Job Interview Questions

Posted April 21, 2026 by Emmy Mahoney

Hello everyone! Over the course of this semester, I have been applying for jobs at libraries, and thought it would be helpful to share some of the questions that I have been asked during these job interviews. 

Of course, I have encountered many of the classic job interview questions. For example, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? How do you prioritize your tasks? Where do you see yourself after you finish graduate school? What about in five, or even ten, years? These questions have come up regularly in my job interviews. 

I have also been asked questions that are specific to libraries and the LIS field. For example, why did you decide to go into the field of Library and Information Science? Why did you apply to this specific library? How will your LIS coursework transfer into the library setting? What can you bring to our library? These are some of the more common library questions that I have been asked.

Additionally, I have been asked about community, especially in terms of outreach and engagement. For example, how do you get involved in your community? What ideas do you have for engaging the community through the library?

This is by no means a comprehensive list of questions asked at job interviews for library positions, but hopefully, it can serve as another resource for those on the hunt for jobs!