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 hunting?
I had to relocate for personal reasons
Where do you look for open positions?
INALJ, ALA, National Council for Public History, AAM, Archivesgig, USAJobs, State library association, LinkedIn, Indeed, Area Arts Organizations, County job board
What position level are you looking for?
√ Entry level,
√ Requiring at least two years of experience,
√ Supervisory,
√ Senior Librarian,
√ Branch Manager
What type(s) of organization are you looking in?
√ Academic library,
√ Archives,
√ Library vendor/service provider,
√ Public library,
√ Special library
What part of the world are you in?
√ Mid-Atlantic US
What’s your region like?
√ Urban area
Are you willing/able to move for employment?
√ No
What are the top three things you’re looking for in a job?
Living wage, new things to learn, ability to be creative
How many jobs have you applied to during your current search? (Please indicate if it’s an estimate or exact)
20-30
What steps, actions, or attributes are most important for employers to take to sell you on the job?
√ Pay well,
√ Having (and describing) excellent benefits,
√ Funding professional development,
√ Prioritizing EDI work,
√ 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?
A job description that is excessively long or describes duties that seem to go beyond the stated salary range.
The Process
How much time do you spend preparing an application packet?
Approximately one hour
What are the steps you follow to prepare an application packet?
Research the company, make adjustments to my resume and cover letter templates based on the job description.
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?
One month
How do you prepare for interviews?
I try to find questions the specific organization has used in the past online, practice answering basic interview questions. Go for a walk, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water. Breathing exercises. Test technology if needed.
What are your most hated interview questions, and why?
Salary questions, because I don’t like or honestly fully understand how to play the “game.”
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
If you’ve turned down an offer (or offers), why?
Pay was too low to pay my bills
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 received a congratulations email that I received the position and should expect information from their third party hiring company soon. I couldn’t get any information for a month.
What should employers do to make the hiring process better for job hunters?
Share information with candidates. It would be nice to know how many people will be interviewing me. I’ve interviewed at library systems where it was not clearly communicated which locations they were hiring for, and that’s a waste of time for everyone if the hiring location is not a possibility for the candidate. Also, communicating job duties is important. I was once surprised on my first day on a job that part of every day would be spent working in a call center.
You and Your Well-Being
How are you doing, generally?
√ I’m maintaining,
√ I’m frustrated,
√ Not out of money yet, but worried,
√ I feel alone in my search
What are your job search self-care strategies?
I take walk breaks often. It’s free and it helps me feel better.
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?
It’s hard! With my experience I was told so many times that I would have no problem finding a new position, and that hasn’t been the case which at times feels embarrassing. I’m reminding myself and you that we are capable and we don’t need to be embarrassed. A lot of job searching is luck and we may have to wait for our luck to turn but it will get there.
Do you have any comments for Emily (the survey author) or are there any other questions you think we should add to this survey?
Thanks for doing this!
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?)
2018
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?
√ Less than six months after graduating
What kind of work was your first post-graduation professional position?
√ Full Time
Did you get support from your library school for your first job hunt (and/or any subsequent ones)?
No