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 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 hunting?
√ Looking for a promotion/more responsibility,
√ My current job is awful/toxic
Where do you look for open positions?
As an academic librarian I look at the Chronicle of Higher Ed, indeed.com, InsideHigherEd, and I have signed up for alerts from a few hiring consultant groups known for library dean searches as well as signed up for specific alerts from a list of specific universities and colleges I would like to work at.
What position level are you looking for?
√ Supervisory,
√ Director/Dean,
√ Associate/Assistant Dean
What type(s) of organization are you looking in?
√ Academic library
What part of the world are you in?
√ Western US (including Pacific Northwest)
What’s your region like?
√ Other: An odd rural agricultural area sandwiched between urban areas
Are you willing/able to move for employment?
√ Yes, to a specific list of places,
√ Yes, as long as at least some of my moving costs are covered
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
A non-toxic administration, increased responsibility, increased salary (adjusted for cost of living changes),
How many jobs have you applied to during your current search? (Please indicate if it’s an estimate or exact)
Exactly 52 applications submitted since 10/17/2023. Of those, 2 were outright rejections, 2 I made semifinalist but didn’t move forward to finalist, 3 I made the finalist list for on-campus interviews and am waiting on hiring decisions, 4 I made semifinalist and am waiting to attend those Zoom interviews. The remaining 41 submitted applications haven’t hit their review dates yet.
What steps, actions, or attributes are most important for employers to take to sell you on the job?
√ Pay well,
√ Introducing me to staff,
√ Having a good reputation,
√ Prioritizing work-life balance,
√ Other: more than a good academic reputation I want to see evidence that upper admin (president, provost, dean) actually care about their people.
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?
Excessive turnover at the Provost level, evidence of lack of shared governance ethic by admin, derision toward the library by provost/president, lack of emphasis on the library’s role in service to students, reports from my circle about a culture of abusive behavior of admin toward staff
The Process
How much time do you spend preparing an application packet?
Depends. I customize my cover letter for each and some require teaching and research statements, so it can range from 30 minutes to 4 hours per packet.
What are the steps you follow to prepare an application packet?
I read and save the job ad so I can share it with my references, ensure I hit every required qualification and as many desired/preferreds as possible. (For dean/director positions I am willing to submit a 4-page letter since they ask for so much and to date it has been working despite the length.) I also do some quick research to ensure nothing about the institution would cause me to choose not to apply so that I dont waste my time. Each institution I apply to gets its own Dropbox folder for materials (job ad, cover letter, CV, references, statements) so I have a record of what I submitted that I can share with references in case I make semifinalist. I also keep a GoogleDocs spreadsheet of openings I’m interested in and closing dates, applications submitted and submission dates, a record of how far I made it in the process for each position I applied for, and a spreadsheet of info prep for each institution where I get a semifinalist and finalist interview. It’s a lot of work, but my application to interview ratio shows it’s working.
How do you prefer to communicate with potential employers?
√ Other: Email through the interview stages, email for bad news, phone for offers
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?
I expect academic libraries will take 2 weeks to review applications after the closing date, that zoom semifinalists will be the two weeks after that, that campus visits are 3-5 weeks after the semifinals, and that decisions are made 2-3 weeks after the last visit. So, 3 months, give or take before I would hear about the conclusion of a search I didn’t make the interview stages for.
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 √ Not Applicable
- Interviewed for a job where an internal candidate was eventually chosen √ I don’t know
- Asked for an accommodation for a disability √ Not Applicable
- Withdrawn an application before the offer stage √ Not Applicable
- Turned down an offer √ Not Applicable
What should employers do to make the hiring process better for job hunters?
A prompt of ‘Give us your vision for our library’ is rough since it starts you out visioning without any input from really important parties (like your future employees and students). Be more creative and more campus-specific about those prompts. Be honest about challenges (this has yet to be an issue, everyone so far has been quite open about rough spots). Be as communicative as possible – there has to be a solution other than HR’s preferred utter silence.
You and Your Well-Being
How are you doing, generally?
√ I’m optimistic,
√ I’m maintaining,
√ I feel supported in my search
What are your job search self-care strategies?
My job search *is* my self-care strategy. I’m in the enviable position of having a good job, just looking for more responsibility in a less toxic environment. I try to apply in batches so I can take part of the week away from thinking about the search. I have friends I text with who keep my spirits up and remind me of my talent, and enthusiastic references who make me feel worthy of a better position.
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?
If, like me, structure helps you feel like the chaos of the universe is more under control and bearable, figure out how Excel or GoogleSheets can help you track your search. Seeing all of it clearly laid out helps me feel better, helps me feel productive when I see all I’ve submitted, and gives me a good idea of time passed on each application so I have an idea of whether it’s likely I’ve been passed up by the committee. Other than that, just know you’re not alone. Lots of us out here looking for better environments where we can serve folks to the best of our ability. For employers, figure out a way to evidence what kind of workplace environment you’re selling, e.g. Do you advertise for a collaborative leader because that’s your actual workplace culture, or because your people are demanding it after having an authoritarian in charge too long?
Do you have any comments for Emily (the survey author) or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
This is a fantastic service to the profession and I have really appreciated it over the years. So glad to see it’s still going strong!
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?)
2006
When did you start your first job search for a “professional” position (or other position that utilized your degree)?
√ Less than six months before graduating with my MLIS/other LIS degree, but still before I graduated
In relation to your graduation, when did you find your first “professional” position?
√ A year to 18 months after graduating
What kind of work was your first post-graduation professional position?
√ Full Time,
√ It was a full-time tenure-track position I landed exactly 1 year post-graduation with my MLS
Did you get support from your library school for your first job hunt (and/or any subsequent ones)?
No, but they ran workshops for resumes and cover letters, and have a listserv advertising jobs.