Q: What are online portfolios? Why should I care about them? And, how do I get one?

October 31, 2008 by Susanne Markgren ♥ 1 Comment

Q: What are online portfolios? Why should I care about them? And, how do I get one?

TA: As someone in an academic library who works with recruitment and filling librarian positions, and who works with MLS students during their time in school and during their job hunt, I know what I like to see in an online portfolio and I know what I recommend to students and early career librarians. Also, I hear from former students about what they keep in their online portfolios and experience they’ve gained and want to share with others. Recently, I posed a few questions to a group of previous students about online portfolios. I wanted to know if they had one, what they chose to include (and conversely, what they chose to leave out), and finally, what they would recommend to others starting this process.

Several people commented on the components of an online portfolio. Portfolios were viewed as an extension of a candidate’s cover letter and resume, and are a good way to demonstrate technical competencies in web design and coding. The most common sections included in an online portfolio were work history, education, research interests, selected projects, and contact information. Some candidates also chose to list their MLS/MIS courses on the online portfolio, and included only “selected” relevant courses on their resume.

A few things to avoid include being overly personal with the information shared as part of your portfolio. This is a professional marketing tool, so please don’t tell me about your recent Vegas trip and certainly don’t include photos of the event — What happens in Vegas really should stay in Vegas! Also, from what I’ve seen and heard from others, the best design is clean and simple. Keep it neat and professional, and think of it as an effective communication tool that extends the power of your cover letter and resume.

Other avenues to building a professional online presence include blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other online networking tools. One word of warning… be sure to maintain some distance between the online personal you, and the online professional you. You should consider locking down privacy settings on social networking sites like Facebook so that only friends can see your personal information. Keep private information private, and make it easy for potential employers and professional colleagues to find your professional information on the web.

SM: Like the students that Tiffany spoke with, I think of an online portfolio as an extension of one’s resume and as another place to share professional information in order to promote one’s skills and competencies. I also think of it as a place where I can provide more details about specific aspects of my work experience and my education history and as a repository that allows me to store my professional documents in one offsite location (i.e., not my personal or work computer) making them more accessible me and to those who may want to view them.

Years ago, after learning HTML, I put my resume on a web page with a few hyperlinks and naively called it an “online portfolio.” I currently have a super condensed version of my CV on my institution’s website. These, in reality, are just resumes on a web page. The online portfolio is, and should be, so much more than this. A traditional portfolio looks a bit like this, a multi-pocket folder filled with all your professional documents. Think of an online portfolio as exactly the same, just online. It is a place that allows you to present and organize your materials in a manner and style that suits your needs, a place that makes sharing your materials much easier, and a place that allows for more freedom and creativity than the formal structure of the cover letter and resume.

An online portfolio is a good investment for librarians who are actively looking for employment and for contentedly employed librarians who just want a space of their own that they have complete control over, outside of their institution’s web server. I strongly believe that professionals who have acquired materials over the years should be maintaining some kind of ongoing professional file and updating their resumes on a regular basis regardless of job stability. It is both satisfying and motivating to have an organized and up-to-date folder (online or in print) of your professional materials.

I set out to create my own online portfolio this Fall. I have been an academic librarian for over a decade now and I’ve acquired many documents over the years that move around with me, from computer to USB drive, to inboxes, to different computers. And, I need to maintain a portfolio for tenure requirements, which means lots of printing and sorting and stapling. I desperately needed one place where I could both store and display these documents. As I researched what others are doing in this arena, I discovered that the plethora of free online “social tools” have become ideal portfolio platforms. Not only are they free, they offer security, lots of storage space, backups, searching and commenting capabilities, and are very easy to use – no web skills required. What better time to create, upload, display and archive your professional profile than now?

After contemplating exactly what I wanted my online portfolio to do, and weighing the many options, I choose to use a wiki. I wanted it to be clean and simple in its design, and I wanted to be able to easily cut and paste text from other documents without much editing. I used different pages within the wiki to create distinct sections for my materials such as publications, experience, presentations, and web design.

As social and professional sites expand, evolve, and intertwine, more and more people will be putting their portfolios online and thinking of them as just another link on their networking chain.

To reiterate what Tiffany mentioned above – when creating your online portfolio:

Be creative in a clean and simple way
Keep it organized and professional
Include documents, materials, presentations, etc., that highlight your skills and experience
Only include materials you would show a prospective or current employer
Be cognizant when naming things (URL, pages, folders, etc.)
Go beyond your resume and cover letter
Make it easy to navigate
Make your contact information visible
Make sure you can download it (back it up)
Keep it up-to-date
Use it to promote yourself

These are some articles and ideas that I found useful in my research, please let us know if you have additional resources or a portfolio you want to share.

Articles:

Functional and Stylistic Needs of Every Online Portfolio
by Christopher A. Brown

Online Portfolios, or “WOW! Look at Everything I’ve Done!”
by Kim Moody

Punch Up Your Portfolio
by Katie Dunneback

Using Del.icio.us to Create an Easy, Always Updated Online Portfolio
by Michele Martin

Build a Killer Online Portfolio in 9 Easy Steps
by Skellie

Creating a Successful Online Portfolio
by Sean Hodge

Examples and How-To’s:

Creating ePortfolios with Web 2.0 Tools
by Dr. Helen Barrett

Michele Martin’s delicious Portfolio

The Information School, University of Washington, Sample MLIS Student’s Online Portfolios

SM’s Online Portfolio

Q: Where do I go to find vacancy announcements for librarian positions?

September 18, 2008 by Tiffany ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Q: Where do I go to find vacancy announcements for librarian positions?

A: My experience lies primarily with recruitment in an academic setting, so my suggestions will focus on those resources. There are a lot of free places to advertise these days that provide quick and easy access to a large population of job seekers. Listserves and websites are the most common sources of advertising these days. I would recommend joining specialized listserves that focus on the areas of librarianship you are interested in, for example ACRL, Autocat for catalogers, Serialist for serials specialists, Cons DistList for conservation… I would also recommend your graduate school alumni listserv if your school has one– I know that we post a lot of our jobs to our local graduate school alumni list. You may also want to check out a few websites. Specifics ones that we use are ARL (arl.org) and LISJobs.com, as well as the general state library association website. And of course, if you have a specific institution that you are interested in, check their employment opportunities website often to see what’s currently available.

We rarely use print advertising because it can be rather slow and expensive. That said, you still may want to take a look at a few professional journals to see what kind of opportunities they are showcasing.

Anyone else have ideas? All suggestions welcome!

Q: How does a reference assistant work effectively with librarians?

July 29, 2008 by Susanne Markgren ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Q: How does a reference assistant work effectively with librarians in serving together to meet the needs of patrons?

A: Reference Assistant positions are great places to start your library career. Typically, you will learn a ton of stuff from the librarians you work with, and you will get invaluable experience behind the reference desk. These are usually sought-after appointments and can lead you far in your career. I should know, I worked as a reference assistant in academic libraries for two years before getting my library degree. I probably learned more from those positions, and the people I worked with, than I did in library school.

Working effectively with others can be tricky, and changing an ineffective or stale work environment can be hopeless. But, when your goal is the same — to meet the needs of the patrons — it should make things easier. From my experience, the job of a reference assistant is just that, assist the reference librarians and do a lot of reference work. If you feel like you can and should be doing more than what you are doing, you need to talk to your supervisor.

Reference assistants typically spend much of their time behind the reference desk, which means that you might have a better sense of what the patron needs or wants than the librarians do. It is your job to communicate this to the librarians: to share patron feedback, discuss problems, and throw around new ideas and solutions. The librarians will appreciate this feedback and information. If you do not meet regularly in person with the librarians, you could communicate via email on a regular basis. Communication is key. Try your hardest to get the lines of communication open.

Ask your supervisor for more responsibility, and get the “go ahead” to develop something new that might benefit the reference staff and the patrons like a social software tool [blog, Facebook page, wiki, bookmarks, etc.], and show off your skills and motivation at the same time. Perhaps you want to try your hand at creating or updating web pages, surveying the patrons, creating new user guides and handouts, conducting library tours, trying out a chat widget, evaluating new databases, designing marketing tools/signs, teaching a workshop (either for the librarians or for patrons). You must have some ideas of what you would like to do, if you’re asking this question, so share your ideas with the librarians, and show them that you are willing and able to run with them. If this does not impress them, then I’m not sure what will.

If there is one librarian who you admire or you can relate to better than the others, ask your supervisor if you can shadow him or her for a while. Learn more about what this person does in your library, and see if you can get involved in, and offer your assistance with, their work. If you are able to prove to this person that you are a valuable asset to the library, you will have an important ally, advocate, and collaborator.

Finally, learn as much as you can in this position, but also share your knowledge with those you work with. Divisions within libraries, whether based on age, professional status, department, or role, need to be torn down. They only hinder growth and progress for the library as a whole.

Additional information:

Resources for Library Support Staff

Q: Do I need to relocate to get a job?

June 13, 2008 by Susanne Markgren ♥ 1 Comment

Q: Do I need to relocate to get a job?

We’ve been following a recent discussion on the NEWLIB-L list about the necessity to relocate for jobs. Relocation can certainly enhance your chances of getting a job, because it allows you to apply for more positions. We wrote a similar post a while back on the benefits of geographic mobility when job searching. However, relocation is not possible for some and not desirable for others who want to stay where they are. We have been on both sides of this “debate” and want to share some advice on this topic.

TA: Having moved around a lot when I was growing up, I would have never predicted that my perspective in this debate would be from the side of “staying where you are.” Of course, maybe some would argue that’s precisely why, but psychoanalyzing my childhood is a whole other discussion. Anyway, here I am, sharing my thoughts with you about finding a job without relocating.

As we’ve said a number of times in our column posts, experience is a key factor to your “employability”. The more experience you have that relates to the job you’re applying for, the better position you’ll be in during the initial review of applications. There are a few approaches to gaining this experience, but the first four that come to mind are:

Get a library job while you’re in school—be sure to supplement your academic education with some real world, practical library experience. You’ll be surprised at how different these two can actually be!

Take advantage of internships, practicums, field experiences — whatever your school calls them, be sure to make use of the programs where you are assigned to work on a real-life project, while earning classroom credit. Even though it’s not paid work, it still counts as experience and it is something you can draw on and discuss in your cover letter, resume and interview.
If you are fortunate enough to work in a library position while also attending school, be sure to take advantage of professional relationships to build a professional network; remember that your experience on teams, committees, and other library work groups are all opportunities for you to demonstrate leadership, and effective interpersonal, communication, and project management skills, etc.
Don’t undervalue any experience you may have had prior to library school just because you weren’t working in a library, doesn’t make the skills you’ve gained any less relevant. Managing (people, resources, budgets, etc.) in one setting can oftentimes easily translate to managing in a library context.

Personally, I tried to take advantage of all of the above, as well as the personal connections I built before, during and after the MLS. Undergraduate student library experience led to a support staff job in a corporate library after getting my BS. I then took a job back on campus that had tuition support as a benefit so that I could work full time and take classes toward the MLS (half of which were paid for by my employer). After graduating with the MLS, I applied for and was hired in a permanent librarian position, in large part because of all of the library experience I had as well as the professional network I had established through my employment and education. I had the good fortune to serve on library-wide committees, work with others throughout several library departments, and the opportunity to establish a strong and positive professional reputation.

If you’re planning on staying in a geographic area, be sure to remember that as you chart your course, every step builds on the next. The library profession is small, and we have good memories. A favorable impression from the beginning will only serve you well as you progress in your career.

SM: I did not move at all as a child and maybe that’s why I crave it as an adult. I relocated shortly after getting my MLS, which was always my intention. I had the advantage of being mobile, and better yet, I was working as a librarian in a temporary professional status which allowed me more time in my job search. I was able to get this position because I worked my way through library school –mainly in reference assistant positions, and even prolonged library school to work full time in order to advance within my (academic) library system.

I am a wanderer at heart. I moved to a different state the day after I got my BA. A few years later I moved across the country to pursue my MLS and to experience a completely different lifestyle in the South. However, it had always been a dream of mine to live in New York City and so, once I had my MLS, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

Here is my advice to those who are eager to relocate, and to those who are perhaps slightly less eager, but willing and able to relocate:

Before you begin:

Be choosy! Just because you are mobile doesn’t mean you should take any job anywhere. Do your research on places before you go there. Make sure you can live in an area before you agree to move there. If you are not happy living in a particular city or region, then you probably won’t be happy in your job for too long. If you are mobile, you can focus your search on any city you want. It might be tempting to send out resumes to every open job, in every state (or province), and see who wants you. I would recommend focusing your efforts on one or two locations. Interviewers will want to know why you want to move and you need to have a better answer than I’ll go where the job is. Show that you are committed to moving to that area, and talk about why. I know you are thinking “Now, now, I need a job now!” but try to envision the future, and picture yourself living there in 5 or 10 years.

While looking for jobs:

Use your current connections. As Tiffany mentioned above, it is important to be involved in the profession as much as you can while in library school. Once you know that you want to relocate, ask around to see if your employer, professor, colleague, or friend, knows anyone or knows of any libraries and/or library organizations in your target region. Ask advice from others who have relocated.

When you get the interview:

Find out about travel expenses for interviewing before agreeing to interview. If a place is not willing to reimburse you for coming in for an interview, how much do they really want you? Think hard before you spend your own money. I have turned down interviews because they did not reimburse for travel expenses.

When they offer you the job:

Find out about relocation money. Will they provide you with any money that will cover part or all of your relocation expenses (moving companies, rental vehicles, storage, etc.). Many places do not offer money or assistance for relocating, but it can’t hurt to ask. I know of places that were not in the habit of providing money for this purpose, but did so anyway after a candidate asked for it. Just as you might negotiate your starting salary, you can (at least attempt to) negotiate moving expenses. If they really want you, they will at least try to get you something. Relocation is a difficult and expensive process.

Finally, don’t rush into moving and don’t uproot yourself (and potentially your family) until you have done your homework on the area, have visited at least once, and have given a lot of thought to what the future might hold in a new setting.

So, after eight years, I am still in the New York City area, although no longer living in the city. I didn’t think that I would stay this long, but life happens whether you’re standing still or moving. Two kids and two jobs later, I am still thinking, or dreaming, of my next move.

If you’re looking for information on cities across America, check out these sites:

Q: In the business field, there are headhunters who can help match a person to a particular position. Is there anything similar in the library field?

April 30, 2008 by Tiffany ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Q: In the business field, there are headhunters who can help match a person to a particular position. Is there anything similar in the library field?

Funny you should ask because there’s an interesting conversation happening right now on the New Librarian’s Listserv (newlib-l@usc.edu) about this very topic: Library placement Services.There are a number of these agencies out there that specialize in placements for librarian positions. And they can work in both directions — finding a job or a librarian, and finding a librarian for the job. In the end, I guess it’s the same outcome… the right placement in the right organization to get the job done.Here’s a website with a listing of several placement agencies, many of which specialize in a geographic region: http://www.libraryjobpostings.org/placement.htm. Take a look and best of luck with your search.

How about our readers??? Anyone out there with a related experience? Any thoughts/advice/warnings you want to share?

Q: Do you have any advice on moving from a position in a public school system to a children’s librarian position in a public library?

March 26, 2008 by Susanne Markgren ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Q: I am just approaching my 28th year in public school library services. I’d really like to try something different and am considering applying for a public children’s library position. Any thoughts or tips on making such a change?

We get this type of question about moving from one area of librarianship to another quite often. The desire to move (or change roles) leads us to believe that librarians crave variety; that they are able to do so leads us to believe that librarians possess skills that transfer well between different roles, libraries and institutions.

For many of us, one of the major draws of a career in librarianship is the immense variety of roles/libraries/institutions/clientele to choose from. It is certainly a diverse and exciting profession, and you are not alone in your quest to find a new position in a different type of library.

To make sure that this is truly the direction you want to go in, you might want to start by volunteering in your community library or taking a part time position, if possible, which is something that you might have in mind already.

Moving from a public school system to a public library system should be a fairly easy move, and your extensive experience working with children in a school library will carry across wonderfully to a public library setting. You will probably find that the roles in these two types of libraries can be quite similar as they often rely on each other, especially when it comes to educating our children.

If you haven’t yet, start looking at job ads for children’s librarians in public libraries and see what skills are required and preferred. Then spend a good deal of time tailoring your resume and your cover letters to address those needs. When you’re reviewing the job ads, pay close attention to qualifications that relate to technology and make a special effort to stay current with the trends. This might mean taking a few continuing education courses to update your skills (a lot are online now!) or familiarizing yourself with the latest tools by trying a few of them out in your personal time (e.g., blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, RSS, etc.). If you have experience using some of the tools and new technology, you will be able to talk about and demonstrate a certain level of knowledge that will be required in the job. A lifelong learner and someone who demonstrates flexibility, adaptability, and a willingness to continue growing is welcome in any kind of organization.

Finally, we will point you to an article that we wrote a few years back (but still relevant today) on moving from one area of librarianship to another, that provides some helpful information and links to useful resources:

How do I get there from here? Changing jobs, changing roles, changing institutions
by Susanne Markgren and Tiffany Allen
C&RL News, December 2004, Vol. 65, No. 11

Good luck!

Q: How do I get back into the workforce after an illness, and being a stay-at-home parent?

March 7, 2008 by Susanne Markgren ♥ 1 Comment

Q: I have been out of the library field for awhile. I relocated, then was diagnosed with cancer, then decided to have a baby. Meanwhile, I was job searching locally but nothing worked out. I have worked, just not in libraries. Now it is time to widen my library job search geographically. So how do I explain – or do I need to explain – my absence? I am very aware that I cannot mention cancer (passed my five-year mark, odds are in my favor, thankyouverymuch) or motherhood (my child is getting close to school age).

TA: Welcome back to librarianship! Congratulations on motherhood and passing your five-year mark. For most us, even without a diagnosis of our own, cancer touches our lives through family, friends, or acquaintances, so kudos to you for your strength and determination to fight and overcome.

It’s encouraging to hear that you’re ready to get back into libraries, and you’re wise to consider a gap in employment as something you need to address. In my opinion, you want to address this head on, but keep it brief, simple and not overly personal. I would suggest one or two lines in your cover letter, something along the lines of “After a period of time off for personal reasons, including relocation with my family, I am enthusiastic about returning to librarianship, and I’m especially excited about this opportunity at XYZ Library. I feel confident that my education, experience and skills make me a strong candidate for the position of XYZ Librarian.” The statement is brief, slightly personal but not too much, and is optimistic and confident. You address the gap without going into too much detail.

Beyond your cover letter, there are a couple of other things I would recommend. First, have a really nice resume. Part of the resume is work experience, which as you say, is not work in libraries, but look for transferable skills. If you have worked in public service, customer service, web authoring, organizing volunteers, etc., think about these things as they relate to libraries (and to the specific position you’re applying for) and highlight them in your resume. Even volunteer work counts as long as the experience you gained directly relates to the position for which you are applying. It’s your job as the candidate to do all the work for the committee – show them how you meet the qualifications of the position and how your experience relates. You are your own best advocate.

Second, stay connected professionally. Be sure to join listservs, read blogs, attend workshops, join professional associations, etc. By staying connected, you’ll not only stay aware of current issues and trends in the profession and be ready to discuss those during an interview, but you’ll also begin to build a network of other professionals who will be able to support your job search. Additionally, potential employers will see that you’re active professionally as you build your resume with professional development and professional memberships. Furthermore, take advantage of technology training and be sure to keep these skills current – that’s another great thing to highlight on your resume. It not only shows initiative, but it’s also one less thing for a potential employer to worry about with someone who’s been off the job market for several years.

And finally, when you’re called for an on-site interview, be sure to stay open, positive and optimistic. Don’t shy away from or downplay the experiences you’ve had outside of librarianship. And if you feel that you’ve developed a rapport with the interviewer and feel comfortable sharing a little more personal detail than you’ve included in your cover letter, you can do that. I would still keep it fairly brief (this is, of course, still an interview, not speed dating) but at least in person you are able to judge a reaction and tailor your responses accordingly. At the cover letter stage, it’s just you “on paper“; during an interview, it’s you — the real you, the healthy you, the professional you — “in real life.”

SM:
You say that you are

“very aware that I cannot mention cancer … or motherhood.”

This statement, although understandable, is somewhat disconcerting. It shows your fears and reluctance to put yourself out there again. Gaps in your resume will stand out; and if they are not explained, they will send up red flags and leave the potential employer wondering what you were doing for those missing time periods. Don’t let them wonder, explain yourself first, eloquently and convincingly, and make them believe that you are ready to re-enter the workforce. You are certainly aware that your family decisions and your illness have impacted all aspects of your life, including your professional life, and you are trying to get yourself back into the profession that you want to be in. Make sure that your self-esteem is ready as well.

Be tactful, sincere, professional, and bold when addressing gaps in your resume. Keep the wording and tone optimistic, confident, and slightly personal in your cover letter (as Tiffany mentions above). In the interview stage, expect that you will be asked about the gaps. This is when you can say a little more, if you feel comfortable, without setting off alarm bells (as you might fear).

Tactful:
Be tactful when talking about personal matters – you wouldn’t go on and on about a painful divorce, or about losing a job, so make sure that you keep your personal matters still slightly personal. In your case, you have a few things to celebrate – a healthy outcome, and a child. These are not things to be ashamed of in any way, and have most likely made you a stronger person. Use this strength in your job search, and promote yourself and your experiences confidently.

Sincere:
I can appreciate and understand your unwillingness to mention an illness and protectiveness of your decision to stay at home for a few years, which many new parents make. And, it can be extremely difficult, not to mention uncomfortable, to discuss personal decisions with people you’ve just met. Having said that, I’m not advocating that you actually have a discussion about why you chose to stay at home to raise your child, or provide details about your battle with cancer. I only mean that you should be as honest and up front as possible without getting too personal. Hiding information will only hurt your chances at getting a job.

Professional:
When you get to the interview stage, remember that you are interviewing them as well. You need to find a workplace that you will be comfortable in and a workplace that suits your needs. Your interviewers can not (or should not) ask you certain personal questions, but you can share as much or as little as you like. How much you share will depend entirely on the situation, timing, and comfort level. Just remember, if your interviewers feel that you are hiding something, or that you are closed up, they will project that into the workplace and wonder if they can work with a person who is, or may be, overly guarded. Collaboration is a major part of librarians’ roles, and you will most likely (depending on the job you are applying for) have to prove that you can work comfortably with others in a collaborative environment. A large part of any in-person interview is finding a good fit for the library, so personality, sincerity, and rapport with key people are very important.

Bold:
Finally, be bold – ask your interviewers if they have any concerns about hiring someone who has been out of the workplace for a few years, and if so, find out what they are and see if you can address them. This is your chance to shine and to alleviate any fears they might have, while (hopefully) leaving your own fears behind. Best of luck!

Related articles:

“Gaps in Your Resume: Addressing an Interruption in Your Career Path” by John Lehner

“Mother’s Hone Leadership Skills on Career Breaks” USATODAY

“Tips To Handle Employment Gaps” by Nathan Newberger

“How to Handle a Gap in Your Job History” by Cynthia Wright

“When Stay-at-Home Fathers Return to Work (Elsewhere)” by Julia Lawlor
“Workforce Re-entry for a Stay at Home Mom” by Stacie Cathcart

“Coping With Chronic Illness When You’re on the Job Market” by Mary Morris Heiberger