New ALA Web site helps library job seekers succeed
Jenifer Grady
Director, ALA-APA
jgrady@ala.org
312-280-2424
NEWS
For Immediate Release
June 29, 2009
A new American Library Association (ALA) Web site --
Get a Job!,
http://getajob.ala.org -- offers library-job seekers advice, resources, links, best practices and real-life examples. Full of advice for finding a job in the current tough economy, it features information from a range of ALA divisions and units, as well as links to information about general best practices in job seeking.
"New graduates and members looking for jobs in a tough employment market have asked what the association can do to help them; the Get a Job! Web Site was developed with the help of members to do just that," said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “From JobLIST to mentoring opportunities, the new Web site brings together ALA resources as well as true life success stories and advice from HR directors and library staff to provide a one-stop resource for job seekers."
The ALA accelerated the Web site launch in response to the current urgency of many members’ and other library professionals’ job searches. The site is a work-in-progress, where library professionals and support staff will find advice on how to use social networking tools in a job search, what to do if you’re laid off, budgeting assistance, networking techniques and strategies for researching the economy and jobs in various parts of the United States.
As it evolves, the site will include information specific to people seeking their first job, mid-career staff and people changing professions. New material and updates will be added regularly, including podcasts. Site users are encouraged to subscribe to the Get a Job! RSS feed to take full advantage of the updates. We welcome your suggestions and experiences for the site; please e-mail information that you’d like to share to
gaj@ala.org.
Get a Job! is being developed by nine ALA units in collaboration with the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association.
