I got a job by networking. Yes, it's true. I got a job by NETWORKING. I start training at my new job next week. I will be part of the team of Reference Librarians at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC).
Exactly how did this happen? Back in late April I attended a one-day workshop at Mount Holyoke College. The presenter was fantastic and one of those amazing librarians that you suspect doesn't sleep much. During our lunch break I was chatting with a couple of GSLIS students and one of them introduced me to the dean of library services at STCC. We chatted about science librarianship and she told me that they were hoping to have an opening in the fall and they would like to have someone on their staff with a science background. I told her that I have a BS in Geology and would be very interested in working at STCC and gave her my card. She told me to be patient because STCC is state-funded and it would take a while.
Over the summer I continued my job search and wrote a few impassioned cover letters but kept checking the STCC website hoping to see a posting. A couple of weeks ago she called me to tell me that they would be having a couple of openings in the fall and would I be interested. We had several emails back and forth over the course of the next week. She encouraged me to consider the part-time evening position that would start in September. Last week I took a trip to STCC for a 2 hour "meet and greet" with the library staff. It wasn't a formal interview but it certainly felt like one. The next day I wrote to her to say that I would love to work there. The position was officially posted, I applied for it, and learned on Wednesday of this week that it's mine!
Another recent GSLIS grad had a similar "not an interview" experience recently. I'm beginning to suspect that in this tough job market that the folks who do the hiring are trying to avoid reading through hundreds of resumes and prefer instead to hire someone that they've met. Lucky for me I happened to be in the right place at the right time.
