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?
Partnership Job Board, Indeed, YMCA Job Board, LinkedIn, Town’s Website, Library’s Website, FB, Instagram, LIS School Job Boards (Western University and Toronto iSchool)
Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?
Yes – Indeed is often the worst quality. Often no cover letters and a ton of spam.
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…)
√ Yes
What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?
Meet no requirements, have to relocate (depends on the job and how fast we need to fill it)
Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)
√ No
Do you provide interview questions before the interview?
√ Other: Sometimes
If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?
24 hours
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?
√ Other: Only if the candidate requests it
Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?
√ Other: It’s offered but it’s their responsibility to reach out afterward to ask
What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?
No chapter book applications. Less corporate jargon, use the cover letter to advertise who YOU are and why you love libraries. Don’t just focus on the hard skills or what you think we want to hear.
I want to hire someone who is:
Adaptable
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?
Coordinator, Programming &Outreach
When was this position hired?
√ Within the last three months
Approximately how many people applied for this position?
√ 25 or fewer
Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?
√ 25% or less
And how would you define “hirable”?
Meet the basic requirements
How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?
More applications, more qualified people but many who were very demanding in terms of work from home and more pay despite minimal experience
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?
√ 10-50
Are you unionized?
√ No
How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 2
How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?
√ 1
Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?
√ There are more positions
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?
√ Yes
Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?
√ No
Is librarianship a dying profession?
√ No
Demographics
This section asks for information about you specifically.
What part of the world are you in?
√ Canada
What’s your region like?
√ Rural area
What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):
√ Public Library
What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire?
Cataloguers, children’s librarians, tech services (website, digital literacy support), CEO
Are you a librarian?
√ Yes
Are you now or have you ever been:
√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise)