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 here.
Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs
These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).
Where do you advertise your job listings?
Seek, LinkedIn, RIMPA
Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?
Unsure
Do you include salary in the job ad?
√ Yes
Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?
√ No
Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?
√ Yes
Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)
√ N/A – we don’t hire librarians
What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Badly presented or completely irrelevant resume/cover letter
Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)
√ No
Do you provide interview questions before the interview?
√ No
Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?
√ No, and I don’t think we ever have
How much of your interview process is virtual?
√ First round/Initial Screen
Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Yes
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?
Always apply with a cover letter tailored to the position
I want to hire someone who is:
Relateable
Your Last Recruitment
These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.
Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?
Records Management Officer
When was this position hired?
√ Within the last three months
Approximately how many people applied for this position?
√ more than 100, but less than 200
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Had some relevant qualification or experience, supplied relevant & current resume
How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?
Many more irrelevant applications including submitted without cover letter and seemingly without reason to apply for the role.
Your Workplace
This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.
How many staff members are at your library/organization?
√ 200+
Are you unionized?
√ Yes, at least some workers are union members
How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 7 or more
How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ Other: Unknown. 3 within records management field
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ I don’t know
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?
√ N/A – we don’t have librarian positions
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?
√ N/A – we don’t have librarian positions
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ I don’t know
Why or why not?
I don’t think so, but I do think it is shifting with the times
Demographics
This section asks for information about you specifically.
What part of the world are you in?
√ Australia/New Zealand
What’s your region like?
√ Urban area,
√ Suburban area
What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):
√ Government – Records & information management
What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire?
Records management & mailroom officers
Are you a librarian?
√ Other: No, but i am qualified to be one.
Are you now or have you ever been:
√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise),
√ A member of a hiring or search committee