{"id":76129,"date":"2014-07-07T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T16:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76129"},"modified":"2014-07-06T16:42:27","modified_gmt":"2014-07-06T21:42:27","slug":"the-brilliance-of-being-earnest-job-search-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=76129","title":{"rendered":"The Brilliance of Being Earnest \u2013 Job Search Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sheryl L. Christensen, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ California<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Brilliance of Being Earnest \u2013 Job Search Edition<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Sheryl_Christensen\"<\/a>The job search. I know, right? It is intimidating enough to make the strongest of us weep. A\u00a0year out of my MLIS, about a \u201czillion\u201d searches into the process, and I am at a point where I\u00a0am speculating a lot (sometimes even to my cat!) about my strategy. Choosing a prospective\u00a0job for which to apply turns out to be possibly risky and problematic and the sometimes stilted\u00a0progression of events after applying feels so daunting.<\/p>\n

As a crossover hopeful from another professional arena, this is a particularly challenging issue\u00a0for me. There are so many uncertainties in what seems like a more and more opaque situation.\u00a0One hiring manager says to please<\/em> go ahead and apply even if your experience is not an exact\u00a0match for the position. Another says that the position description is often inflated and that an\u00a0applicant isn\u2019t really expected to have expertise in every duty listed. A third tells us that if our\u00a0experience doesn\u2019t match up with the position requirements that not only will our application\u00a0materials be ejected, but that our name may also wind up on the \u201cdo not call–ever\u201d list. She\u00a0also mentions that we should keep in mind that our field is a \u201csmall world\u201d after all.<\/p>\n

Sigh. I\u2019m wondering: how often does a person\u2019s experience\/education align exactly with a\u00a0position description? I\u2019m sure it happens, but the field of information provision is changing so\u00a0rapidly that it is hard to believe that position requirements are not at least somewhat fluid. Of\u00a0course, applying for a position for which we have absolutely NO education or experience is an\u00a0exercise in wasted time for everyone concerned, but how much of a stretch-fit is too much?\u00a0The answer seems to vary from one institution to another. Another consideration is that many\u00a0budgets are painfully tight and have been for a while; can an employer afford to hire and train?\u00a0At all? A limited amount?<\/p>\n

Since it is difficult to know a lot about the organizational culture and\/or bottom line of our\u00a0prospective place of employment before we are immersed in it, one thing that we can do and\u00a0have complete control over is how we communicate: who we are, what we can do proficiently,\u00a0and the ways in which we are malleable or versatile.<\/p>\n

Our tools and time to make an impression are limited, so we need to show the hiring manager\u00a0or search committee members what we have \u201cgoing on\u201d quickly and succinctly. It can\u00a0be tempting to fall into the trap of the sales pitch voiceover when we are communicating\u00a0via standard documents and when we want so desperately to stand out, but this can be\u00a0problematic if we re-read what we\u2019ve written and then think in the back of our minds, \u201cCome\u00a0on down!! You\u2019re the next contestant on [insert game show title]!!!\u201d I can imagine, as a\u00a0member of the search committee, reading an application package with this tone and cringing\u00a0in pain and embarrassment for this person. There is no way to know what skills, abilities (or\u00a0anything, really) this person would bring in the door with them since they give a misleading\u00a0picture of who they are. This would be, at best, a risky hire; at worst, a hiring disaster that\u00a0would require extensive and possibly long-term clean-up.<\/p>\n

Yes, we are trying to sell them. But we need to sell them on our genuine substance and value.\u00a0We are an asset to both their organizational community and their mission, not a sham-wow!!!\u00a0;D We need to show them how this is true.<\/strong> Tell your story. Show what you have to offer in a\u00a0clear, earnest, and vibrant way.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of articles and websites available that are helpful and relevant for various\u00a0aspects of the job search in general and to job search documents specifically. The two\u00a0resources below are a great jumping-off point. They will help you wrap your mind around the\u00a0basics and find your balance in the quest to represent yourself in a way that will result in a\u00a0brilliant<\/strong> professional fit.<\/p>\n

Cover Letters – Great Tips<\/a><\/p>\n

Resumes and more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sheryl L. Christensen, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ California The Brilliance of Being Earnest \u2013 Job Search Edition The job search. I know, right? It is intimidating enough to make the strongest of us weep. A\u00a0year out of my MLIS, about a \u201czillion\u201d searches into the process, and I am at a point where I\u00a0am speculating a…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":63732,"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":[69,3592,3293,3629,3860,16,266,5961,4340,5917,111],"class_list":["post-76129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-fit","tag-inalj-california","tag-job-hunt","tag-job-hunting","tag-job-search","tag-job-search-tips","tag-job-searching","tag-sheryl-christensen","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sheryl_Christensen.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-jNT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76129","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=76129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}