This morning (at 8 am Central Time) I got a call from a college on the east coast. They wanted to interview me for a reference librarian position I’d applied for months ago. First, however, they needed me to get my references to write letters of recommendation that specifically addressed the job responsibilities. Personally, I think it’s unfair to constantly bother my references with these requests unless I am a finalist for the position. From the number of slots I was offered throughout the month of June for the interview, I was probably one of 20 or more people they’d be interviewing. But I picked a date the day after the ALA Conference ended for what I thought I would be a phone interview. Then she asked me if I needed directions to the college. OK, so I have to go there? “Yes, of course!” she said. “You thought it was a phone interview? I guess some schools are doing that now. Well, maybe when we get more into technology we’ll do that too.” More into technology? Wasn’t the phone invented over 100 years ago? Hmmm… is this somewhere I want to work? So I asked, “is there some funding for flying to the interview?” “Oh no,” she replied, “not for the first interview. If you make it to the second interview there will be some funding.”
So basically this library wanted me to pay to fly, rent a car, and stay in a hotel for a probably 1-hour-long interview where I’d be one of 20 or more applicants. All this for a library where the telephone is considered a newfangled device. OMG! Needless to say, I declined. And I wonder if this library really wants to hire the best person for the job. They put so many obstacles in front of the people applying and then basically limit their pool to people who either live right nearby or are desperate enough to pay to fly out there. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
I didn’t expect the job search to be easy. I knew there would be plenty of hoops for me to jump through. I knew I’d be giving talks and answering questions in front of large groups of people. I knew I’d have to travel (and perhaps pay for some of it) and really sell myself. I knew it might take time. Nevertheless, I’ve been surprised by the way that some applicants are treated by their fellow librarians. How people can be kept waiting over a month to hear about the results of interviews they flew across the country for. How they are asked to pay their own way for interviews where they’re one of dozens of candidates. How they never hear back from places they’ve interviewed with. How when they are offered a job, they’re expected to uproot their life and move in two weeks.
Doesn’t every librarian remember a time when they were new librarians and were trying to get their first job? I know some policies are dictated by the human resources department at the institution or municipality, but many hiring faux pas come from a lack of empathy and common courtesy. Mind you, I have dealt with some wonderful, honest, considerate search committees who have kept open the lines of communication, never asked ridiculous things of me, and gave me plenty of water throughout my interview. But sometimes, I have felt like librarians don’t recognize the fact that the applicants are human beings. We job applicants are told to be courteous, to dress well, and to send thank-you cards. What are the expectations of the hiring committees? A few months ago, I wrote a post with tips for interviewers on how to treat applicants. And I will repeat the most important piece of advice I offered last time: YOU ARE BEING INTERVIEWED TOO! Just because you got 200 resumes for the job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about conducting a good interview with your finalists. Because you’re NOT going to get the best candidate if you don’t make them feel welcome, valued, and interested in working at your library.
I know it’s an employer’s market and libraries can get upwards of 100 resumes for an entry-level position. Just please remember that behind each resume is a librarian who has taken the time to read your advertisement, has probably done some research on your library, and has fashioned a cover letter based on the job description. They deserve to be treated well. They deserve to hear that you got their application and they deserve to hear as soon as possible if they are out of contention. Think of how you would feel in their position and if what you’re asking of them is realistic.
I’m sure that college on the east coast will have no trouble hiring someone. But they may have missed out on meeting a candidate (not necessarily me) who was a perfect fit for the job because of their policies.
Update There are some libraries, on the other hand, that treat candidates with great consideration. The place I will be interviewing with next week was the only library that has emailed me to confirm that they received my email application (even though in every email I request that they reply and confirm that they received my app) and was kind enough to shell out significantly more money for me to fly direct to their area (for which I am tremendously surprised and extremely grateful). For every bad experience that seems surreal, there is a good one that makes me feel like a human being again.
Wow. That is INSANE. Beats anything that happened to me all hollow, though the folks who didn’t reimburse me for six weeks (‘cuz, you know, unemployed librarians are just MADE of money) are in the same general ballpark.
You were completely right to decline.
I’m sorry that you’re having to go through this. I’m glad you decline to go to the interview.
Dang! I have heard horror tales of interviewing, and I had quite a few experiences myself when I was interviewing, but I think this one you relate has to be among the all time top five. You definitely did the right thing to decline. I cannot help but wonder what kind of candidate such a library is expecting to find with so many obstacles and such a poor preparation to even interview someone. How can they not know how to use a phone for an interview? I also have to agree: there is a serious and significant lack of courtesy and common decency on the part of libraries interviewing. I am still getting rejection letters from places I applied at last summer, and some of them were places I actually interviewed with. And as Jill points out, well, don’t even get me started on how untimely some places handle reimbursing travel. Just because the job search is hard, it does not mean that those interviewing have to treat candidates pretty much like meat in a market. The sad thing indeed, besides making it hard for candidates, is that some of these places won’t be getting the best candidates. After all, you can only take so much before you decide to move on.
I saw your update. There are one or two rare places that actually treat their candidates with some decency and consideration. The problem seems to be these are more the exception than the rule. Best of luck on your upcoming interview.
You need to send this URL to the librarian who had the gall to propose all this to you. These people need to be corrected.
Some schools seem to be the same the world over, I must say. Things like hiring a person under the title of ‘Audio Visual Librarian/Technician’ who has had absolutely no formal training in any aspects of librarianship, and then expecting this person to assist in the smooth running of the school’s library. I mean, come on. A little consideration for thelack of training that you were aware of right from the start. I know for a fact that this person put in numerous requests in his time at the school for professional development in some of his job areas, every one of them turned down in no uncertain terms; only to be fired at the end of his first year there in favour of a ‘more qualified candidate’ (a person who lacked any knowledge whatsoever of Audio/Visual equipment, it’s running practices or maintenance). And what is this person doing today, you may ask? Well, he’s commenting on your blog, that’s what. 🙂
To be slightly more serious though: never expect that hiring policies of any educational institution will be sane or reasonable. Always expect to be led through the woods chasing after numerous wild geese. It never sounds good, and it never sounds optimistic, but when it comes to hiring policies and interview policies, expect the worst, but hope for the best. That way you can be pleasantly surprised. I am glad to read you did finally manage to get a sane interview, and I do agree that the first college’s policy is a little loopy, but it’s nothing unexpected. But the best of luck for getting the job you truly want.
This is appalling. I hope you don’t ever agree to interview anywhere that doesn’t cover your costs. Particularly at a university, they have funding for that kind of thing. And who would want to interview 20 people? That’s ridicuous! They should narrow it down to three and fly those people out. Craziness. Inefficent craziness.
Congratulations (on turning down the interview). Keep sticking to your guns! I’m planning to offer you other congratulations soon. No, I have no inside info. But cream rises to the top, even if slowly. The whole job hunt process, not just for librarians, is soooo dependent on serendipity, it is incredible. I spent two miserable years managing a library job and career center. Miserable because of how poorly applicants are treated routinely. No one returning calls. Never getting turned down, just never hearing. Bizarre labyrinths and hurdle courses. Interviewers who are just plain rude. The fact that the job search requires that you put your ego on the line over and over. The best analogy I know is blind dates, but if the date doesn’t like you, it doesn’t affect your ability to pay the rent (I hope!). I used to say I wanted to offer aroma therapy and massage instead of cover letter books. At least as we have learned these lessons, we will be able in time to change the process. I do counsel that everyone listen to their gut in the job search. If something strikes you as out-of-whack, it probably is. If you take that job, you will probably discover more and bigger out-of-whackness. The employers who do not change will suffer, thank goodness. I’m waiting to hear about an IM interview!
Almost 30 years ago, when I was looking for my first professional job, I encountered the same kind of exploitation. But I was too clueless and desperate to decline, and travelled 8 hours in the rain in a leaky old VW Bug for a 45 minute interview and 20 minute tour. Needless to say, I drove back in a fury. However, after I got a job (a much better one than I’d been “interviewing” for at the aforesaid library), I told that story to many people, not withholding the name of the offending librarian. I daresay she paid heavily in the respect she lost from important colleagues, who were appalled at her lack of respect for me.
I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that interviews work both ways, and that listening to one’s gut is critical. I’d also urge applicants to include in their resume information that might help that two-way “screening” that is always part of the process. In my pre-professional days, I’d been an elected shop steward in a support staff union in a library I worked for while going to school. Including that fact on my resume clearly cost me some interviews, but I figured that a library that couldn’t interpret that information as “leadership potential” rather than “scary troublemaker” wasn’t somewhere I wanted to work anyway.
It took me almost a year to find the job I ultimately took, and I interviewed for 7-8 others (I don’t remember the number now). I still work for the same institution, and am very happy I didn’t get any of those other jobs.
Don’t despair, and for goodness sake–don’t settle! One’s first professional job is critically important. I, too, got out of school at a time of too many applicants for too few jobs, and despite that, found a great job that lead to other great jobs in a fabulous profession.
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