I’ve confessed to being addicted to HR blogs in the past. One of my favourites, nö, my favourite is The Cynical Girl Laurie Ruettimann. Tonight’s she’s giving a presentation at NC State about getting a job after you graduation.
I liked it. Particularly her main points:
- Have a skill or two
- Demonstrate a work ethic
- Take pride in your work
- Tell a better story
- Rethink passion
All job applicants should have these in the back of their mind throughout the application and hiring process. I’ve witnessed acquaintances/colleagues/people I’ve interviewed falter on several of these points, which definitely makes for a less than compelling candidate. The interesting, and perhaps more controversial point is the last one. Ruettimann has pissed on the dreams of passionate new-grads before, but she makes a good point.
Don’t let your passion get in the way of a paycheck. You can work 8 hours at a crappy job and still have 16 hours/day to sleep, eat, poop, shower, and work on your passion.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be one of those people who is all consumed by your profession (whatever it may be), OK actually I probably am, but I also think at some point you need to divorce your self the individual from your self the worker. Not that you can’t be an individual and a worker, but when times are tough and you need a paycheck, you might have to make that split. No harm in that, just reality folks.
So what’s that mean for librarians? (Since I know this blog has to tie everything back to libraries…) Recognize it’s a job. A special job that sometimes we take to cult like levels, but it’s still a job. I love what I do. I really like my field and I’m quite happy I fell into it. That said, I really hope this doesn’t define me. I would like to think there’s more to me than transportation information, but if my colleagues and customers don’t know that, it’s fine. I’ll bore my partner with the latest and greatest Sheffield Wednesday drama. If you, like me, are one of the several humanities grads needing a job, focus on the job not the subject. It will get you places and give you money to spend on your passion.
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