“I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students”

Please note: This is an anonymous response to an online survey; I do not have any way of contacting the respondent or verifying responses. Their answers may reflect good, bad, or middling hiring practices. I invite you to take what’s useful and leave the rest. If you are someone who hires Library, Archives or other LIS workers, please consider giving your own opinion by filling out the survey here. 

Current Hiring Practices and Organizational Needs

These questions are about your current hiring practices in general – the way things have been run the last year or two (or three).

Where do you advertise your job listings?

State Library Boards, Library School listservs, general listserv release from HR, We Here FB group

Do you notice a difference in application quality based on where the applicant saw the job ad?

Nope

Do you include salary in the job ad?

√ Yes

Do you use keyword matching or any automation tools to reduce the number of applications a human reads while considering candidates?  

√ No

Do you consider candidates who don’t meet all the requirements listed in the job ad?

√ Other: I try to keep the requirements to a minimum, no more than 2-3. But things like degree can’t and shouldn’t be removed

Does your workplace require experience for entry-level librarian positions? (Officially or unofficially…)

√ No

What is the current most common reason for disqualifying an applicant without an interview?

They didn’t have the degree needed for the position

Does your organization use one-way interviews? (Sometimes also called asynchronous or recorded interviews)

√ Other: No, I hate them. There are usually no plans/retention conversations regarding the recording

Do you provide interview questions before the interview? 

√ Yes

If you provide interview questions before the interview, how far in advance?

We try to give them 5 business days

Does your interview process include taking the candidate out for a meal?

√ No, but we used to

How much of your interview process is virtual?

√ It is entirely virtual

Do you (or does your organization) give candidates feedback about applications or interview performance?

√ Other: If asked, I have given feedback

What is the most important thing for a job hunter to do in order to improve their hirability?

It’s shocking to me how many people don’t prep based on the questions. We provide the questions in advance but interviewees ignore them

I want to hire someone who is: 

Curious

Is there anything else you’d like to say about hiring practices at your organization or in current trends?

I think we are a work in progress but I see the effort to be more inclusive

Your Last Recruitment

These are questions about the last person you hired (or the last position you attempted to fill). This person may not have been a librarian, and that’s ok.

Think about the most recent time you participated in hiring someone (or an attempt to hire someone) at your organization. What was the title of the position you were trying to fill?

Graduate Teaching Assistant

When was this position hired?

√ Between three to six months ago

Approximately how many people applied for this position?

√ 25 or fewer

Approximately what percentage of those would you say were hirable?

√ 51-75%

And how would you define “hirable”?

Met the minimum requirements

How did the recruitment for this position compare with recruitments in previous years?

This was the first time this position has been filled in a while

Your Workplace

This section asks for information about your workplace, including if you have lost positions in the last decade.

How many staff members are at your library/organization?

√ 100-200

Are you unionized?

√ Not unionized, but we do bargain/negotiate contracts collectively

How many permanent, full time job openings has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 7 or more

How many permanent, full time librarian (or other “professional” level) jobs has your workplace posted in the last year?

√ 7 or more

Can you tell us how the number of permanent, full-time positions at your workplace has changed over the past decade?

√ There are fewer positions

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with part-time or hourly workers over the past decade?  

√ I don’t know

Have any full-time librarian positions been replaced with non-librarian, lower paid staff positions over the past decade?   

√ I don’t know

Is librarianship a dying profession?

√ Other: This is such a complicated question. I think people come into our profession without a clear eyed understanding of the needs of the job. I think library schools need to do a better job of prep and/or not accept as many students

Demographics

This section asks for information about you specifically.

What part of the world are you in?

√ Southeastern US

What’s your region like?

√ Urban area,

√ Suburban area,

√ Rural area

What type of institution do you hire for (check all that apply):

√ Academic Library 

What type(s) of LIS professionals do you hire? 

library staff/grad students/librarian position

Are you a librarian?

√ Yes

Are you now or have you ever been: 

√ A hiring manager (you are hiring people that you will directly or indirectly supervise),

√ A member of a hiring or search committee

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