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 hunting?
√ Looking for more money,
√ Looking for a promotion/more responsibility,
√ I want to work with a different population,
√ Because I reassessed my priorities after COVID
Where do you look for open positions?
Professional listservs, University of Toronto iSchool jobsite, Partnership job board
What position level are you looking for?
√ Supervisory,
√ Senior Librarian
What type(s) of organization are you looking in?
√ Academic library,
√ Special library
What part of the world are you in?
√ Canada
What’s your region like?
√ Rural area
Are you willing/able to move for employment?
√ Yes, to a specific list of places
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Flexibility, a challenge (but not a toxic one), dynamic work environment
How many jobs have you applied to during your current search? (Please indicate if it’s an estimate or exact)
Around 30
What steps, actions, or attributes are most important for employers to take to sell you on the job?
√ Pay well,
√ Introducing me to staff,
√ Funding professional development,
√ Prioritizing work-life balance
Do you expect to see the salary range listed in a job ad?
√ Yes, and it’s a red flag when it’s not
Other than not listing a salary range, are there other “red flags” that would prevent you from applying to a job?
Asking for an extensive application package which is out of step with the job (like a three page mission statement in addition to cover letter and CV for a contract job), having a low salary range, constantly posting the same job(s) over and over again
The Process
How much time do you spend preparing an application packet?
3 days
What are the steps you follow to prepare an application packet?
Review job posting, revise CV if needed, draft cover letter and let it sit for a day before editing, pulling language from posting, talking to friends who might be familiar with the institution
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
When would you like potential employers to contact you?
√ To acknowledge my application,
√ To tell me if the search is at the interview stage, even if I have not been selected,
√ Once the position has been filled, even if it’s not me
How long do you expect an organization’s application process to take, from the point you submit your documents to the point of either an offer or rejection?
2 months to a year
How do you prepare for interviews?
Review posting and applications materials, read annual reports and strategic plan of the institution (if applicable), draft list of questions to ask the interview committee
What are your most hated interview questions, and why?
Any question which assumes knowledge about the institution or involves an unexplained hypothetical. Obviously, I’ve looked at your available materials but I don’t have access to your intranet or deep intricate knowledge of your processes. You need to give context.
During your current search, have you had any of the following experiences:
- Submitted an application and got no response √ Happened more than once
- Had an interview and never heard back √ Happened more than once
- Interviewed for a job where an internal candidate was eventually chosen √ Happened more than once
- Asked for an accommodation for a disability √ Happened more than once, I don’t know
- Withdrawn an application before the offer stage √ Not Applicable
- Turned down an offer √ Happened once, I don’t know, Not Applicable
If you’ve turned down an offer (or offers), why?
I’ve turned down one offer. The head of the library was giving me major red flags in terms of her style of management, and I knew I couldn’t work like that.
If you’ve asked for an accommodation, what happened?
I’ve disclosed a disability though the setup of the interview did not require an accommodation.
If you want to share a great, inspirational, funny, horrific or other story about an experience you have had at any stage in the hiring process, please do so here:
I applied for a job in October, wrote an exam for it in December, interviewed in March, heard back that they wanted to do an informal fit chat in July…and I still haven’t heard back from them after I said I would.
What should employers do to make the hiring process better for job hunters?
Stop asking me to do unpaid labour for you (planning a program, creating a policy, etc). Start actually communicating with applicants in a timely manner. I’m looking to switch jobs, so my situation isn’t as dire, but if I was unemployed and looking for a new job? Most of these processes are bad.
You and Your Well-Being
How are you doing, generally?
√ I’m optimistic
What are your job search self-care strategies?
Plan out job hunting/application time, build in breaks, try not to tie my self-worth to a job process (even though it is about me when I get rejected! Sometimes at least!)
Do you have any advice or words of support you’d like to share with other job hunters, is there anything you’d like to say to employers, or is there anything else you’d like to say about job hunting?
Job hunting is demoralizing as hell even when you have a job. Processes are terrible on both sides. But here’s the thing: you are trying to sell your job posting. Make them better, fight with HR, and deeply consider if your organization is somewhere people want to be – and if it isn’t, what you need to do to fix that.
Job Hunting Post Graduate School
If you have an MLIS or other graduate level degree in a LIS field, what year did you graduate? (Or what year do you anticipate graduating?)
2015
In relation to your graduation, when did you find your first “professional” position?
√ I was actually hired before I graduated
What kind of work was your first post-graduation professional position?
√ Contract,
√ Temporary/Limited Term
Did you get support from your library school for your first job hunt (and/or any subsequent ones)?
Ha, no
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about searching for or finding your first post-graduation position?
Not being picky for my first post-graduation search was both helpful and also incredibly privileged. But I was made to feel like having some standards for my search this time around was being “too picky.” So, should we all just be desperate forever? Is that the job market we want?