I. Searching for Jobs
II. Cover letter and Resume tips
III. The Interview
IV.The Offer
V. Further info
Appendix a. Interview Questions

I. Searching for jobs

A. General Websites – these websites can be used to search for general library jobs (academic, public, etc)

• GSLIS job boards – Look under the Community Forums in the GSLIS Moodle to find postings about pre-professional and professional job opportunities.
• ALA Joblist - http://joblist.ala.org/
• Combined LIS Job Postings - http://www.lisjobs.com/jobs/index.asp
• Library Job Postings on the Internet - http://www.libraryjobpostings.org/
• Libgig.com - http://www.libgig.com/
• University of Texas job boards (no login needed!) - http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/jobweb/Search.php
• Indiana University job boards (no login needed!) - http://www.slis.indiana.edu/careers/students.html

B. Listservs

• LIBJOBS - http://www.ifla.org/mailing-lists/#libjobs
• LM_NET (specific to school media) - http://lmnet.wordpress.com/
• LIS-JOBS - http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/lislists/lis-jobs.html

C. Specific location?

• Try looking on the state library association website.
• Find a directory of library systems or public libraries and keep checking their employment page (an RSS feed will be valuable for this setup).
• Cold calls – be sure to specify why you are interested in their library and community.

D. Networking

• Use the career services available at GSLIS. Try the GSLIS Explore Careers website, or talk to Roy Brooks (rebrooks@illinois.edu), the GSLIS career specialist.
• Utilize GSLIS alumni connections. The GSLIS Office of Advancement offers Alumni-Student Connect, a valuable service that establishes employment connections through the GSLIS alumni network. Interested individuals or employers should complete the Alumni-Student Connect Web Form to request a connection in a particular area or profession of library and information science.
• Specifically for school librarian jobs, attend jobs fairs. Speak with Georgeann Burch (gburch@illinois.edu) for more info about school librarianship.
• Ask your practicum advisor for suggestions and locations. Do they know anyone who is hiring?

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II. Cover letter and Resume tips

• Cover letters are ESSENTIAL; they are your first impression – try to sounds confident, but not arrogant.
• Typos can cost you, be sure to have someone else review your resume and cover letter before submitting it.
• If you need help writing your resume or CL, speak with your advisor, schedule a meeting with the Career Center or Writing Center.
• Cover letters should follow this format:
• Introduce yourself and why you are interested in the job.
• Describe why you would be a good fit for the job. Don't just talk about your past experience but explain what you can bring to their organization .
• Reiterate your interest, and how the organization would benefit from hiring you.
• Tailor your cover letter and resume to each specific job; show that you have done your research and know about various programs and services the library offers.
• Don’t bother with a vague objective – only use an objective that is clearly and specifically related to the job you are applying for.
• Resumes can be more than one page but be sure to highlight relevant information and experience in your cover letter.

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III. The Interview

A. Preparation

• BE PREPARED – prepare your answers ahead of time and practice with someone.
• For a list of possible questions that you may be asked, please see the questions below.
• In a public library setting, you will DEFINITELY be asked about reader’s advisory interviews. Also, you may be asked to prepare a 3-5 minute storytime ahead of time. Prepare for questions about time management and program planning.
• In a school library setting, you will most likely be asked about classroom management practices and teaching philosophies. How do you handle a diverse set of needs in one classroom?
• Do your research on the library and the areas so you can tell them exactly why you want to work there.
• Read the strategic plan and mission of the library!! Be prepared to ask questions based on this.
• If possible, get someone to do a mock interview with you.

B. The actual interview

• Dress appropriately. Suits are not always necessary, but use your best judgment.
• If it’s a phone interview, dress up! You want to be in a professional mind set and this will help.
• Be prepared for the interview to last at least an hour and know that you will most likely be interviewed by several people at once.
• Give concise and informative answers; avoid one word answers but do not ramble on.
• If you don’t know the answer to something, admit that you do not know but emphasize your willingness to learn.
• REMEMBER that you are also interviewing the library – is this somewhere you would like to work? Do you feel you belong here? If not, move on.
• Prepare a list of questions to ask your interviewers based on the research you have done about their organization. Examples: Do you have any mentoring opportunities? What is your staff situation like? See examples here within the "Job Interviewing Resources" section. https://www.atla.com/Members/programs/libtools/Pages/default.aspx

C. Follow-up

• Be sure to get the names of everyone who interviewed you and send a thank you to each one. Emails are appropriate for a phone interview follow-up but handwritten letters are essential after an in-person interview.
• Reiterate your "hire me" sales pitch, follow-up on any questions you fumbled, or address anything that didn't get covered.
• Reflect on your own experience: is this a library you want to work at? See http://www.liscareer.com/cunningham_eiq.htm for the signs of an emotionally healthy library.

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IV. The Offer

• The offered salary usually has some wiggle room. It is usually best not to demand anything but be firm in your negotiations ("I have to pay for parking/insurance/mandatory conference attendance and X amount of salary would adequately cover my needs"). Work schedule, telecommuting arrangements, additional time off, and conference funding may also be open for negotiation.
• Check out Leigh Estabrook’s Salary Negotiation Workshop:
  http://waterfall.lis.uiuc.edu/dl/classes/ala/alaapr01_08_2.ram
• Get a clear answer on when the next salary review (raise) would be.
• The starting date may be negotiable as well. [It's amazing how the same places that require 60-days notice and take 6 months to conduct a search expect you to break your lease and uproot yourself in 10 days. Demanding expectations like this can be a red flag.]
• Don't forget moving expenses! Get a clear offer on this before accepting any position. You’re not always going to be able to get this, smaller libraries usually only comp moving expense for directors, but be sure to ask if you don’t know.

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V. Additional info

How to Apply for an LISS job wiki - http://liswiki.org/wiki/HOWTO:Apply_for_a_library_job

ALA Employment Guide - http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/employment/resources/employmentguide05.cfm

100 + Job Resources for Librarians

http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/06/04/100-job-resources-for-librarians/

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Appendix a – Interview Questions (adapted from http://www.scribd.com/doc/4933905/101-Commonly-Asked-Interview-Questions)

1. Why did you decide to enter the field of library and information science? OR What motivated you to seek a library degree?
   
2. What kind of position are you looking for when you graduate?
   
3. Why did you decide to apply for this position?
   
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
   
5. List three of your most important/proudest accomplishments.
   
6. What kind of work environment do you prefer?
   
7. What motivates you? ALSO Have you used these motivators with others?
   
8. How are you qualified for this job? OR What qualifications do you have that make you think you will be a success at this job?
   
9. What is your philosophy of youth services? What is the librarian’s role in this?
   
10. What supervisory experience have you had? How would you characterize your supervisory style?
    
11. What would you do about implementing the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (or a different policy) in our library, and how would you prioritize this among your other duties?
    
12. The person in this position needs to be innovative and proactive. Can you describe some things you have done to demonstrate these qualities?
    
13. How would you rate your communication skills and what have you done to improve them?
    
14. What do you feel is the place of bibliographic instruction in the library? Have you ever taught in a classroom setting? Would you be comfortable teaching BI courses?
    
15. What else besides your school and job experience qualifies you for this job?
    
16. What is your experience with collection development?
    
17. What experience do you have dealing with parents and guardians?
    
18. What is your experience with automated systems and with computers in general?
    
19. What have you read lately, and what are you reading now? What is your favorite children’s books?
    
20. Do you have an age group in particular that you like to work with? Why?
    
21. While this position involves some specific skills (language, computer, cataloging, etc.), it is more of a generalist position. How do you feel that your background fits into this?
    
22. What are the personal characteristics and qualities that you would bring to this position that would be particularly helpful in fulfilling the responsibilities of this position?
    
23. Why did you choose X University for your graduate education in library and information science?
    
24. Tell us about yourself. ALSO Tell me about yourself -- why did you choose this type of work?
    
25. What professional groups are you a member of, and how active have you been in those groups?
    
26. You have just had a short tour of this library. Did any aspect or anything you saw or heard about this library surprise you? Would you change anything about this library?
    
27. Tell us about your experience with online searching.
    
28. How do you work in groups, and what experience have you had working in groups?
    
29. What appeals to you about this position?
    
30. Why do you want to move to this area?
    
31. How do you feel about providing general reference services for high school or junior high school students?
    
32. What are some aspects of your present position that you like?
    
33. What are some aspects of your present position that you dislike?
    
34. What do you see yourself doing five or ten years from now? OR Where do you see yourself going from here?
    
35. What is your cataloging experience?
    
36. What do you think a children’s librarian's duties should be?
    
37. Tell us about your subject background and about your coursework outside of library science.
    
38. How will your other experiences outside of librarianship aid you in this position?
    
39. Do you have the skills necessary to create and maintain our website?
    
40. What do you see as the future of the Internet as a reference tool?
    
41. How will libraries mesh use of print and electronic resources?
    
42. What do you see as the budget implications of increasing use of electronic resources in libraries?
    
43. Can you install software on computers and perform basic maintenance on them?
    
44. What courses (college/graduate school) did you find most satisfying? Least satisfying? Why?
    
45. What would you say you learned from your college/graduate school experiences that you see being carried over to your life today?
    
46. Do you plan to continue your education?
    
47. What kind of people do you like to work with?
    
48. What kind of people do you find it most difficult to work with? What do you do to improve the situation?
    
49. Do you prefer working alone or in groups?
    
50. Starting with your last job, would you tell me about some of your achievements that were recognized by your superiors?
    
51. What are some things you would like to avoid in a job? Why?
    
52. What are some of the things on your jobs that you feel you have done particularly well?
    
53. What does success mean to you? How do you judge it?
    
54. What are some of the things about your last job that you found difficult to do?
    
55. What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job? Which one frustrates you the most? What do you usually do about it?
    
56. How has your present job taught you to take on bigger responsibilities?
    
57. What do you have going for you that might make you successful in such a job?
    
58. What personal traits or qualities do you feel could be strengthened or improved?
    
59. What motivates you to put forth your best effort?
    
60. What kinds of things do you feel most confident in doing? Somewhat less confident in doing?
    
61. What are some of the thing you are either doing now or have thought about doing that are self-development activities?
    
62. Tell me about a time when you had work problems or stresses that were difficult for you.
    
63. Customers frequently create a great deal of pressure. What has been your experience in this area?
    
64. What types of pressures do you experience on your current job? How do you cope with these pressures?
    
65. Describe a time when you were under pressure to make a decision. Did you react immediately or take time in deciding what to do?
    
66. What types of things make you angry? How do you react?
    
67. How do you react when you see co-workers disagreeing? Do you become involved or hold back?
    
68. Do you prefer to have a job in which you have well laid out tasks and responsibilities, or one in which your work changes on a frequent basis?
    
69. What types of experiences have you had in dealing with difficult customers?
    
70. Describe a problem person you have had to deal with. What did you say or do?
    
71. What have been your experiences in dealing with the general public? When have people really tried your patience?
    
72. What important goals have you set in the past, and how successful have you been in working toward accomplishing them?
    
73. Do you do personal planning? If so, what are your goals?
    
74. What things give you the greatest satisfaction?
    
75. How would you describe yourself?
    
76. In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our department?
    
77. What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
    
78. Describe your most rewarding experience.
    
79. In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
    
80. What do you know about our library? university? community? company?
    
81. You mentioned you enjoyed your last job. What did you enjoy most? Least?
    
82. Why do you think this library should hire you?
    
83. What will your last supervisor tell me are your two weakest areas?
    
84. If you were hiring someone for this job, what qualities would you look for?
    
85. What does the term two-way communication mean to you? When have you successfully used two-way communication?
    
86. Some people get to know strangers quickly, while others prefer to take their time letting people get to know them. Describe how you entered relationships when you were "new" on a job.
    
87. Some people have the ability to "step into another's shoes." When has this skill been required of you?
    
88. How did you organize your work in your last position? What happened to your plan when emergencies came up?
    
89. Describe how you determined your priorities on your last job.
    
90. Describe how you schedule your time on an unusually hectic day. Give a specific example.

Document prepared by Kate Quealy.

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