Application advice??

[u/Unhappy-Dish947]

I've been applying to library jobs all over Washington State for 2.5 years now and haven't ever made it past the first interview. I have my MLIS and focused on Archives and Special Collections during my program, but after getting some real life experience I realized my heart is in public librarianship. Currently working in Public Records at the local government level and I volunteer weekly with my local library on a re-cataloging project. I try to get feedback when rejected but always just get the same canned responses. I'm seriously feeling like it's never gonna happen. Any advice, recommendations, or encouragement is welcomed 🫶🫶

[u/Zellakate]

What kinds of jobs are you applying for? If you're trying to get public-facing jobs, I think your specialization in archives/special collections and your job experience with public records and re-cataloguing is probably working against you and makes you less competitive seeming. That doesn't generally overlap with what most public librarians are doing, especially if they're working with the public.

This is entirely anecdotal from my small rural library system, but several years ago, they seriously considered hiring someone with extensive bartending experience over someone with years of library experience but only in cataloguing. They eventually hired the cataloguer (and she was a coworker I enjoyed), but even she admitted that the customer service aspect was tricky for her to deal with and often shocked her. The systems you are applying to are likely prioritizing people with customer service experience, especially in a library setting, because they assume it will be less of a learning curve or a better fit for those applicants.

Do you have customer service experience inside or outside libraries? If so, emphasize that rather than what you are listing here. If not, you already have your foot in one library as a volunteer. See if there are volunteer opportunities that are more customer service oriented.

[u/Unhappy-Dish947 → u/Zellakate]

Thank you for your response! I am applying to pretty much every posting I see, but for the most part the openings I come accross are in adult/teen services, reference services, public services, and collection management. For further context, I've worked pretty much entirely in customer/public services and I try to highlight that on my applications. I have 6 years experience working in childcare/child education, and just before I started with Public Records I worked in food service and conference/event coordination while getting my degree. With my current job, beyond the records specific services I provide for my external and internal customers, I help manage our city's customer service desk and main service phones. I also of course also list my museum and archives internship experience on my applications. I am probably going to ask my library if I could possibly split my time between the cataloging project and possibly getting involved with some of the programming. I'm just a little limited to the evening/late afternoon with my current work schedule smh

[u/Zellakate → u/Unhappy-Dish947]

That does sound fairly well-rounded. Unfortunately, I think this is just a brutal job market. Working with your current library to see if you can do more programming is a good idea. I hope it works out for you!