Getting Hired

Posted October 23, 2012 by Julie Steenson

Many students writing and reading this blog are Millennials, actively pursuing a first-time career. Yes, you were born digital and your perspective brings one thing to the field of library science, whereas the life experiences and digital growth of mid-lifers bring something different.
With all the hoopla over the value of the master’s degree, we are all, regardless of age, concerned about the same thing:  Will we get a job? In this economy, every profession seems to share this concern, but a visit to the ALA group of LinkedIn tells us that library graduates across the nation share the same worries about getting a job, getting the experience required for a job, keeping current…and whether gray hair is a detriment or a plus.
Graying hair means:

• Life has been your university.  You are mature.  You have experience triumphing over adversity and meeting challenges.

Graying hair does NOT mean:

• Deadwood, technologically illiterate, or a lack of enthusiasm or innovation.

These less desirable attributes belong to tired personalities that have nothing to do with age.  I have met plenty of boring, lazy people of all ages, and plenty of vibrant, exciting people, too.
For more on this subject, I refer to one of my favorite blogs, HiringLibrarians.com, which recently addressed the question “Which do you think is a bigger disadvantage in a job hunt: youth or age?” in the October 5 post.
http://hiringlibrarians.com/2012/10/05/further-questions/?goback=.gde_40592_member_173135621
Beyond this posting, enjoy this great blog about all things related to getting that library job of your dreams!