Information and Services<\/a> page at\u00a0ALA. Once you log in click the button to Proceed to Make Changes on your account. The first page has\u00a0options to join specialty divisions and the next page you can choose Round Table Memberships. Click\u00a0the box for New Members (currently the membership fee is only $6.67). Go to the next page and add\u00a0your payment information and you\u2019re all done! When you join the mentoring program as a mentee\u00a0you could be assigned a mentor to guide you into the profession. I\u2019ve heard mixed reviews about this\u00a0program, but nonetheless I\u2019ve joined it and we\u2019ll see how it helps in the future.<\/p>\n

Keep learning! Looking for ways to continue your education will help you in the long run.<\/strong> Library Juice\u00a0Academy<\/a> is a highly recommend source for online professional development for librarians and may\u00a0also help you to find out a field of librarianship that appeals to you. ALA also offers online learning<\/a> and\u00a0online courses<\/a> to help with continued education of librarians.<\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t forget about you.<\/strong> Through the volunteering and the networking, the resume updating\u00a0and the job searching, don\u2019t forget to take a moment for yourself every once in a while. Learn to be\u00a0confident in yourself and your abilities which will show when you meet other professionals. Clare\u00a0from INALJ Idaho<\/a> says to \u201cGive yourself permission to take a rest if you need it. But no more than a\u00a0month, a week or two is better. After that, even if you can’t find a job, volunteer or do something\u00a0career related that gets you out of the house and meeting people. After a rest start doing a few “action”\u00a0items like scheduling an informational interview, or even filling out a volunteer form to help you build\u00a0momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s to the future of all librarians. I\u2019ll be sure to post updates as the job search progresses and I\u2019d\u00a0love to hear any tips you have for future librarians of the world. Be sure to post them in the comments\u00a0or connect with me on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angie Solis, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Missouri\u00a0 So I\u2019ve graduated library school\u2026 Now what? As I write this on the eve of my graduation from library school I find myself caught up in feelings of joy,\u00a0fear, worry, happiness and relief. The feelings of elation come from the fact that I can stand up and\u00a0proudly announce: \u201cI have…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57256,"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":[146,6197,5949,69,3592,6198,3640,111],"class_list":["post-70687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-advice","tag-after-library-school","tag-angie-solis","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-future-librarians","tag-inalj-missouri","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/AngieSolis.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-io7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70687","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=70687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}