Someday these job-related entries will stop. But for now, poll time.

[areyououtthere]

I'm curious about where my peers pick up what they know about job-hunting. I hear a lot of general laments about how liberal arts education leaves people ill-prepared for careers that aren't academia, unsure of what other options exist, and I've certainly spent enough time being bitter about my own relative inexperience. At the same time, though, I

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[fiddledragon]

And to sum up...mostly from the internet, but a little bit from the career center, grad school professors, and peers. I didn't really take advantage of BMC's career center, so I don't know what would have been available if I'd asked (or, rather, I know what they say would have been available and don't know whether it was actually any good).

Some tips for looking at job postings actually came from the temp agency I worked for when I first moved up here. They also gave me tips on thinking about things like, "Ok, here's a temp-to-perm job where you'd be working at below your target wage for six months, but then you'd get a raise if they hired you permanently. Can you hold out for six months, or do you really need that target salary?"

I have somewhat of an advantage to many liberal-arts folks in that academic library work is a really, really good field for someone with a not-particularly-useful major. Having written lots of research papers and spent time in academic libraries is the major job qualification for paraprofessional positions. I'm aiming to go into a really clearly defined field, so while there aren't a lot of openings, I know them when I see them, and am as qualified for them as you can get while not having had any direct experience.