SLIS CareerCon - Networking, Conferences, Professional Organizations, & Personal Branding

Earlier this fall I was contacted by a friend and current SLIS student and asked to return to Bloomington to speak at the first SLIS CareerCon. Several student organizations collaborated to put on this convention. According to their website, "CareerCon is the first career exploration and preparation conference designed specifically for library and information science students at Indiana University. CareerCon offers presentations and workshops from library and information science professionals in the Bloomington area to help you land your dream job." I was excited to be on a panel discussing Networking, Conferences, Professional Organizations, & Personal Branding. Though it took a lot of behind the scenes work (various emails back and forth between the session organizer and myself, making sure I could have the time off, figuring out travel and lodging for the weekend), I was glad to return to visit with new SLIS students and old friends about my experiences since I left Bloomington at the end of last December (to complete my last semester of SLIS as an intern at University of Dubuque).

I was only able to attend Friday and Saturday's sessions, as Thursday was a full day of travel across "the I states" as I like to call them (Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana). I attended all of the sessions I could and caught up on tweeting my notes from the sessions in the evenings (#SLISCareerCon). Much of what I talked about during my session I have discussed in previous posts on this blog, but I also explained how I laid the groundwork for my internship. Beyond the typical messages encouraging students to carefully proofread job application materials, and the rest of the pointers they can find on any generic website related to job hunting and success, this panel focused on what it is like in libraries. Librarians have high expectations (not that we're type A or anything...oh, wait...)--Not only do we hold ourselves up to these high expectations, but (especially in this rough job market) we hold others, especially job applicants, to a high level of accountability as well. I encouraged students to step out of their comfort level and put themselves out there as a professional.

Below are the pointers I touched on:

Networking, Conferences, Professional Organizations, and Personal Branding

Indiana University SLIS Career Con
3-4 p.m. 10/21/11 E174

Personal Branding:

• Evaluate your professional goals
• Craft materials that reflect your philosophy of librarianship, your goals, and that present you as a professional (make use of technology)
• Have a strong online presence
• Personal website (you may want to utilize the space available to you through IU; use free websites like Weebly, Blogger, Google; or you can purchase a URL and server space pretty reasonably)
• Have profiles on Linked In, Academia.edu, Twitter, and maintain a blog discussing current topics in librarianship or projects you are working on
• Be aware of how what you put online may be interpreted by others; remember things like online privacy and security (Facebook)

Professional Organizations:

• Be a member of national, regional, and student organizations
• Be active within those organizations (volunteer to serve on committees or assume leadership roles)
• Take advantage of lower student rates and test out different divisions and/or roundtables within larger organizations, receive professional publications

Conferences:

• Take advantage of reduced registration rates for students
• Determine, based on your employment goals, which conferences will benefit you the most (consider both the information presented in sessions as well as the networking you can do)
• Ask those around you for recommendations of conferences to attend
• Bring business cards with you (vistaprint.com, zazzle.com, etc.)
• Examples of conferences I’ve attended: Iowa Library Association Conference, Iowa Library Association/ACRL Conference, Brick & Click Libraries Symposium (North West Missouri State University), Library Technology Conference (Macalester College), LOEX Conference (current students should seriously consider doing a poster presentation!), ALA Annual Conference
• Others I’ve heard wonderful things about: ALA Midwinter, ACRL

Networking:

• Take advantage of every networking opportunity you can (both in person and virtually, utilize technology to build and maintain connections)
• Volunteer to help at conferences (things like working on the registration committee, being willing to introduce presenters at sessions, and even submitting proposals to present a session or poster yourself will help get your face and name better known)
• Attend conferences and be outgoing (even if you’re not a naturally outgoing person)
• At conferences and meetings, make it a point to sit among those you don’t know; be sure you are projecting and open and inviting attitude
• Take advantage of those few minutes before and after sessions or lunch to chat with those around you, the conference presenters, and those who are hosting/organizing the conference
• Have something to say (read or glance through professional journals and blogs to have go-to conversation starters)
• At conferences you will see a wide variety of attire ranging from very casual to business formal; I have found it’s best to dress professionally but comfortably (especially your shoes as you will be walking a lot at conferences)
• Remember, librarians are the friendliest people ever

Here's a link to a printer-friendly version.
Here's a link to my tweets (which served as notes) from the other sessions I attended.

Return from Blog Hiatus

As you may have gathered, I was on a brief hiatus from professional blogging. The next few posts will likely give you the "Reader's Digest" version of what's happened between my last post and now. This summer was a whirlwind of adventures, both professionally and personally. Here's a brief laundry list: presenting at LOEX and ILA/ACRL, applying for jobs and eventually juggling different interviews and offers, supporting my family as my dad recovered from major heart surgery, working at my favorite summer camp (Dorian Summer Music Camps), attending ALA Annual, starting a new job, living in 5 places over the span of about 8 months... Let's just say life kept me on my toes during my last semester of graduate school, and I wouldn't have had it any other way!

My internship at University of Dubuque concluded in May and Anne Marie Gruber and I presented at LOEX on the morning I would have walked in my MLS graduation ceremony. We had a fantastic time at LOEX, met some wonderful folks at various sessions and dine-arounds, took away tons of great ideas, and caught up with old friends! Those who attended our session were engaged we were excited to share ideas about mentoring and MLS-level internships. I would highly recommend LOEX to anyone interested in instruction and would love to attend (and possibly present) again in the future! After that, we returned to Dubuque where I continued to work in my intern capacity as well as at the reference desk (to finish out the semester).

I took about a week to be at home with my family as my dad recovered from heart surgery, and then hit the road for various job interviews. After that, I juggled accepting a wonderful job, working at camp (for 2 1/2 weeks in June), and figuring out how I would find a place to live between the end of camp, heading to ALA, and starting my job in early July.

ALA was an adventure, that's for sure, but it was good to go and see what it was all about. The convention center was huge. What an excellent set up for this large conference! Many of the events were held within the conference center itself, with various receptions held in nearby hotels or art galleries. I enjoyed seeing colleagues I hadn't seen in a while, networking with new acquaintances, visiting with vendors, and exploring New Orleans. I met some fun ALA people who were staying in the same hostel as I; we explored Bourbon Street together and listened to some great jazz and dixieland groups. When it got down to the sessions, though, those I attended were interesting enough, but I found them to be "just alright." For me, the best types of sessions engage attendees and provide take-aways beyond just "here's what we did"--they allow for an exchange of relevant and timely ideas. Perhaps it was because I missed the pre-conference sessions and the first day or so, but the sessions at the tail end of the conference didn't necessarily impress me as much as other presentations I've seen at smaller conferences like LOEX, Brick & Click, and state conferences. I would be interested in seeing if it was just a fluke with this years presentation lineup, or if it is just the way the larger, national conferences are. The execution and organization of the details it takes to put on a conference of this size was exceptional, however. Wherever you turned there was someone willing to answer questions (because librarians are the friendliest people, of course!), the transportation between hotels, tours, and other events was well coordinated--and understanding the logistics of coordinating such things for smaller conferences, I appreciate the effort that went into the local arrangements.

After ALA I had 1 week to move my belongings from Dubuque to my parents' place (what wound up being a temporary solution), find a place to live, and get ready to jump in with my new work responsibilities as Faculty Development and Instruction Librarian at Grand View. It all worked out--I found a place to live after looking at 12 apartments in about 6 hours and signed my lease by the end of the week; I was able to commute from my folks' place to Grand View for the couple of weeks before I could move into my apartment, and then moved closer to Des Moines in August. I was very glad to finally be settled somewhere, not be living out of a suitcase (after having done that for the last 2 1/2 months), and starting a new career as a full-fledged librarian!

Job Update

This post will be brief, as I am currently working at Dorian Summer Music Camp (my favorite adventure every summer). I have had the privilege of being offered a position near my family and many friends in a place that aligns with my philosophy. I am so excited to return to the Des Moines area to serve the students and faculty at Grand View University where I will be working as Faculty Development and Instruction Librarian.