November LISSO Meeting : Getting a Job After Graduation
Guest speaker: Susan Marks
Other Business
Susan Marks, the Director of Human Resources and Diversity Programs for the University of Iowa Libraries, presented to about a dozen SLIS students at Tuesday’s November LISSO meeting.
Marks suggested some general principles for LIS grads seeking professional positions and then she gave some insight on the specific process of applying to academic library positions.
“Getting practical experience in a library: there’s nothing more important than that,” she said.
Marks talked about the importance of networking and how the ability to move anywhere in the country (or even the world) would increase job options.
She also suggested going to professional development activities and striking up conversations with people you don’t know.
Marks gave the students in attendance pointers on how to sell yourself in terms of the qualifications listed on the position description. She said it is important to be clear and accurate.
“If you give us bad information, and we have a lot of applicants, we’ll put it in the ‘no’ pile rather than getting in contact with you,” she said.
She talked about reminding references of specific stories, so their recommendations would stand out more.
The LISSO meeting ended with a t-shirt giveaway from the Intellectual Freedom Fest raffle and reminders about the upcoming Poster Presentations.
Date: Friday, November 13
Time: 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Place: W401 PBB (Pappajohn Business Building)
There will be a private faculty session with the poster presenters, then the posters will be open to the SLIS community. Presenters can set up from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. Student volunteers are needed to carry posters from SLIS to the Business Building.
