Give the performance of a lifetime - Communications Outlook - job interviewing tips for special librarians - Brief Article

Information Outlook, Feb, 2002

The beginning of the New Year is always refreshing. There is a positive outlook in the air. Many of our New Year's resolutions are still intact, and optimism for a promising start is still foreseeable.

For some of us, the New Year also means new opportunities, especially in the job market. How many times have you located that great job, in that great city, but didn't get it because of a botched interview? Let me say that I have been on my share of interviews in my short career and I can honestly attest that I have either done really well or really bad. There is no middle ground. Personally, I hate interviews. I feel like I'm on the stand at some sort of tribunal, but after some of the more positive interviews, I always left with that gut feeling that I did a good job. After the bad interviews (which outnumber the good) I usually LIED to myself. Deep down, I knew that the interview went awful but to protect my brittle psyche, I would not let myself fathom the thought.

After one really, really bad experience, I let my curiosity lead the way. Now we all have worked with someone that we may have thought was a little incompetent, and we may have wondered on occasion, how did that person get hired? For whatever reason, they may have been under qualified or just not right for that particular job. However, if you remove yourself from the situation, you'd have to give them credit where credit is due! They made it. Out of all the qualified candidates, they (incompetent or not) successfully completed the interview. I asked questions around the office about interviews etiquette. I have never participated in an interview as the interviewer, only as the interviewee, so I was curious to find the view from the dark side. As I progressed through my questions, I received the usual spiel: good body language; eye contact; and conservative dress, but a very important ingredient was missing. That last spice that takes your favorite dish from good to great. During the interview, this little nugget separates people like me from the cream of the crop. That missing ingredient was the ability to PERFORM in the interview, STAND OUT, SHOWCASE, PROMOTE. Now why would anyone have to put on a performance during an interview? You should be able to get noticed on merit alone.

"Merit does not cut it any more, says SLA's director of human resources, Michelle Shands. "Today companies are looking for that extra something in their candidates."

A human resources website (that I won't name) polled 100 personnel directors. Sixty-five percent of the directors agreed that a third of interviewees fail to make an impression because they do not promote and sell themselves enough in the interview. Another 47 percent agreed that being overly confident is not a bad thing. "There is a thin line between confidence and arrogance. In the interview it is safe to cross that line from time to time," says Shands. "You never know what factors are helping or hindering you throughout the process, so make sure your performance is on cue because your resume and cover letter only get you in the door."

Special librarians and information professionals will take center stage on April 18th to celebrate International Special Librarians Day (ISLD). This year's theme "Leadership, Partnership, Membership: Expanding Global Knowledge Frontiers," conveys a message that information professionals are united in leadership, partnership, and membership on a global quest to open and expand new frontiers of knowledge. The ISLD 2002 promotional items bearing the ISLD theme and logo are now available for SLA members.

RELATED ARTICLE: Invite your colleagues, local officials and the media for an open house to...

Share and showcase the services and contributions of your library/information center...

Leave your patrons dazzled and amazed by your presentation, which...

Demonstrates your vast resources, knowledge and abilities