Thursday 6 October 2011

cpd23 - thing 22

Volunteering to get experience

I have volunteered once in my life to gain more experience - this was just after I had qualified, and wanted to get some more library work under my belt while I applied for jobs.  I went back to the university where I had done my diploma work experience month, and asked if I could do any work for them for a while, as I really enjoyed working with the people there.  It gave me the chance to work with some more people, and it kept me busy (and out of the apartment for a while!)

If work experience as part of an academic course also counts as volunteering (it is unpaid work!) then I did a weeks work while still at school - again in a univeristy setting - which I loved, and the month as part of my postgraduate diploma course.

As I've said on this blog before, I'm all for volunteers - they do a great job, and for society as a whole, we'd be lost without them!  I do worry about people devaluing our profession as they then feel that people with little to no training can do the job, but hey, I'm all for trained professionals who just need a bit of experience for their CV!






cpd23 - thing 21

Promoting yourself in job applications and at interview.

Oh, how I dislike job applications and interviews!  I am usually quite a positive person, just not really about myself, and I always feel like I'm boasting if I say that I'm actually good at something (or at least, not bad...or even, I'm not completely rubbish at it...)  For that reason, I hate filling out the forms.  I'm okay with job details and work experience - the factual stuff - it's the 'what else would you like us to know' where you're really meant to sell yourself that gives me the heebiejeebies!

So, activities and interests.  This is quite a short list really, especially compared to what others are, I'm sure.  My main interest (and activity - I've a 2 year old daughter!) is my family.  Books and reading, are, of course a huge interest.  Printed books are always good, but I am a recent convert to kindle - I was never sure if I would like them, but when I was bought one I discovered that it is good  :)  I like computers, and working with them - is it sad that I consider making a powerpoint presentation template to be fun?  Excel spreadsheets can also be a good way of spending an hour or two.  In my spare time (hah!) I like sewing - cross stitch as a main choice - and crochet.  I also make cards and have dabbled in scrapbooking.  Some of these are also able to be tied into watching televison - I don't watch a lot, but it's often on in the background (especially tuned into cbeebies: gotta love Igglepiggle!).

Hmm,  looking at this list it does tend towards the 'creative' - I do work with the microsoft packages in work, and like making displays etc. so some of my interests do tie in with my working life  :)

CVs - I admit that I haven't updated my CV in about 6 years now (since I got my current job!) so this is something that I really need to do.

Interview tips - meep, not sure!  I always like to be well presented, and have a read up about the company you're applying to so you know a bit about how they work.  I also find it helps to have at least a couple of questions thought out beforehand which you can ask at the end of the interview, and to smile lots  :)
 







Tuesday 4 October 2011

cpd23 - thing 20

The Library Routes Project
I found this a really interesting 'thing' to do - I enjoyed having a look at some other blogs, and finding out why other people decided to work in this varied world of information professionals.  I definitely think that I will be having another browse through the blogs listed.

First part: my library 'roots'
I decided at quite a young age that I wanted to work in a library, mainly because I loved books (I'm sure that's the same for many of us!).  I think I was about 10 at the time, so my main experiences of libraries at that point were my school library, and my local public library - which seemed like a treasure trove to me!  Once I found out I could reserve books for free, I would regularly fill out about 6 requests per weekly visit - I think this surprised the librarians at the time, and I'm virtually certain not all of these requests were put through as I definitely didn't get all the books I had asked for!

At that point, all I really knew was the 'working with books' part of the job.  Once I reached secondary school, we were able to go to the 'careers room' - not much bigger than a large cupboard, with some books, a computer, table, and my favourite: a filing cabinet full of job descriptions.  They actually had a 'librarian' job description in there, which gave me a bit more of an idea of what might be involved in the job - however, I'm still not sure of the potential earnings listed, which said I could earn up to £100,000 per year!

Having set my heart on this job, my A-level subjects were chosen accordingly.  When it came to applying for university, I did not know that a degree in librarianship was a possibility: mostly because I really didn't want to leave home.  So the route available to me at the time was an undergrad honours degree, continuing on to a postgrad diploma in information and library studies.  In typical timing, the postgrad was discontinued at my university of choice during my second year of my degree.  This however worked out for the best, as I had decided to move to Scotland for various reasons, so I was able to do my diploma at Robert Gordons University.

Second part: my library 'routes'
My first job out of university was with the public library system - the arena that first inspired me to work in a library.  I was hired as a senior assistant, and ran a part-time library branch.  After a year there, I interviewed for and got a 2 year contract job share position in a management role: based in and running a school library, I was also responsible for 3 branch libraries.  Later on in this contract, I moved sites to help cover a maternity leave, and also worked as an information assistant in our library headquarters.  So over the course of 3 years, I got to work in 3 different environments (public, school and HQ) and at 3 different levels.

Once that contract came to an end, I really wasn't sure if I wanted to work in a library again, and worked retail for the best part of a year.  Then I got a phone call about a job I had interviewed for months back - I hadn't got that particular job, but would I be interested in another position?  I decided to give it one more go, and found myself working full time with a part time member of staff running a college branch site library - in the process rediscovering my love of working in a library.  Sadly, after 6 years this branch closed, and during the summer just past I moved into our main site library, where I find myself working 3 days a week (with 2 at another outlying site) and enjoying it very much  :)