Working at Finding Work

Finding a job can be a full-time job

I recently had coffee with a fantastic new librarian, Anne Chernaik, who is also one of ALA’s newly anointed Emerging Leaders (AL, Nov. 2006, p. 3). Her academic credentials are terrific. During her MLS program on the East Coast, she also worked part-time in a library. Hedging her employment options, she had two internships—one public, one academic. When seeking employment, rather than sending résumés blindly, she focused on open positions. She customized cover letters for each of the 50 jobs for which she applied, and, where possible, fine-tuned her résumé for specific opportunities as well.
    She also had the advantage of a unique perspective: As an MLS student, she had the unusual opportunity to serve on a job-search committee, reviewing top-notch résumés and cover letters of candidates. In addition, she attended every résumé-writing workshop she could find.
    It seems to me she did everything right. How many interviews did she get from those 50 carefully selected positions? Just two. She got one job offer and accepted it, necessitating a move to the Midwest. (She loves the job.) How long did this process take? About a year!
    Fast-forward three weeks. At a luncheon, I discovered a recent MLS graduate who is working part-time at a library until she finds a full-time position in a children’s department. She was surprised to learn that, in the same geographic area, my public library has been actively seeking a full-time children’s librarian for about four months.
    How is it possible that employers and potential employees are having such a hard time connecting? Excellent, MLS-related employment websites are updated constantly, while local library systems may post new jobs weekly. New graduates have their ears to the grapevine, and everyone is helping everyone else—or so it sometimes seems. Yet matchmaking can take months, or even longer.
    At a multitype-library leadership meeting, two academic librarians lamented how many jobs go unfilled. Just the day before, a public librarian friend, seeking a career shift, expressed great frustration at the dearth of academic library jobs. In this case, the solution was easier than in others: My friend did not know that college and university libraries typically post jobs in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The academic librarians were not aware of other types of library job–posting options. Soon, both sides were achieving better outcomes.
    Matching job seekers with available positions takes hard work, patience, networking, and creativity from both parties. Remember to share what you learn along the way to improve the chances others will be successful as well.

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WORKING WISDOM

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Many job seekers spend time carefully designing their résumés, but expend little effort on a cover letter. Anne made the effort to customize each cover letter, demonstrating why she was the best candidate for that job. “I knew my cover letter had to sell me,” she said. So spend time making your cover letter fit the job you are seeking, emphasizing your unique qualifications for this particular opportunity. Success is often about convincing the employer that you want them.

(c) Copyright 2007 American Library Association