Comments on: What Not to Do When Applying for Library Jobs

By: Ellie Collier …In Six | INALJ (I Need a Library Job)

Ellie Collier …In Six | INALJ (I Need a Library Job) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:29:36 +0000

[...] Lead Pipe did a post on job hunting. I also liked this one from Attempting Elegance. [...]

By: Do you have any questions for us? | INALJ (I Need a Library Job)

Do you have any questions for us? | INALJ (I Need a Library Job) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:38:17 +0000

[...] great combined posting from the bloggers at In the Library with the Lead Pipe called “What Not to Do when Applying for Library [...]

By: Ellie

Ellie — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:06:48 +0000

I just wanted to add a link to this what TO do article that I pretty much agree with completely:

http://www.attemptingelegance.com/?p=1448

By: Pigbitin Mad

Pigbitin Mad — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:36:55 +0000

Dina, if you don’t already work in a public library where they say they will promote you the MLIS is a waste of time. The library profession is particularly snobbish when it comes to letting in outsiders and they feel that only those with at least two years of “Post Grad” MLS experience can alight to the top of their lofty tower. Your 20 years of corporate (aka “real”) experience will not matter to these people. And unless you are 25 and have a subject masters in science, you can totally forget about getting a job in a university. It is almost as hard as becoming a tenured profesor.

By: Kim Leeder

Kim Leeder — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:46:34 +0000

Wow, Linda, I don't think anyone will argue with your point! Hard to believe anyone would really send a response like that, but human beings do send unwise things sometimes when we're emotional. Clearly they should've had their mail goggles on!

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:24:08 +0000

Well, for starters, I don’t recommend sending an email message like the one I received a few days ago. That message, and my original one, are below (with names omitted):

From: Xxxx Yyyyy
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 7:16 PM
To: Aaaaa Bbbbb
Subject: Re: assistant position

fuck off

On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 2:48 PM, Aaaaa Bbbbb wrote:

Dear Xxxx Yyyyy,

I’m sorry to let you know that we selected another candidate for the position here at the Rrrr Ssss Library.

Please continue to check the Employment section of our website, as we do have other openings from time to time. We very much appreciate your interest in working with us.

Sincerely yours,

Aaaaa Bbbbb

By: Link Roundup: July 2009 | Melissa Fortson

Link Roundup: July 2009 | Melissa Fortson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:55:00 +0000

[...] What Not to Do When Applying for Library Jobs | In the Library with the Lead Pipe [...]

By: On the Hunt | meLISsa BLOG | Melissa Fortson

On the Hunt | meLISsa BLOG | Melissa Fortson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:53:53 +0000

[...] searching related to the organization of electronic portfolios. One of my favorite discoveries was What Not to Do When Applying for Library Jobs. In this June 2009 In The Library with the Lead Pipe post, the authors offer practical advice [...]

By: ellie

ellie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:41:38 +0000

For a partial answer – I would say that anything you can do to get a personal introduction helps. The informal interviews I’ve agreed to have all been students that first asked to observe me teach through someone else – either a friend or a former professor. So I’d suggest reaching out to former classmates/professors/association members/friends to get some kind of personal connection into the request.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:27:09 +0000

Thanks for this post – I’ve read it three or four times since it was written, searching for new angles I should be covering (or not covering, as the case may be) in my job search.

Could you address the issue of informational interviews in more detail, maybe even in its own post? I’m job hunting in a brand new city with no network of my own. The emails I’ve sent asking for informational interviews have gone unanswered. Do you have any tips on how to even get an informational interview set up? I have started to wonder if it’s a foreign concept to most librarians (too “businessy” maybe?) or if it’s only appropriate if you’re still in grad school or a very recent grad (which I’m not). In a particularly worried moment, I wondered if it was a major faux pas to be requesting informational interviews at places which have jobs open you can’t apply for. And then there’s the question of who do you try to contact, the person who has the kind of job you’d like or the person who supervises that position?

I could go on and on about what I’ve tried so far, but those questions should give sense of what I (and others) would be interested in hearing.

Thanks again!