I Graduated, and Now I Have Homework
Yes!!!!
I got a 2nd interview at the job I wanted. It is next week. I was so excited when they contacted me for a phone interview a mere 3 days after I applied, especially since I applied almost a month after the posting. So I had the phone interview last Thursday. Then I graduated. Then I got an email yesterday they wanted me to do an in-person interview. Of course I said YESSSSS.
I should mention that this is not a job in a library and they are not requiring one BE a librarian. An MLIS or graduate coursework is a plus, but only the BA is the required minimum. I am sure, though, that having my MLIS has helped put me in the actual running. It is a job with an organization that has all librarians as their customer base.
So anywayz, when I then got the email about my actual interview... I was, um, surprised.
Because IT'S A LIBRARIAN INTERVIEW. Hello!
{the weary librarian trudges up the stairs in regalia - time to make the donuts}
What does that mean?
Well. I don't just show up, meet with whomever, have some conversations, get to know each other, answer and ask questions, and that's it, for an hour or so.
Oh no, librarians don't play that, homey!
I got an agenda. For a 3 hour interview slot. With the names of the SEARCH COMMITTEE members with whom I will be speaking.
And I will be given a test to be sure I can do that job. No problem, I was always tested for jobs in publishing.
And I have to give a 10 minute talk on the subject of my choice, with a handout, not using technology.
This amuses me greatly.
In grad school, for every class, I had to do projects with a presentation component. I think I can recall all of one class where I did not have to do a presentation. Frequently with a handout. Usually I did them with a group, but sometimes I did them alone. There were three classes specifically where I was required to present not using technology, and those professors said they wanted us to be able to present even if we had no computer, no internet, no presentation software.
And I did not just present in my classes to my classmates. I presented in workshops, symposia, to other peoples' classes, and everywhere else. I think in my last month of grad school I did at least 4 presentations in various places. One was 30 seconds and I was timed. One was 35 minutes. Sometimes I was required to actually generate discussion.
Everyone else always complained about the presentations. They all just hated them. And many people were actively bad at them. Other people weren't bad, exactly, but they were boring. For example, do not put an entire slide filled with text up there. It's not a dissertation. And all in complete sentences. Settle down there, English major. And then READ ME the slide. If all you are going to do is read the slide text, then just give me the file and I'll read it myself. What do you need to be up there to do, then? We can read. Reading a slide full of text = bad presentation.
But the professors made us present. Many many times. They told us that librarians needed to be able to speak in front of people. Speaking skills are very important in library school, at least, in mine.
It makes me wonder about the people who do online programs. They learn other skills very well, but they do not learn the public speaking. How can you learn user instruction in an online program -- I guess you could create web based modules, but that won't help you learn to teach an actual class. In person.
I have had many job interviews while I was actually in grad school. Some were part time jobs, some full time. Some in libraries, some in private firms. Paraprofessional jobs, freelance jobs, etc. Lots of interviews. And they were all the type I am used to. You show up, you ask, you answer, you might get a short tour. That's it.
My first job interview with an MLIS and what do I have to do? A presentation. To a search committee. And the job does not have LIBRARIAN in the title. They are not hiring a librarian but I have to be able to act like a librarian.
So I am amused.
I am also doing research and putting together my talk. It can be on any subject but I think I would like to do a topic related to the position. I have at least 3 presentations I could do... except they aaaaaallll use PowerPoint. Or the internet. Or both. So I have to redo them to use them. then I also have to cut them, then I have to practice and I have to time myself. It would not do to go over, in a job interview.
I am deciding a topic. Digital libraries. Digitization Best Practices. Project Gutenberg (world's first digital library). That would be challenging if I could not actually show the library, never mind. "Why Digitize?" Digital Preservation. hmmmm.
Even without a job, I feel like a librarian.
I got a 2nd interview at the job I wanted. It is next week. I was so excited when they contacted me for a phone interview a mere 3 days after I applied, especially since I applied almost a month after the posting. So I had the phone interview last Thursday. Then I graduated. Then I got an email yesterday they wanted me to do an in-person interview. Of course I said YESSSSS.
I should mention that this is not a job in a library and they are not requiring one BE a librarian. An MLIS or graduate coursework is a plus, but only the BA is the required minimum. I am sure, though, that having my MLIS has helped put me in the actual running. It is a job with an organization that has all librarians as their customer base.
So anywayz, when I then got the email about my actual interview... I was, um, surprised.
Because IT'S A LIBRARIAN INTERVIEW. Hello!
{the weary librarian trudges up the stairs in regalia - time to make the donuts}
What does that mean?
Well. I don't just show up, meet with whomever, have some conversations, get to know each other, answer and ask questions, and that's it, for an hour or so.
Oh no, librarians don't play that, homey!
I got an agenda. For a 3 hour interview slot. With the names of the SEARCH COMMITTEE members with whom I will be speaking.
And I will be given a test to be sure I can do that job. No problem, I was always tested for jobs in publishing.
And I have to give a 10 minute talk on the subject of my choice, with a handout, not using technology.
This amuses me greatly.
In grad school, for every class, I had to do projects with a presentation component. I think I can recall all of one class where I did not have to do a presentation. Frequently with a handout. Usually I did them with a group, but sometimes I did them alone. There were three classes specifically where I was required to present not using technology, and those professors said they wanted us to be able to present even if we had no computer, no internet, no presentation software.
And I did not just present in my classes to my classmates. I presented in workshops, symposia, to other peoples' classes, and everywhere else. I think in my last month of grad school I did at least 4 presentations in various places. One was 30 seconds and I was timed. One was 35 minutes. Sometimes I was required to actually generate discussion.
Everyone else always complained about the presentations. They all just hated them. And many people were actively bad at them. Other people weren't bad, exactly, but they were boring. For example, do not put an entire slide filled with text up there. It's not a dissertation. And all in complete sentences. Settle down there, English major. And then READ ME the slide. If all you are going to do is read the slide text, then just give me the file and I'll read it myself. What do you need to be up there to do, then? We can read. Reading a slide full of text = bad presentation.
But the professors made us present. Many many times. They told us that librarians needed to be able to speak in front of people. Speaking skills are very important in library school, at least, in mine.
It makes me wonder about the people who do online programs. They learn other skills very well, but they do not learn the public speaking. How can you learn user instruction in an online program -- I guess you could create web based modules, but that won't help you learn to teach an actual class. In person.
I have had many job interviews while I was actually in grad school. Some were part time jobs, some full time. Some in libraries, some in private firms. Paraprofessional jobs, freelance jobs, etc. Lots of interviews. And they were all the type I am used to. You show up, you ask, you answer, you might get a short tour. That's it.
My first job interview with an MLIS and what do I have to do? A presentation. To a search committee. And the job does not have LIBRARIAN in the title. They are not hiring a librarian but I have to be able to act like a librarian.
So I am amused.
I am also doing research and putting together my talk. It can be on any subject but I think I would like to do a topic related to the position. I have at least 3 presentations I could do... except they aaaaaallll use PowerPoint. Or the internet. Or both. So I have to redo them to use them. then I also have to cut them, then I have to practice and I have to time myself. It would not do to go over, in a job interview.
I am deciding a topic. Digital libraries. Digitization Best Practices. Project Gutenberg (world's first digital library). That would be challenging if I could not actually show the library, never mind. "Why Digitize?" Digital Preservation. hmmmm.
Even without a job, I feel like a librarian.