I have encountered one major problem in my job search that may or may not be attributable to the generation gap: the fact that many libraries will not consider applications from people outside of their general area. This applies more to public library positions than academic ones, but really, I have no idea whether geography is also considered by academic search committees. This has been one of the most troubling parts of my job search, particularly when I had my old address, because I did not actually want to find employment in my area. I wanted to move. At least now that I’m in Chicago, this is actually an area I’d be happy to work in. But I’d be happy to work in quite a few places, and with the job market being what it is, one has to be flexible geographically. My husband and I both love upstate NY (the Catskills and the Finger Lakes/Syracuse/Binghamton area) as my grandparents lived up there and he went to college there. I love Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada because I’m a big fan of hiking and my dad used to live in Phoenix. I grew up in New Jersey and would be thrilled to go back. I got married in Northern California and it is my absolute favorite place in the world. My husband got his medical degree from the University of Michigan and I think Ann Arbor is fabulous! There are plenty of other places we’d be happy to live in too. We love the outdoors (mountains, caves, lakes, ocean, snow, sun, you name it) so anywhere with things to do outside is perfect for us. But if I apply for jobs in those places, will anyone take me seriously? I know part of it is about wanting a librarian who knows the community, but I believe a large part of it is really related to the fact that they don’t believe a a person will seriously move to their area with no relocation expenses paid (something few public libraries can afford to pay) or that they won’t stay. A friend of mine who was a library director told me that her board wanted to first throw out any out-of-state job applications because they didn’t believe the people were serious candidates. My own job search has confirmed my fears about this as I have only been asked to interview for public library positions in places where I either have had an address (Florida and Chicago) or specific ties to the area (New Jersey). I feel like I should get a P.O. Box in every town I’d consider living in, but that would require hundreds of them! I really don’t know what to do about this.
Is this issue related to the generation gap? I think Generation X is certainly more mobile than the generation before us. Many of us are quite willing to move to a place where we have no ties and make a go of it. I’ve done it myself already when I went to college, Denmark, and grad school in places where I didn’t know a soul. Sure, it’s scary, but it’s great. It opens you up to so many new experiences. Every place has different things to offer, different landscapes, different people. I think the Baby Boomers were more mobile than the generation that preceeded them, but most were still held to places by strong family ties. My parents were the only ones in my family who moved away from the New York, New Jersey area, and no one else in our family understood how we could do it. But now that kind of thing has become the norm. My parents live in Florida, my brother lives in New York, and my sister-in-law lives in Chicago. This is the way things are these days. We move for jobs, for better opportunities. But why is that so frowned upon in public libraries? As a social worker, I’ve lived near the communities I worked in, but I certainly didn’t know much of anything about those neighborhoods until I worked in them. It doesn’t take that long to learn about a service community, and it’s not like a librarian who’s new to the area couldn’t figure it out. But perhaps Gen-X’s mobility is both a blessing and a curse. It tells employers that we’re willing to move for them, but it also tells them that we’re willing to move away. Perhaps not having strong ties to an area makes employers think that we won’t stay. Maybe it makes them think we lack committment. But my husband and I are looking for somewhere to settle down! I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to move from place to place anymore. But how I find a job in a place I like that doesn’t happen to be near the place I live in currently is beyond me.
Is there something I can do, something I can put in my cover letter, that would tell a potential employer that I was serious about moving to their area? Have any of you had success getting an entry-level library job in a place where you have no connections? I’d appreciate any insights on this issue, because I just don’t know how to crack the code and get a job anywhere outside of areas I’ve already lived in.
Heh. I’ve got the opposite problem. I’d love a job locally — there just aren’t any! But then, I am looking for academic-library positions. (Not that there’s anything local in the public-library sphere either. There isn’t. There is very not.)
If you’re not willing to tell a white lie, then just say you’re looking to move. If you are willing, say you’re looking to move to that area.
FWIW, I’m not sure I’m going to get any relocation expenses paid either. This interview I’m going on in a couple weeks may even be partly paid for out of my pocket!
Which is another thing, actually. Flying somebody in is a major expense for a library. (I cost Ruritania rather more than a kilobuck, I think.) I suspect that accounts for a lot of the desire to look at local candidates. Not sure how to fix that problem; all I can suggest is to be aware of it.
In my experience both applying for academic libarian jobs and serving on a couple of search committees, geography isn’t really a factor for those types of positions. People were happy to fly me in for an interview, and pay a large portion of my relocation expenses. I think the out of state issue would be much more of a problem for public libraries in general or academic libraries in the midst of a budget crisis. I don’t think there is any harm in mentioning that you mentioning in relocating. If you happen to have local ties in the area, it might not hurt to somehow mention that in either the letter or a phone interview, if you get to that stage.
well, all I can say is that this has been the biggest problem in my own job search, and for my line of work there’s no reason why I would need to “know the community”. What’s more, flying me in for an interview is a small expense for some of the companies I have looked at, so I don’t think it’s the money. Besides, when I have phone interviews, I always tell the company that I’m willing to pay for my own flights and relocation expenses, yet my out of state status still seems to cause them problems. I think it’s what you said, Meredith, that employers just don’t think you’re a serious candidate if you don’t live in the same city. Which makes no sense to me, but like you said, maybe it’s a generational gap.
What I would suggest is that when a library asks you why you’re interested in a given position, just tell a white lie, and say it’s because you’re looking to relocate to that particular area, wherever it might be. At least, this has impressed employers when I tell them that my desire to relocate to Denver is motivating my job search. Guess it makes them think I’ll be less likely to move.
I think omething in your cover letter could touch on something about the library system (a program they’re doing, a special interest community they serve) or that city that shows that even if you don’t live there, you’ve taken a serious look at it and the job itself and seen how you fit in. This may not be possible in all situations, but it may be helpful.
kath
I think it’s generational, but also a function of simply how long the person interviewing you has been in the area. I’m in NJ, and recently interviewed for a position in NYC. It’s 2 hours away, but I was willing to do the commute for about six months and then move to the city, to not have to break my lease. Hell, if they hired me I would move sooner than that, although that wasn’t my first choice.
I was turned down because of the commute, even though I know many from my area who do it, and some who travel every day from even farther south. I think anyone who would be willing to make sacrifices by moving are viewed with suspicion because it’s so far outside the realm of where the people interviewing you are right now.
We’re all somewhat susceptible to tunnel vision, but for employers, it’s safer to stick with their tunnel vision, and very little will convince them otherwise. It’s a consequence of being human and staying with what we’re comfortable. Great cover letters will help (to get the interview), and being eager, but not too eager, therefore acknowledging the non-perfect nature of moving, but that you realize this, have fully thought through it, and are still totally willing to do it (to get the job) will also help. I recommend both.
Well, it’s nice to hear that I’m not the only one who has problems with this (though I was encouraged by TangognaT’s experiences). In many cases, like Trish wrote, it really is a case of tunnel vision. Hopefully when we’re on search committees in the future, we will be more flexible and understanding. Yes, having someone visit for an interview is expensive, but is it worth hiring a lesser candidate than taking the risk of bringing a great candidate up/down for an interview? It just perpetuates mediocrity. Dorothea, that sucks that you may have to pay for part of the expense of your interview. Before I moved to Chicago, I paid to fly up here for an interview out-of-pocket (including hotel and car rental), and ended up spending about $700 when all was said and done. And I didn’t get the job in the end. For how many job prospects can one pay to fly to interviews? That experience taught me a lot.
I agree with personalizing the cover letter and writing that you’re interested in relocating there (which isn’t a lie if it’s true — even if there are also other places you’re interested in relocating to as well). Thanks for the advice, all!
I would encourage you to mention in your cover letter, perhaps in the first paragraph and in bold, that you are willing to move. For example “I do not live in your region currently, but am willing to relocate in order to accept an opportunity with your organization.”
Good luck…keep us appraised of how things go.
Having been on a lot of search committees, I’d say that sometimes it is the total cost of
the interview process if they are looking at 3 candidates. Relocation expenses? Never heard of that because we didn’t offer it. Second, if a candidate is not familiar with the locale or does not have some ties there, she could be gone in a year, and then the expense starts all over again.
Good luck in the interview.
Hi.
I d like you you said,it s completly true.the new generation love moving in our job;meet different people open on the world ect…
actually;i have a big problem because i m looking a job but i m living in corsica far from everywhere.this small fantastic island is great in the summer time but nothing to do in the winter.all different kind of job evolution is impossible.i m want absolutly moving around the world in my job.the problem is to find a employer…i have experience in design; follwing different kind of production(clothes shoes furnitures)i had my own shoes collection ect…but i have no special qualification…just in music because i use to play nearly for 15 years.i would love to find somebody who ll trust me to make a job where i can travelling a lot.i m a big worker dynamic with ambition but in france also the mentality of people is not the same as uk or us ect…employers need a lots of papers qualifications and all the human part not exist any more.
if you have any ideas about how to make me find a jobplease send me back a message and i will send you my cv you will see my experiences and maybe with that you will help me to find my happiness.
i put my CV in a lot of sites but it s never in adequation with my profil.i m really tired and desesperate.
hope to speak you soon.
*rebecca.