How to Succeed at a College Library Job Interview

Public libraries, academic libraries and private libraries have different missions, communities they serve and often very different environments. Even if you've worked in libraries before, there may be some interview questions or situations you haven't prepared for. Read on for 10 tips on how to succeed at a college-library job interview.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Research the institution. Most colleges have expansive websites now, making it easy to go online and get information about the place you're hoping to work for. Learn about their history, their user base, and if possible, the size and collection of the library. If possible, you might want to visit the library and view their set-up so you can apply it to answers you give in the interview. You can even arrive early for your interview and browse the collection before you begin.

2. Meet their requirements. The job description will include collections, databases and library duties they hope you are familiar with. Make sure you are capable in all of these areas. If you are not familiar with a particular database, make sure you do research on it. You can often find a demo online that you can practice with. That way, come interview time, you can say you've seen a demo of the product and feel capable of using it. If you're currently working in another library, ask any experienced colleagues for help in areas you're unfamiliar with. See Warnings section.

3. Stress what you know. If you've learned how to use 12 different databases and have worked in two or three different departments at your current library job, tell the interviewers about this. Even if the databases aren't ones you'll be using in your new position, the fact that you already have working knowledge of several library tools works in your favor. It also shows that you can learn new skills without any problems. (See Tips section if you are new to the library job field.)

4. Stress that willingness to learn. College libraries are serving students who have to keep up with current knowledge in their fields and current trends, especially in technology. The libraries, therefore, have to keep up with all the new ways of obtaining the latest research and often upgrade their systems. Letting the interviewers know that you're excited to learn about new databases and new processes to help the library user makes you a very appealing candidate for a college environment.

5. Be prepared for a committee interview. College libraries are part of a whole institution and thus have to answer to higher authorities than the library executives. You may be interviewed by a panel of employees from the library as well as other areas of the college. Some institutions will make sure that the panel has members of different ethnic backgrounds, and may include a physically challenged employee as well. Be prepared for questions about multiculturalism and dealing with a wide variety of cultures and students with special needs.

6. Show your enthusiasm for libraries and library work. (If you don't seem all that interested in the job, they won't be interested in giving it to you.) Make sure you mention any library committees or events you've participated in, if you've won any awards or if you've put together training classes. Anything that shows your dedication to the field will be appreciated by interviewers. If you're new to the library field, see the Tips section for a very important insider tip about librarians.

7. Use a little humor. At a college library committee interview, I was asked what I would do if I caught someone in the stacks tearing pages out of a library magazine. By reflex I answered, "You mean after I finished choking him?" This got a big laugh from the committee, and the library employees loved it because it was just how they felt about such a situation. This response actually covers the previous guideline as well--it was humor, but also showed my reverence for libraries and their materials. The rule with humor is to use it sparingly, and to always follow a humorous response with the proper and well thought-out reply. Don't ever answer a legitimate question with a joke and nothing else.

8. Know the current issues. Check out some current library publications and library system websites. For example, a common question in library newsletters and at conferences is about whether the Internet will eventually replace libraries. Be prepared with ideas about why it won't happen, and what academic libraries can do to make themselves as useful to students as they have been in the past. This is also why it's good to research the library before the interview--so you can see what they already *have* done.

9. Remember all the basic rules about interviews for any position: Be polite, make eye contact with the interviewers, thank them for their time. Save any questions about pay or vacation until the end of the interview. Usually, they'll end by asking if you have any questions. Start your questions with something related to the work itself--some specifics about your job duties, how many students come in for help each day, etc. Then you can follow up with questions about scheduling and pay.

10. Follow up. College library interviews, particularly those done by committee, often take quite awhile to be processed--sometimes months. Unless they've specifically requested you not call, contact the appropriate person after a few weeks and ask about the status of the position. If the decision is still pending, it's good to just state that you were very interested in the job and were looking forward to hearing from them again. When committees take a long time to decide, often the candidates will have found other work by the time they make their announcement. Letting them know your hat is still in the ring can help keep you in their minds and possibly push you to the top of the list.

Tips & Warnings

• If you haven't worked in a library before, be prepared to talk about any skills you have that may be relevant. If you've worked on different computer programs or databases, have clerical experience, have done customer service work--all these can be valuable assets for library work. As stated above, you can also do some research about library databases and try them out online or at the library. Be sure to express your willingness and ability to learn new skills.
• Insider's Tip: If you haven't worked in a library before, you may be asked what experiences you've had with libraries. The whole of your response should not be about how much you loved story time at the library when you were a child. This is actually a pet peeve of many librarians, particularly those in academic or private company settings. Librarians are experts in many fields and deal with all kinds of information and new technologies. Libraries were making use of the text-based Internet before the "World Wide Web" even came into existence. These people are proud of being cutting-edge and valuable assets to students, scholars and the community. Don't limit their impact to picture books and puppet shows. Talk about the research you did in college, genealogy searches or anything that addresses the way adults use the library.
• Be honest about your work skills and knowledge. If you've only tried a computer database once, just say you are familiar with it and are eager to learn more. Don't claim to be an expert--this can hurt you in the interview if you are unable to answer any questions about it they may ask. It can also hurt you later when they sit you at a desk with these programs and expect you to know them all without any training. Be confident about being able to do the job, but don't pretend that you already know it all.

Resources

• Read about some current library issues at the Illinois State Library Systems site
• Make sure to learn about OCLC, a worldwide library computer service