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#CPD23 Thing 21: Pick Me! Pick Me!
As part of this Thing, we are to write about how we promote ourselves on job applications and in interviews. I've been putting this one off just because I continue to find it strange to talk about myself. I don't like doing it .... so cover letters and job interviews are awkward for me. I almost wish that potential employers could walk a week with me in my current job. That would give them a better indication of my personality, my work ethic, my devotion to seeing students succeed, and my cool project ideas I'm involved in. But ... unfortunately that just isn't possible, and I'm forced to find ways to make all of those above points come out in my writing. D.I.F.F.I.C.U.L.T!
I want to first preface that I'm not actively searching for a job. My thoughts here are strictly from past experiences. I will say though, that my husband is actively seeking something better (I'm afraid he'll never be fully satisfied ... but I knew this when I married him). Recently, we had a situation where we were fairly confident that he would be offered a job in Arkansas. Because of this, I started actively seeking something for myself. I won't go through the whole story here, but in the end, I provided the best cover letter and application packet that I've ever done - I interviewed extremely well - and I was offered the job. My husband wasn't offered his. To say that we were confused, frustrated, angry, [enter more words here] would be an understatement.
The good that came from that experience though, is that it helped to boost my confidence a bit. I'm good at what I do - I'm passionate about what I do - and I love collaborating with people to get things done (I can't believe I just typed all of that...).
Identifying You Strengths and Capitalizing on Your Interests
One statement from the cpd blog has stuck with me: "It is important to remember that we are changing all the time: our interests change, our skills develop, we discover new things we like which we didn't even know existed." This is so true! If we aren't developing and rethinking processes, then we're not embracing the profession and eventually, our work will suffer. Part of the change happens with the progression of technology. Other change happens as turn over occurs and new ideas are introduced. The moral of the story is to embrace the change and continually assess what's working and not working. I also feel that life is too short to be doing something you're not enjoying. I'm fortunate enough to be in a profession that I love - but if frustrations of current environments out weigh the positive effect on the academic side of things, perhaps at that point it will be time to move on (I realize I'm being a tad cryptic... just take my word for it).
So, if I am to be identifying my strengths and capitalizing my interests, I need a good system of keeping everything together and easily edited. I just recently went through my yearly performance evaluation, which was a humbling experience. It's nice to know that my efforts are being seen and appreciated (which has been a constant struggle since coming on board). Good things are happening as a part of our library presence on the campus. The trick now is to find a cohesive and interesting way to showcase some of the projects I'm involved in for resume purposes. My blog has a section for presentations/projects which I'm considering adding to my resume somehow. I'm also extremely thankful for my current job opportunity because it has truly given me the chance to boost my resume by doing a little bit of everything.
Job Application Process
The Thing 21 post recommends that we keep a running list of accomplishments so it's easy to add to CV's and resumes later. I like that idea and am considering doing this with Google Docs. I constantly use Gdocs throughout my day, so it would be super easy to type a little bit here and there - making resume writing a cinch. I do think the hardest part of the application process is the darn cover letter! Kudos to my husband who has proofed numerous letters, even when he has no clue what I'm talking about (thanks honey)!
The Interview
I've always said, if you get this far... they like you! Now, you just have to be yourself and show them that they were right. My recent Arkansas interview was the most calm I have ever felt in an interview setting. I actually enjoyed the process. It helped that the people were super duper nice and I felt like I instantly fit in and had known them for years. At the airport when leaving to come back home, one of the committee members actually hugged me goodbye. I was so sad that I had to turn them down. But, I'm happy to still be where I am for the moment, and I'm excited to see my many projects completed and come to fruition.
Only 2 more Things to go!!
I want to first preface that I'm not actively searching for a job. My thoughts here are strictly from past experiences. I will say though, that my husband is actively seeking something better (I'm afraid he'll never be fully satisfied ... but I knew this when I married him). Recently, we had a situation where we were fairly confident that he would be offered a job in Arkansas. Because of this, I started actively seeking something for myself. I won't go through the whole story here, but in the end, I provided the best cover letter and application packet that I've ever done - I interviewed extremely well - and I was offered the job. My husband wasn't offered his. To say that we were confused, frustrated, angry, [enter more words here] would be an understatement.
The good that came from that experience though, is that it helped to boost my confidence a bit. I'm good at what I do - I'm passionate about what I do - and I love collaborating with people to get things done (I can't believe I just typed all of that...).
Identifying You Strengths and Capitalizing on Your Interests
One statement from the cpd blog has stuck with me: "It is important to remember that we are changing all the time: our interests change, our skills develop, we discover new things we like which we didn't even know existed." This is so true! If we aren't developing and rethinking processes, then we're not embracing the profession and eventually, our work will suffer. Part of the change happens with the progression of technology. Other change happens as turn over occurs and new ideas are introduced. The moral of the story is to embrace the change and continually assess what's working and not working. I also feel that life is too short to be doing something you're not enjoying. I'm fortunate enough to be in a profession that I love - but if frustrations of current environments out weigh the positive effect on the academic side of things, perhaps at that point it will be time to move on (I realize I'm being a tad cryptic... just take my word for it).
So, if I am to be identifying my strengths and capitalizing my interests, I need a good system of keeping everything together and easily edited. I just recently went through my yearly performance evaluation, which was a humbling experience. It's nice to know that my efforts are being seen and appreciated (which has been a constant struggle since coming on board). Good things are happening as a part of our library presence on the campus. The trick now is to find a cohesive and interesting way to showcase some of the projects I'm involved in for resume purposes. My blog has a section for presentations/projects which I'm considering adding to my resume somehow. I'm also extremely thankful for my current job opportunity because it has truly given me the chance to boost my resume by doing a little bit of everything.
Job Application Process
The Thing 21 post recommends that we keep a running list of accomplishments so it's easy to add to CV's and resumes later. I like that idea and am considering doing this with Google Docs. I constantly use Gdocs throughout my day, so it would be super easy to type a little bit here and there - making resume writing a cinch. I do think the hardest part of the application process is the darn cover letter! Kudos to my husband who has proofed numerous letters, even when he has no clue what I'm talking about (thanks honey)!
The Interview
I've always said, if you get this far... they like you! Now, you just have to be yourself and show them that they were right. My recent Arkansas interview was the most calm I have ever felt in an interview setting. I actually enjoyed the process. It helped that the people were super duper nice and I felt like I instantly fit in and had known them for years. At the airport when leaving to come back home, one of the committee members actually hugged me goodbye. I was so sad that I had to turn them down. But, I'm happy to still be where I am for the moment, and I'm excited to see my many projects completed and come to fruition.
Only 2 more Things to go!!
#CPD23 Thing 20: My Library Roots
For Thing 20 of the 23 Things for Professional Development program, we're supposed to talk a bit about our roots and how we came to librarianship.
I have always been a library user for as long as I can remember. I remember my mom taking me to summer reading programs and reading gobs and gobs of books in order to win prizes. I remember my mom telling me to put the books away in the car because she wanted to have conversations with me instead of seeing my head in a book. To this day she doesn't like me to read in the car... she'd rather talk.
Fast forward to High School and I was still a voracious reader! I had an amazing English teacher that continued to keep me reading good literature. My favorites were Rebecca (my all-time fav), The Outsiders, Jane Eyre, and The Hobbit.
So as you can see, my love for books carried me through my adolescent, pre-teen, and teen years - but it never crossed my mind that I might want to be a librarian one day.
It wasn't until I was married and was working as a substitute teacher that the seed was planted in my mind. I subbed for an entire week for a middle school library - and essentially, that's what I thought I wanted to do. I was searching at the time. You see, I have 120+ credit hours towards a piano performance degree. In reality, I was a senior recital and a conducting class short of that degree when I realized one day that I was tired of waking up nervous. I was tired of the out-of-control feeling that everyday brought because of the pressure of performing (both solo and collaboratively). Health concerns also played a part in my decision to "quit" (I hate using that word) - I was suffering from severe debilitating tension headaches. I was planning a wedding by myself with my husband-to-be away in Connecticut for his Masters degree. In short, it was too much for 1 person to handle all at once and I just shut down. I crawled into a hole ... and just.... shut down.
My wedding was a bright point amidst the craziness. I was able to marry my best friend, and shortly after tying the knot, we moved to Indiana for him to start his Doctorate at IU. That's where the substitute teaching began. I was still in a very fragile state - not really knowing what direction I wanted to go in life... but that week in the library sparked something within me.
It wasn't until a year later that I decided to tell my husband about my idea. Part of me kept it to myself for so long because I was scared. I knew I would have to finish my undergrad degree somehow in order to begin the Masters in Library Science. I didn't want to finish in music (I hadn't touched a piano for a year - which later turned into 3 years), and I was afraid of the time it would take to finish in a different area.
Long story short, I found an adult ed program that would allow me to finish in 2 years. I began that journey in 2006, finished in 2008, and started my Masters degree that same Fall. I was fortunate enough to get my foot in the door as a Page with a public library while finishing the undergrad degree. This led to higher positions... and now after completing my Masters, I am working as a College Librarian for a community business college.
While my initial thought of going the school library media route didn't come to fruition, I am pleased with my Academic track and hope to one day be in a traditional University setting as a Reference and Instruction Librarian.
As part of this "thing," I have added this post to the Library Routes Project. More 23 Things to come (we're almost done!).
Edited to add:
I have also completed two Library Day in the Life rounds. Fun times!
I have always been a library user for as long as I can remember. I remember my mom taking me to summer reading programs and reading gobs and gobs of books in order to win prizes. I remember my mom telling me to put the books away in the car because she wanted to have conversations with me instead of seeing my head in a book. To this day she doesn't like me to read in the car... she'd rather talk.
Fast forward to High School and I was still a voracious reader! I had an amazing English teacher that continued to keep me reading good literature. My favorites were Rebecca (my all-time fav), The Outsiders, Jane Eyre, and The Hobbit.
So as you can see, my love for books carried me through my adolescent, pre-teen, and teen years - but it never crossed my mind that I might want to be a librarian one day.
It wasn't until I was married and was working as a substitute teacher that the seed was planted in my mind. I subbed for an entire week for a middle school library - and essentially, that's what I thought I wanted to do. I was searching at the time. You see, I have 120+ credit hours towards a piano performance degree. In reality, I was a senior recital and a conducting class short of that degree when I realized one day that I was tired of waking up nervous. I was tired of the out-of-control feeling that everyday brought because of the pressure of performing (both solo and collaboratively). Health concerns also played a part in my decision to "quit" (I hate using that word) - I was suffering from severe debilitating tension headaches. I was planning a wedding by myself with my husband-to-be away in Connecticut for his Masters degree. In short, it was too much for 1 person to handle all at once and I just shut down. I crawled into a hole ... and just.... shut down.
My wedding was a bright point amidst the craziness. I was able to marry my best friend, and shortly after tying the knot, we moved to Indiana for him to start his Doctorate at IU. That's where the substitute teaching began. I was still in a very fragile state - not really knowing what direction I wanted to go in life... but that week in the library sparked something within me.
It wasn't until a year later that I decided to tell my husband about my idea. Part of me kept it to myself for so long because I was scared. I knew I would have to finish my undergrad degree somehow in order to begin the Masters in Library Science. I didn't want to finish in music (I hadn't touched a piano for a year - which later turned into 3 years), and I was afraid of the time it would take to finish in a different area.
Long story short, I found an adult ed program that would allow me to finish in 2 years. I began that journey in 2006, finished in 2008, and started my Masters degree that same Fall. I was fortunate enough to get my foot in the door as a Page with a public library while finishing the undergrad degree. This led to higher positions... and now after completing my Masters, I am working as a College Librarian for a community business college.
While my initial thought of going the school library media route didn't come to fruition, I am pleased with my Academic track and hope to one day be in a traditional University setting as a Reference and Instruction Librarian.
As part of this "thing," I have added this post to the Library Routes Project. More 23 Things to come (we're almost done!).
Edited to add:
I have also completed two Library Day in the Life rounds. Fun times!
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