hiringlibrarians

[hiringlibrarians]

Your Participation Requested! Crowdsourced Resume/CV Review, Interview Questions Repository, and LIS Salary Info

Many of the helpful resources here on Hiring Librarians depend on YOU for robustness and relevance. Of course you can always donate or take a survey about hiring or getting hired, but please also consider participating in these crowdsourced resources.

Oh hey! Consider this your irregular reminder that many of the helpful resources here on Hiring Librarians depend on YOU for robustness and relevance. Please consider participating in these crowdsourced resources: Are you interested in getting a lot of eyes on your resume or CV?   Here’s how it works: We post resumes or CVs from any library or LIS job hunter who submits one. Other job hunters,…

[hiringlibrarians]

"We need to continue adapting how we talk about our work and how it connects to the current world"

"First round interviews are always virtual. Some final rounds are virtual, some come to campus. The hiring manager and HR usually decide if a search will be entirely virtual or include a campus component."

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"I had to be willing to move anywhere in the United States. That's simply not possible now with a family."

"There's too much expected for too little pay. There also seems to be an expectation (in my area) of having Ivy League level education, 2+ graduate degrees, and lots of publications for entry->mid-level jobs." #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ More than 18 months Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

"we have to post a range, and of course, everyone thinks they qualify for the top of the range"

"We use a scoring rubric that lists required & preferred qualifications. We cannot interview everyone, so we limit to the top 10 or so for phone/zoom interviews and narrow down from there." #LIS #GLAM #LibraryJobs

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"I asked how they were handling challenges to LGBTQ material and their answer was terrible."

"One library really liked me a lot and I liked them. They acknowledged that I was an excellent fit, but they were going with a different candidate. I was bummed, but have maintained a professionally friendly relationship with them, which is nice." #LIS

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ A year to 18 months Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

"Librarian candidates get lunch; paraprofessional candidates do not"

"This search functionally failed twice, first because Administration tried to class and pay too little for a managerial position, then because a wonderful candidate withdrew at the last minute for personal reasons." #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"The permission paradox is real, but it should not be"

"Any phrase that indicates the job is in an unhealthy working environment, e.g. "fast paced environment," "Multitasking," "Hardcore," "Hard worker," or anything else that would indicate that the institution in question does not value employees time off."

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ More than 18 months Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

"library-specific job listings get higher quality applicants"

"I find cover letters to be an important piece of the application because that's where a candidate can demonstrate understanding of both the role and the institution" #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"I realised I couldn't live on the salary unfortunately, after further research"

"It is an isolating experience and doesn't seem to get easier with age.  It can be discouraging, especially if it could be handled better by the employer." #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ More than 18 months Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

"Low pay and diminishing positions"

"We are civil service so we have to work with the current list first.  Then we would post to our Library System's job page and the New York State Nyline." #LIS #GLAM #LibraryJobs

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"if its a position that I don't have a lot of experience in, I reach out to people in similar positions or look for webinars about that position."

"I have ready made cover letters and resumes for different types of jobs that I apply for, one for archives, one for academic, one for Tech Services. Originally, I spent several hours one each, but now that they're done, I make small edits and submit it."

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ Less than six months Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

Further Questions: What do you do to ensure that new librarians get a fair shot at entry level jobs?

"Public service staff face challenges that professionals in other library settings most likely do not face, especially in today's climate. It's a disservice not to prepare new graduates for the realities of the modern public library setting."

Oh hey! Periodically, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.  If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail. Recently I recorded a podcast for librarypunk. Among other things, we talked a little bit about how…

[hiringlibrarians]

Further Questions: How do you know when it is time to move on (and when is it better to stay put)?

" Public service staff face challenges that professionals in other library settings most likely do not face, especially in today's climate. It's a disservice not to prepare new graduates for the realities of the modern public library setting."

Oh hey! Periodically, I ask a question to a group of people who hire library and LIS workers.  If you have questions you think I should ask, if you’d like to be someone who responds to questions, or if you have any other thoughts and feelings please shoot me an email at hiringlibrarians AT gmail. Recently I recorded a podcast for librarypunk. Among other things, we talked a little bit about how…

[hiringlibrarians]

"not following the instructions in the job posting (read carefully!)"

"I hire for attitude and demeanor first." #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #Librarians #LibraryJobs

PPlease note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"they make it seem like we should accept precarious work positions to "gain experience" I strongly disagree."

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years? honestly, the world is probably not gonna last that long so hopefully I'm either dead or on the front lines of the class revolution." #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ Six months to a year Why are you job…

[hiringlibrarians]

"The pool for qualified part time librarians is very poor"

"My organization is forcing us to replace full time with part time so it's a continual revolving door for our positions.  Part-timers are working other jobs, aren't flexible and it's destroying the service quality." #LIS #GLAM #libraryJobs

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey…

[hiringlibrarians]

"I lucked out- the library i had been working for before my Masters happened to be hiring when I finished"

"It actually was the day before everything shut down from COVID, something with the position didn't feel right and lucky for me I did because most their staff were furloughed" #LIS #GLAM #Libraries #LibraryJobs

Please note: this is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling job searching practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. Your Demographics and Search Parameters How long have you been job hunting? √ Other: on and off for several years Why are you…