Thing 21 and 22: Applying for Jobs and Volunteering

Applying for Jobs

I have lists of what I have done in past and present work and I am planning to consolidate them into one list so I have them at hand when I need them. It's obviously important to remember what you have done to help you make sure you can give evidence of how you meet the criteria for a post and to make sure you have examples you can talk about at interview. I think it also shows you where your gaps are and what else you need to learn.

Volunteering

I have spent quite a bit of time volunteering. The first library work I did - in a museum library - was voluntary, and I'm sure it helped me get my graduate trainee post. I returned there after my traineeship finished while I looked for other work, and I don't think I would have done so if I hadn't found it so enjoyable and interesting.

Thing 20: The Library Routes Project

My library routes are summarised in the About Me box to the right and in Thing 10. I quite enjoyed looking through The Library Routes Project, scanning the job titles for the ones that looked interesting and then reading the posts to find out how they got there.

It seems my 'route' is fairly typical. I also got a fair way through the final year of my English Literature degree without knowing what I was going to do with it. My careers advisor looked at what I had done in my gap year (which I realise now was all very information related - I had volunteered in a library, an archive and a museum) and suggested the CILIP Graduate Trainee Opportunities scheme.

I was very lucky to get my place on a traineeship in Oxford. And I think Liz Gallagher is spot on - it was a very whirlwind and very amazing introduction to librarianship, working and visiting so many beautiful libraries and finding out more about what a library work involves. As a student I didn't really think about what the librarians in my university library did all day, because all you see is the shelving and the book stamping.

I'm enjoying the job I'm doing now, which has really built on what I did in Oxford. Studying at the same time is hard work, but I think (and it's too early to say just yet, I've only been studying for a month) that I should be able to apply much of what I learn to my day-to-day work, which should be really beneficial.

The advice I can glean from reading other people's routes is to make the most of any opportunities you are presented with and to have a go at applying for jobs if they interest you, even if you think you won't get them. I recommend this. I never thought I would get my job in Oxford, but there is absolutely no harm in trying.

I'm not sure if I'm far enough along in my career to really be in a position to offer advice to other people, but if you are just starting out, I would heartily recommend voluntary work if you can afford to do it. It's a good way to get experience, particularly at the moment where the job market is extremely competitive.

Thing 17: Prezi

Prezi is by far my favourite Thing so far. It's so much fun!

I'm doing information skills sessions soon, so I uploaded my powerpoint slides and turned them into a prezi. It looked far more interesting than the powerpoint!

I then deleted it because I didn't want to make my work public. It's frustrating that you need to pay to keep it private. I may end up making use of the free trial... It's good though that you at least that you have the option to let people copy your work.

Thing 19: Catch up week on integrating Things

What have I gained and how have I been using what I've learnt?

Well, I've started using this blog again and got back onto LinkedIn. I've learnt about mentoring, advocacy and conferences, among other things.

I haven't yet been able to integrate what I've learnt into my daily routine/work, except what I was already using (e.g. RSS feeds). Hopefully I will have the knowledge (and this blog as a prompt is necessary!) to use these skills when I need them.

Thing 18: Screen capture and podcasting

My ancient laptop is struggling a bit to download all the extra software that's suggested as part of CPD23 so I'm going to skip Jing this week. As The Book Gryphon explains, short videos may well be very useful for explaining library tasks and might help teach or reinforce skills taught at inductions. I've watched the demo for Screencapture and it looks quite useful for filming tutorial videos to demonstrate how to use the library catalogue etc.

I was introduced to podcasts on my last 23 things course and I think they could serve a similar purpose. Personally I find visual media more memorable and easier to follow, so I would be more inclined to produce a video of, for example, how to access the library catalogue or make a presentation available rather than a podcast, which is an audio resource.

Things 15 & 16: Conferences and Advocacy

OK, I admit it, I have not done much in the realms of conferences and advocacy, and I must try harder. I did make it to the CILIP New Professionals Information Day and Conference in June, which I found very interesting and I recommend going to find out more about the profession and to meet other people.

I gave a presentation at the Oxford Trainees Showcase in 2010, which was not half as scary as I thought it would be. I also co-organised the Showcase, which turned out to be quite fun.

There is a lot of interesting material that has been written about library advocacy online, and I've just spent a very happy hour reading through the links provided on this week's Thing. I was particularly struck by the That's Not Online! Project. It's important to encourage people to look beyond what they can find on Google because I think there is a tendency head there before heading (if at all) to the catalogue, the bookshelves or the library's e-resources.

Thing 14: Zotero, Menderley and CiteULike

I did my referencing for my degree by hand, so having watched the video for Zotero I can see how much time these tools would save. Essentially that is the main benefit of these tools - they do the work for you, help you be organised and save a lot of time. I can see Zotero being very useful when I start my library degree.

Using CiteULike you can search for articles, save and share articles, join groups, import files from your computer and export files to your computer. Using CiteULike you can do your research from any computer - and being able to sync your CiteULike with your Delicious bookmarks would be very handy if you were moving around. It's a good research tool for librarains either studying or doing research for somebody else and, in using it, librarians would be able to explain it to students and help them be more efficient too.