Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

I've been given the go-ahead and will be posting again for a circulation clerk. Ugh. I hate interviewing. And checking references. And training. Does anyone enjoy doing this stuff? Something that I thought I could use for a quick reference check: I am currently reviewing an application from _______ and was wondering if you might be willing to answer a few questions? When did _______work for your company? Could you confirm starting and ending employment dates? What was her/his position? Can you describe the job responsibilities? Did _______ miss a lot of work? Was s/he frequently late? Were there any issues you are aware of that impacted her/his job performance? Can you describe this person's experience working as a member of a team? Would you rehire _______ if the opportunity arose? Is there anything I haven't asked that you would like to share with me?  Since this is at least a week off, I will focus instead on how excited I am for Gingerbread Houses, w...

I am awaiting Board approval as to whether or not I can hire another Circ person in January--originally the plan was hire them in October, so there's overlap between them and the next retirement, to happen in Dec. '15. My hope is to go back up to having 4 part-time staff, never having replaced the one who retired a year ago, as I've given the college try for a year, and realize that it would be easier with a 4th on board again. That would also alleviate the need for our Page position. So, again I've begun the dreaded reading of lots of articles that are supposed to help me understand what to look for in interviewees, and make me feel less stressed. Stumbled across this Quartz article , which lead me to this other Quartz article, "Five errors that immediately get your resume rejected at Google." Also, found these things of note: WSJ, "Now Hiring? Tips for Conducting Interviews" Forbes , "9 Tips on Conducting Great Interviews" NPR, ...

A few things about interviewing I've learned from being on the hiring end of things. 10 INTERVIEW TIPS: Really prepare for an interview by reading over sample interview questions (Google). If you're really an overachiever, have your friends drill you so that you can work on your responses. If you have a phone interview have notes that you can refer to, the interviewer can't see those, so really go to town! Come prepared. Look at the company's website, read newspaper articles about that organization. Find a way to show that you know what that company represents and how they've made an impact in their profession and in the community! Bring samples of your work with you, or offer to send along a Powerpoint or other notes, anything that came up during the interview which seemed to peak their interests. Shoot your interviewer these things as soon as possible after the interview. DO NOT BLOW UP THEIR INBOX! I interviewed one woman who sent 3 emails after the int...

Crazy, wonderful weekend! My brother A3 (one of my favorite people in the whole world!) went car shopping with me on Saturday--he used to be a mechanic so he knows what to look and listen for--and after one shady car dealership, we moved on and found my baby! I love Saturns, and since getting rid of Harry in September I've been missing that sturdy, little car! This car's a 2006 Saturn Ion, a wonderful indigo blue and has thus been dubbed, "Inigo Montoya." I hope I have loads of roadtrips in this little car! While at A3 & Dayna's this weekend, I also got to see my Savannah Banana taking steps! She has taken a few, but just this weekend she tottered from one side of the room to the other amid cheers! So special. I love that kid and I can't believe she's turning 1yrs. old in less than a month! And work this week is sure to be crazy too! Among storytimes, a movie showing, school visits, a Board Meeting, a FRIENDS of the Library meeting, and more Summe...

I'm finally beginning the process of hiring for our Children's Librarian position. I am both excited and stressed about the process; glad to hire someone that will definitely lighten my load and be a colleague to shoot ideas around with; stressed about the daunting process before me: going through resumes and cover letters, winnowing down candidates, doing the actual interviews, calling references. There are other things on the horizon that I want to write about...soon soon, but until then.

Feel like I haven't mentioned library life lately, so: Had a job interview for the perfect part time Children's Librarian position ever. Seriously. Reading the posting was like feeling slightly violated that someone had somehow looked at my resume and maybe into my soul just a little. Seriously, that perfect. Really!! And yet, oh, how that whole situation breaks my heart. The library was gorgeous; the whole children's department was almost as large as the entire library I used to work at; state of the art everything; perfect; and oh...nearly two hours away, when all was said and done with traffic, etc. So, it was with a VERY heavy heart that I said "thank you very much, but I won't waste your time, because I just can't make this drive four days a week." So, needless to say I am still looking. My best friend L says that, "the perfect library job will come along and everything will work out the way it's supposed to." I want to believe that...

Got an email from the town library--where I have recently applied (for an Intermitten Sub position)--to set up an interview. Librarian M wanted me to have an interview this weekend, but I will be back in Michigan for my friend Stac's (and Jay's) wedding. I tried to set up an interview for next weekend when I am back, but then the Librarian will be on vacay. Apparently we are going to play a little email tag until we can pick a date. Librarian M (at Town Library) said that there is no rush as the budget for this position might not even kick in until July 1st. That is good. Getting this email was very encouraging. I have been thinking about library life a lot lately. Thinking of what I would be doing back in Library Land; preparing for Summer Reading, getting into that last-minute-what-needs-to-be-done-mode, as school winds down and parents and kids prepare to rush into the library, like waves onto a shore. It is not that I regret my decision to leave library life for farming, it...

Still have not heard back about the part-time Children's position...maybe the interviewer accidentally came across my last blog and put 2 and 2 together, as we say in the library world. Still waiting... I received a call on Wednesday from another public library even closer to my house, though this position is also part-time. ARGH! I want a full-time position, but I guess I have to continue to "pay my dues" this way until something better comes along. This position is for Adult Reference, (at least what I actually want to be doing!) . Sent another batch of resumes out again today. *audible sigh* Well, it is just after 5pm, so the work day is over. Looking forward to the weekend! We are all doing some more work sorting through some of our stuff (lots of cleaning since Dad died). Also, celebrating my brother A3's 29th birthday this Saturday. Family meal at some point--breakfast or dinner? And then A3 and a bazillion friends are going out for a night on the town--Ro...

My interview yesterday went well, ending rather abruptly. It was for a Children's part-time Librarian position. I had planned a story time, complete with the book I was going to read, as well as activities that I was going to "use" with the book, etc. After all of the interviewers questions were answered, etc., she thanked me for my time. "Wouldn't you like me to read the book," (which is what some librarians will have you do in the interview so they get a sense of your reading with audience, etc.--also what she told me to plan on doing for my interview). "No, I'm sure you can read." Her response actually caught me off guard. I wasn't sure if I should take her reponse as a vote of confidence, or as a response that she wanted me out of there as soon as possible... Although, she did email me later and ask for my references, so maybe it was a vote of confidence...though I won't get my hopes up. As I continue to send out more resumes...

Didn't get the job out East, but at least had a great interview and made another connection. The Director I interviewed with is really cool and has been helpful offering tips and sending along a job posting for another position she said that I would excel at, so that is encouraging. Not feeling super confident about my resume, I had my boss at the library check it out and I am glad to say that she helped me with a complete resume makeover that has left me feeling more confident. Who would have thought, right?! In my never ending search for resume, interview, and cover letter tips I stumbled across this. Kudos to Monster.com for making me laugh. I think #1 is my favorite. These 5 tips and more found here : 1. Using a Cutesy Email Address for Correspondence Example: cutiepie@domain.com, or -- far worse -- something like sexkitten@domain.com . You Might Think : It's a clever, memorable email address everyone will get a kick out of. The Employer Will Probably Think : I ...

3 States 2 Countries 1 Continent I feel as though I have been so far removed from blogger-dom that I have to explain where I have been. Life has been so crazy busy as of late. I have had between 3-4 papers due every week for the past month+ and so much reading. Last week was especially bad, one of those "I am going to quit right now...I don't need this degree" kinda weeks. I turned in a 9 page paper on the history and literary comparisons (of 7 different versions) of The Emperor's New Clothes, which interestingly enough, may not have been originally written by Hans Christian Andersen ; but may have come from a varied versions of a tale told centuries before in Italy and Spain. I turned in a "Book talk" and "Notecard" for All quiet on the Western Front . And most horrible of horrible, I had to give a presentation of my research proposal (this is the big final paper I have to write--though only 10 pages in length--and it sucks because what is the poi...

In my pursuit to gain more library experience before I graduate, and also start working strictly in my field, I sent out three resumes on Wednesday morning, with a fourth to be sent off tomorrow morning. Good news! I already recieved a call this afternoon from one of the libraries, and have an interview on Wednesday. Hooray. This is probably the farthest drive of the four, but at this point, I am jumping at the bit for something. The ideal would be getting a job at the library in the city I live, which is now hiring, but anything is better than nothing. Think happy thoughts...and send pixey dust my way. With the resume writing and rewriting, cover letter writing and rewriting, and references writing and rewriting, I am ready for a break. That comes by way of an escape to Buffalo. It is with much anticipation that I set out on the open road tomorrow afternoon for a weekend in Buffalo. I will be staying with GF friends, B1 & B2. B1 was a former housemate in Topside, our house at the ...