Thing 21: Job Descriptions, Interviews & Self Promotion

I have updated my CV in the past 2 years due to the threat of redundancy. Everything noted on the CPD23 webpage is very apt. Really reading the Job Description closely and targeting your CV or application to those key qualities or skills is a bit like doing an exam question. As out teachers always said, read the question 3 times before putting pen to paper.

I firmly believe in keeping a running profolio, not just of good work and skills aquired, but a diary of whenever someone within the organisation actually says thank you, or well done! Sadly, these comments don't come often enough. Not because the work isn't up to scratch, but because people just don't seem to say thank you anymore. Instead, senior management rely on the old adage: 'You've all done very well' a phrase coined by Young Mr Grace in Are you Being Served! I believe a more personal approach has far more effect on anyone in the service industry let alone Libraraies.

As far as job seeking is concerned, where are the jobs?! We can prepare as much as we like, but there are so many of us going for the few jobs that appear, that its going to be tough out there. I have been lucky enough to be shortlisted 4 times in the past year for professional posts in school libraries. I must be doing something right. Then it's down to the interview. Employers seem to be very cautious about what sort of person they are actually looking for. If your face doesn't fit, then no amount of preparation will help. Although employers are obliged to give you information about why you have been rejected, again it's couched in very general terms that aren't particularly helpful. I also think that employers are ageist still, even if they don't admit it. Younger people are cheaper and they are looking at the economics as much as the person. I think it's a bit like going on a blind date! So much of the interview/date is about chemistry that you can't take things too personally if it all goes wrong.Ned Potter's blog post is fabulous advice. Prepre a many of those tricky questions as possible!

What about all those other interests? I for one have very little time running a home, family and a full-time job, so watching my son play sport at the weekend doesn't look that great! So a little bit of stretching the truth to go back to a time when I did have time is all that I can muster. However, by doing a bit of research on the organisation can help: If it's a forward looking employer with lots of technology that gives a few clues, as does a tradition set up. Volunteering shows a bit of commitment, and helping to run an organisation such as a football team shows leadership skills. As Tesco says "every little helps".

Thing 19 Catch Up & Thing 20 Library Routes

A short autobiography of my life in Libraries. Where to begin. At my advanced age, my career in Libraries has been varied. At 16 my school was reoorganised into a tertiary college, where for the first time the library was a big deal. I was drawn to the space and the staff and had my first incling that this would be a good place to work. The summer before I went to Universtiy to study History, I worked as a summer relief person in Richmond County libraries, so had a taste of the Public library sector. I loved the variety of work and community spirit of the branch libraries, but hated the regimentaiton of the large County Library (this was in the 1980s!). All through University I had no idea what to do once I qualified. Careers information wasn't that great. Many of my contemporaries went into teaching or accountancy, neither of which I thought was for me at the time. So I signed up for a Postgraduate course at North London Polytechnic as it was then known. Computers had only just been intorduced, so this was an interesting time. I had my pre-course placement at University of London, Senate house library and during the course went to a Special Library in a computer services firm, where my first computer was a PC with 10mb hard drive! After qualifiying, I finally got a job with the same computing firm in London. I'd obviously made an impression! It was here I really started to learn my trade, dealing with enquiries, learning about online searching, new technology and moving an entire library from London to Milton Keynes, involving re-designing the space. During this time I became a Chartered Librarian with the then Library Association. Then came children and it was hard to find work which fitted kids hours, so I ran my own peripatetic music teaching business, whilst volunteering at my kids primary school as librarian and parent 'listener' helping youngsters to read. Finally, I landed a job in a local secondary school, which was a huge learning curve getting up to date with all the changes that had happened in libraries during my absence. The CILIP library was really helpful in lending items on new and current trends. Again, the library was transformed during a re-building programme. After a few years I moved from the State sector to the Independent sector, where I am now. I'm undergoing a big development project at my current school over the next few months with a few to transforming not only the Library space but the services that are offered to make our department worthy of a 21st century facility and to support our community in the way that they want to work.

As to advice to those joining the profession, don't go into it for the money! I think we'd all agree that it's poorly paid and doesn't receive the recognition and status that it should. In these days of information, you'd think that the Information Professional would be heralded, but no. Unless you can prove a direct link to profit outcomes, it's not. It is however, a satisfying and fulfilling career that can overtake your entire life if you let it. In my experience the fault is with management who do not take the trouble to find out exactly what we do.. They just expect it to be done. Often we are so complying and people pleasers that it is hard to avoid being taken advantage of. Our multi-level and lateral range of skills are rarely acknowledged. On the other hand it only takes one successful conversation pointing a user in the right direction to make a huge difference to that person on many levels. It's those small things that make it all worth while. I had a member of teaching staff actually say thank you last week, and I was emotionally overwhelmed because it was such a rare occurrance. It's a professional I take pride and joy in doing, but others need to go in with their eyes open.

Thing 19 Reflection

Well some time to reflect at last! It's part of our new school 'Values' which we are working on, so very apt. This course has been extremely useful in pointing me to tools that would help in my daily life. My favourite tools, some of which I already use, are: RSS, Twitter, Dropbox, Prezi, Evernote and learning much more about blogs. Many of the other tools I well come back to as my working life gets far more complex. I have signed up to communicate online with many librarian type groups as well. The problem here is finding the time to keep up with it all. I have completed many Prezi inductions this week and am getting used to the ebb and flow of the software which is indeed much easier than Powerpoint to control, but takes longer to put together a 'profesisonal' looking presentation. Dropbox has proved invaluable for not only accessing my documents anywhere, but also in sharing documents. Some tools seem to be blocked by the school network or unavailable except on Firefox, but at least there are plenty of alternatives. RSS is a quick and easy way to stay up to date without getting too involved in other online groups. My question is how do these librarians have the time to be constantly posting? I want their jobs! Even Twitter is becoming alarming to keep up with and I will need to 'weed' the groups I am following in order to reduce the number of posts I have to plough through. I need to spend time sifting in order to black out so much 'white noise' and make life a little simpler but more productive. I hope the links to all of the web 2.0 tools will stay on the CPD23 wepages for a little while after the end of the course in order to revisit them when time and circumstances dictate. If nothing else, having the knowledge of what's available and the confidence to explore is a huge step forward. As a digital immigrant as apposed to the natives under 20, this has allowed me to keep one step ahead. I've become a bit of a school guru to whom some members of the teaching staff come to for advice, which is always a plus in my book as it creates a stronger relationship with other departments in many ways. What we need next is more information from Librarians on the next generation of tools used on mobile technologues such as ipads. It's all very well getting Apps designers to 'sell' their wares, but reviews from those on the ground would be very useful!