Rob 📚<p>The library job market is so bleak. <br>.<br>If they are not part-time jobs, they will pay like this. <br>.<br>In Boston...<br>.<br><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Librarylife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Librarylife</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Libraryjobs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Libraryjobs</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Librarywork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Librarywork</span></a></p>
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Hiring Librarians<p><strong>“Some experience is desirable, but if the position is truly entry-level, then we only require an MLS”</strong></p><p><strong><em>Please note: </em></strong><em>This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQhOVjdHaWxMTnwt1iGhoD0CICsewzzmX5ryqI2B2AJC_wmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>filling out the survey here</em></a><em>. </em></p><p><strong><strong>Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).</em></strong></p><p><strong>Where do you advertise your job listings?</strong></p><p>LlinkedIn, Inside Higher Ed, local newspapers, regional consortia or library groups.</p><p><strong>Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?</strong></p><p>Not really.</p><p><strong>Do you include salary in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates? </strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)</strong></p><p>√ Other: Some experience is *desirable*, but if the position is truly entry-level, then we only require an MLS</p><p><strong>What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?</strong></p><p>When the applicant clearly has NO credentials.</p><p><strong>Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you provide interview questions before the interview? </strong></p><p>√ No </p><p><strong>Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?</strong></p><p>√ Not sure.</p><p><strong>How much of your interview process is virtual?</strong></p><p>√ First round/Initial Screen</p><p><strong>Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?</strong></p><p>Address the job requirements!! This can be in your cover letter or in your CV. And if you’re asked for 3 references, don’t just send 2 names. Additionally, even if you don’t have expertise in a “required” or “preferred” area, show how another skillset still makes you marketable.</p><p><strong>I want to hire someone who is: </strong></p><p>Engaging. </p><p><strong><strong>Your Last Recruitment</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.</em></strong></p><p><strong>Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?</strong></p><p>Cataloging and Technical Services</p><p><strong>When was this position hired?</strong></p><p>√ Within the last three months</p><p><strong>Approximately how many people applied for this position?</strong></p><p>√ 25 or fewer</p><p><strong>Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?</strong></p><p>√ 25% or less</p><p><strong>And how would you define “hirable”?</strong></p><p>Having a basic skillset in cataloging.</p><p><strong>How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?</strong></p><p>Don’t know, as I’ve been here just 2 years.</p><p><strong><strong>Your Workplace</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.</em></strong></p><p><strong>How many staff members are at your library/organization?</strong></p><p>√ 0-10</p><p><strong>Are you unionized?</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ 1</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ None!</p><p><strong>Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?</strong></p><p>√ There are fewer positions</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Is librarianship a dying profession?</strong></p><p>√ Not necessarily.</p><p><strong>Why or why not?</strong></p><p>Certain outward-facing skills, like the ability to collaborate outside of the library, are increasingly important at smaller libraries. Traditional *types of work* are dying.</p><p><strong><strong>Demographics</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about you specifically.</em></strong></p><p><strong>What part of the world are you in?</strong></p><p>√ Mid-Atlantic US</p><p><strong>What’s your region like?</strong></p><p>√ Urban area, </p><p>√ Suburban area</p><p><strong>What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):</strong></p><p>√ Academic Library </p><p><strong>What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? </strong></p><p>Subject / collection management / outreach</p><p><strong>Are you a librarian?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Are you now or have you ever been: </strong></p><p>√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise), </p><p>√ A member of a hiring or search committee </p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/14/" target="_blank">#14</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/25/" target="_blank">#25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/books/" target="_blank">#books</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/glam-jobs/" target="_blank">#GLAMJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarian/" target="_blank">#Librarian</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarians/" target="_blank">#librarians</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/libraries/" target="_blank">#libraries</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library/" target="_blank">#Library</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-hiring/" target="_blank">#libraryHiring</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-interview/" target="_blank">#libraryInterview</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-jobs/" target="_blank">#libraryJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-work/" target="_blank">#libraryWork</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-careers/" target="_blank">#LISCareers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-jobs/" target="_blank">#lisJobs</a></p>
Hiring Librarians<p><strong>“I’m not a fan of those “I’m different from everyone else”resumes when you begin to write a short novel on how awesome you are and then don’t provide any previous work experience to back that up.”</strong></p><p><strong><em>Please note: </em></strong><em>This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQhOVjdHaWxMTnwt1iGhoD0CICsewzzmX5ryqI2B2AJC_wmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>filling out the survey here</em></a><em>. </em></p><p><strong><strong>Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).</em></strong></p><p><strong>Where do you advertise your job listings?</strong></p><p>City HR posts on City website and Indeed</p><p><strong>Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?</strong></p><p>No</p><p><strong>Do you include salary in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates? </strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Other: Depends on the type of job</p><p><strong>Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)</strong></p><p>√ Other: Not sure.</p><p><strong>What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?</strong></p><p>No skills or experience similar to the job requirements and duties.</p><p><strong>Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you provide interview questions before the interview? </strong></p><p>√ No </p><p><strong>Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?</strong></p><p>√ No, and I don’t think we ever have</p><p><strong>How much of your interview process is virtual?</strong></p><p>√ None</p><p><strong>Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?</strong></p><p>√ Other: I’m the only direct hiring authority for the library department and I do not have the time to do so.</p><p><strong>What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?</strong></p><p>Gain experience in the field or have worked in a similar environment in which the skills can be easily transferable.</p><p><strong>I want to hire someone who is: </strong></p><p>Flexible</p><p><strong>Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?</strong></p><p>The city has one person in HR and I’m the only one in our department that has to set up interviews, conduct interviews, provide training and set up the new employee. I’m also the director, so on top of that I lose time from my own duties such as management, budgeting, facility upkeep etc.</p><p><strong><strong>Your Last Recruitment</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.</em></strong></p><p><strong>Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?</strong></p><p>We lost half the staff in a month, so two Library Clerks and one library assistant</p><p><strong>When was this position hired?</strong></p><p>√ Within the last three months</p><p><strong>Approximately how many people applied for this position?</strong></p><p>√ 75-100</p><p><strong>Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?</strong></p><p>√ 25% or less</p><p><strong>And how would you define “hirable”?</strong></p><p>Someone that can actually write a resume, has had work experience, shows that they are not a job jumper, demonstrates flexibility and the ability to learn tasks on their own without being micromanaged.</p><p><strong>How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?</strong></p><p>More applications than a year before, but fewer qualified.</p><p><strong><strong>Your Workplace</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.</em></strong></p><p><strong>How many staff members are at your library/organization?</strong></p><p>√ 0-10</p><p><strong>Are you unionized?</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ None!</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ None!</p><p><strong>Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?</strong></p><p>√ There are the same number of positions</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Is librarianship a dying profession?</strong></p><p>√ Other: Yes and No, depends on what part of the country you’re in.</p><p><strong>Why or why not?</strong></p><p>It will be if people continue to bar Librarians from doing their job and if tax payers don’t pay enough in taxes to sustain Libraries.</p><p><strong><strong>Demographics</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about you specifically.</em></strong></p><p><strong>What part of the world are you in?</strong></p><p>√ Southwestern US</p><p><strong>What’s your region like?</strong></p><p>√ Suburban area</p><p><strong>What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):</strong></p><p>√ Public Library </p><p><strong>What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? </strong></p><p>Besides the Director, 1 Youth Librarian.</p><p><strong>Are you a librarian?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Are you now or have you ever been: </strong></p><p>√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise), </p><p>√ A member of a hiring or search committee</p><p><strong>Do you have any other comments, for job hunters, other people who hire, about the survey, or for Emily (the survey author)?</strong></p><p>My comment is for the job hunters: For me, the hiring process starts with your resume. I look for clean and detailed information about your previous work experience, especially if you have never worked in a library before. Please spell check your resume too. It’s a “no” for me if you can’t take the time to check your work, especially being that library workers have to take the time to check the little details to find things and problem solve! You need to sell me on how those skills would translate to the library. Also do a cover letter to explain any gaps in your employment and tell me why you want to work for my library and what you can bring to the team and the community to make it better. Im not a fan of those “I’m different from everyone else”resumes when you begin to write a short novel on how awesome you are and then don’t provide any previous work experience to back that up. </p><p>I’m always looking for people who want to contribute something, are a team player, can be flexible, and want to learn through making mistakes. Even if you don’t have experience yet, people with integrity will get a place in the library over someone who may have the desired skill set. Certain qualities just can’t be trained into someone, while learning a new skill set can.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/14/" target="_blank">#14</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/25/" target="_blank">#25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/books/" target="_blank">#books</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/glam-jobs/" target="_blank">#GLAMJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarian/" target="_blank">#Librarian</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarians/" target="_blank">#librarians</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/libraries/" target="_blank">#libraries</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library/" target="_blank">#Library</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-hiring/" target="_blank">#libraryHiring</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-interview/" target="_blank">#libraryInterview</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-jobs/" target="_blank">#libraryJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-work/" target="_blank">#libraryWork</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-careers/" target="_blank">#LISCareers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-jobs/" target="_blank">#lisJobs</a></p>
Hiring Librarians<p><strong>“My organization makes a big effort to hire diverse staff members.”</strong></p><p><strong><em>Please note: </em></strong><em>This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQhOVjdHaWxMTnwt1iGhoD0CICsewzzmX5ryqI2B2AJC_wmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>filling out the survey here</em></a><em>. </em></p><p><strong><strong>Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).</em></strong></p><p><strong>Where do you advertise your job listings?</strong></p><p>I’m not in charge of advertising job listings, so I’m not sure, but I know we post them on our library website and in library listservs, especially all the ALA affiliated bipoc listservs.</p><p><strong>Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?</strong></p><p>The hiring committees don’t know where or how the applicants find the job ads.</p><p><strong>Do you include salary in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates? </strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?</strong></p><p>Lack of experience in libraries or public service/customer service</p><p><strong>Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you provide interview questions before the interview? </strong></p><p>√ No </p><p><strong>Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?</strong></p><p>√ No, and I don’t think we ever have</p><p><strong>How much of your interview process is virtual?</strong></p><p>√ Other: If the candidate lives nearby, we interview in person. If they live far away, we do virtual interviews.</p><p><strong>Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?</strong></p><p>Write a great cover letter.</p><p><strong>I want to hire someone who is: </strong></p><p>enthusiastic</p><p><strong>Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?</strong></p><p>I work in a public library and have been on many hiring committees. My organization makes a big effort to hire diverse staff members. We have gotten rid of MLS requirements for almost all positions, except Director-level positions. Even our Librarian positions and Manager positions do not require an MLS. This has helped increase and diversify our applicant pool.</p><p><strong><strong>Your Last Recruitment</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.</em></strong></p><p><strong>Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?</strong></p><p>Information Services Assistant (paraprofessional role one step below Librarian in our system)</p><p><strong>When was this position hired?</strong></p><p>√ Within the last three months</p><p><strong>Approximately how many people applied for this position?</strong></p><p>√ 25 or fewer</p><p><strong>Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?</strong></p><p>√ 26-50%</p><p><strong>And how would you define “hirable”?</strong></p><p>Someone with library experience and/or customer service or public service type of experience, someone willing to learn and enthusiastic about the position.</p><p><strong>How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?</strong></p><p>More applicants than usual were qualified. We also had a lot of internal applicants.</p><p><strong><strong>Your Workplace</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.</em></strong></p><p><strong>How many staff members are at your library/organization?</strong></p><p>√ 200+</p><p><strong>Are you unionized?</strong></p><p>√ Yes, at least some workers are union members</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ 7 or more</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ 7 or more</p><p><strong>Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?</strong></p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Is librarianship a dying profession?</strong></p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Why or why not?</strong></p><p>Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think libraries (I’m speaking about public libraries here) are dying at all. If anything, they are very much essential to the community. But old school librarianship might be dying. By that I mean, a Librarian position where the person needed to have an MLS degree. Most public libraries are staffing their branches with paraprofessionals who are expected to do the work that MLS-degreed Librarians used to do. Not saying that is good or bad. So I don’t think librarianship is a dying profession, but the nature of the work is changing and the requirements to become a librarian are changing.</p><p><strong><strong>Demographics</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about you specifically.</em></strong></p><p><strong>What part of the world are you in?</strong></p><p>√ Midwestern US</p><p><strong>What’s your region like?</strong></p><p>√ Urban area, </p><p>√ Suburban area, </p><p>√ Rural area</p><p><strong>What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):</strong></p><p>√ Public Library </p><p><strong>What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? </strong></p><p>Children’s librarians, adult librarians, teen librarians, catalogers, managers, paraprofessionals who work on the desk at branches</p><p><strong>Are you a librarian?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Are you now or have you ever been: </strong></p><p>√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise), </p><p>√ A member of a hiring or search committee </p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/14/" target="_blank">#14</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/25/" target="_blank">#25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/books/" target="_blank">#books</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/glam-jobs/" target="_blank">#GLAMJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarian/" target="_blank">#Librarian</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarians/" target="_blank">#librarians</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/libraries/" target="_blank">#libraries</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library/" target="_blank">#Library</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-hiring/" target="_blank">#libraryHiring</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-interview/" target="_blank">#libraryInterview</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-jobs/" target="_blank">#libraryJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-work/" target="_blank">#libraryWork</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-careers/" target="_blank">#LISCareers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-jobs/" target="_blank">#lisJobs</a></p>
Hiring Librarians<p><strong>“I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students”</strong></p><p><strong><em>Please note: </em></strong><em>This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQhOVjdHaWxMTnwt1iGhoD0CICsewzzmX5ryqI2B2AJC_wmQ/viewform?usp=sf_link" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><em>filling out the survey here</em></a><em>. </em></p><p><strong><strong>Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).</em></strong></p><p><strong>Where do you advertise your job listings?</strong></p><p>State Library Boards, Library School listservs, general listserv release from HR, We Here FB group</p><p><strong>Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?</strong></p><p>Nope</p><p><strong>Do you include salary in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates? </strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?</strong></p><p>√ Other: I try to keep the requirements to a minimum, no more than 2-3. But things like degree can’t and shouldn’t be removed</p><p><strong>Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)</strong></p><p>√ No</p><p><strong>What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?</strong></p><p>They didn’t have the degree needed for the position</p><p><strong>Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)</strong></p><p>√ Other: No, I hate them. There are usually no plans/retention conversations regarding the recording</p><p><strong>Do you provide interview questions before the interview? </strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?</strong></p><p>We try to give them 5 business days</p><p><strong>Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?</strong></p><p>√ No, but we used to</p><p><strong>How much of your interview process is virtual?</strong></p><p>√ It is entirely virtual</p><p><strong>Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?</strong></p><p>√ Other: If asked, I have given feedback</p><p><strong>What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?</strong></p><p>It’s shocking to me how many people don’t prep based on the questions. We provide the questions in advance but interviewees ignore them</p><p><strong>I want to hire someone who is: </strong></p><p>Curious</p><p><strong>Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?</strong></p><p>I think we are a work in progress but I see the effort to be more inclusive</p><p><strong><strong>Your Last Recruitment</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.</em></strong></p><p><strong>Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?</strong></p><p>Graduate Teaching Assistant</p><p><strong>When was this position hired?</strong></p><p>√ Between three to six months ago</p><p><strong>Approximately how many people applied for this position?</strong></p><p>√ 25 or fewer</p><p><strong>Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?</strong></p><p>√ 51-75%</p><p><strong>And how would you define “hirable”?</strong></p><p>Met the minimum requirements</p><p><strong>How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?</strong></p><p>This was the first time this position has been filled in a while</p><p><strong><strong>Your Workplace</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.</em></strong></p><p><strong>How many staff members are at your library/organization?</strong></p><p>√ 100-200</p><p><strong>Are you unionized?</strong></p><p>√ Not unionized, but we do bargain/negotiate contracts collectively</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ 7 or more</p><p><strong>How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?</strong></p><p>√ 7 or more</p><p><strong>Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?</strong></p><p>√ There are fewer positions</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?</strong> </p><p>√ I don’t know</p><p><strong>Is librarianship a dying profession?</strong></p><p>√ Other: This is such a complicated question. I think people come into our profession without a clear eyed understanding of the needs of the job. I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students </p><p><strong><strong>Demographics</strong></strong></p><p><strong><em>This section asks for information about you specifically.</em></strong></p><p><strong>What part of the world are you in?</strong></p><p>√ Southeastern US</p><p><strong>What’s your region like?</strong></p><p>√ Urban area, </p><p>√ Suburban area, </p><p>√ Rural area</p><p><strong>What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):</strong></p><p>√ Academic Library </p><p><strong>What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? </strong></p><p>library staff/grad students/librarian position</p><p><strong>Are you a librarian?</strong></p><p>√ Yes</p><p><strong>Are you now or have you ever been: </strong></p><p>√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise), </p><p>√ A member of a hiring or search committee </p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/14/" target="_blank">#14</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/25/" target="_blank">#25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/books/" target="_blank">#books</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/glam-jobs/" target="_blank">#GLAMJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarian/" target="_blank">#Librarian</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/librarians/" target="_blank">#librarians</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/libraries/" target="_blank">#libraries</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library/" target="_blank">#Library</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-hiring/" target="_blank">#libraryHiring</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-interview/" target="_blank">#libraryInterview</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-jobs/" target="_blank">#libraryJobs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/library-work/" target="_blank">#libraryWork</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-careers/" target="_blank">#LISCareers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hiringlibrarians.com/tag/lis-jobs/" target="_blank">#lisJobs</a></p>
Hiring Librarians<p><a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LibraryJobs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LibraryJobs</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LISJobs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LISJobs</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LISCareers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LISCareers</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/GLAMJobs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GLAMJobs</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LibraryWork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LibraryWork</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/Librarians" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Librarians</span></a> <a href="https://glammr.us/tags/LibraryHiring" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LibraryHiring</span></a></p><p><a href="http://hiringlibrarians.com/2023/09/17/i-think-my-mentor-reviewed-my-cover-letter-but-thats-it/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="ellipsis">hiringlibrarians.com/2023/09/1</span><span class="invisible">7/i-think-my-mentor-reviewed-my-cover-letter-but-thats-it/</span></a></p>
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