What irritates you about co-workers?

That I have any.

That would be a very wrong answer, so don't obey that instinct. Don't be flippant if they ask what irritates you about patrons, since that one, or some variation may also be coming up in your interview.

Your answer could end up revealing personal flaws. You reveal that you are uptight about some minor character flaw or laziness which makes you seem like a nit picker. You could also try to dodge with, oh, I love everybody, hearts and flowers, want to exchange bracelets? But you're going to get that little tsk, which means, we're on to you. And you did reveal a flaw: you avoid conflict and just swallow your frustrations instead of resolving them.

You could say something like this:

I've been very lucky to have worked with supportive and helpful professionals, but there are always minor irritants. For example, a former co-worker would often change deadlines, moving up the dates for projects, sometimes without apparent reason. These decisions made it difficult to deliver on time and to provide my best work. However, I usually found that if I discussed it with her that I would usually find out a legitimate reason for the hastened delivery and that we could work out some time around another project.

And look at that: you identified a problem, dealt with it like an adult and sounded reasonable.

If you tend to brush off annoyances, or don't keep a grudge book, you could read Maureen Roger's post, Throwing at the Batter, to find a brief list of aggravations that colleagues can throw at us. Don't just pick one and make up some creative speech. More than likely you have encountered these behaviors, even from normally rational people. Explain it, name no names, describe how you dealt with it and ask for the next pitch from the interviewer.

Brought to you from David Grant's list of 50 Most Common Interview Questions

Finding work as a an extra

NPR's Business Story of the Day on June 3, In Hollywood, Too Many Extras, talked about how the movie industry was flooded with new extras who want to supplement their income or break into movie acting by playing an extra.

"9 out of 10 new extras don't make it a year." Could that be because they can't depend on the income, or because they don't make it into an A-list film?

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepard

Adam Shepard read Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America and had a Gen-Y hissy fit that hard work and gumption could no longer realize the American dream. After college he decided to embark on a year long experience to see if he could make it with just $25 and his own willingness to work. He was determined to find a place to live and have substantial savings, $2500, at the end of his year long experiment. Scratch Beginnings describes his efforts: living in a homeless shelter, his struggles to find work that wasn't exploitative--his experiences with day labor companies are interesting reading--and to find work that he could do.

I have to admit, I didn't want to like Shepard's book. I find the solution, don't give up, work real, real hard and The Man will make you employee of the month, a bit simplistic. I also found out about this book through John Stossel's The Middle Class is Doing Just Fine, Thank You, which included a very mean-spirited interview with Barbara Ehrenreich stuttering and Stossel pontificating. Yes, the middle class is fine--on credit. And look how that panned out.

What I liked about Shepard's style was his self-deprecation, his willingness to describe his conflicts with his co-workers, which seemed to undermine his efforts to just get along and work hard, and the description of his roommate who exploits Shepard's need to keep his car running. What I found a bit grating was his tendency to hero worship, though he seems to become aware that it is occasionally misplaced. Though I disagree with his conclusion, that hard work alone could get a person out of poverty, but a living wage and some dignity won't. He didn't seem to realize that his parents' illnesses would have derailed his dream--perhaps temporarily, since he seems to be admirably resilient--and that similar repeated setbacks can knock the fight out of anyone.

But the message of his book is to be resilient, to show grit and spirit, and he argues, from his lived experience, that squandering the minimum makes people unworthy of an extra helping. He does make a compelling case that if you stay put, are patient, learn from others, put their wisdom into practice, save money and stay in reasonably good health, then you can begin to realize the "American Dream".

If you can hold on to it isn't included in this book.

TweetMyJobs

TweetMyJobs is a Twitter-based job posting and resume uploading service. Employers can post jobs to the appropriate channel--geographic or industry-based--and job seekers can twitterize their resumes, making them accessible to service using employers. You can refer to their why choose us page to decide if they have enough postings in the industry you are trying to find work or workers in.

There is a fee for employers to post, very small, like .99 for a one-day posting, but does this mean the job is no longer searchable in Twitter stream after the day has passed, or that they tweet 3 days in a row?

TweetMyJobs might be something to try if they have postings in your target sector, they have postings in your area, and you are willing to get tweets on your cell phone.

Long term unemployed numbers grow (from NPR)

The Business Story of the Day from NPR was the long term unemployed numbers grow outlines some of the issues about long term unemployment and its consequences:

• more college grads are affected; it isn't blue collar workers alone
• employers are skeptical about hiring people who have had a significant gap in their resumes. I wish this one wasn't true.
• are the long term unemployed, who just stop looking, still counted as "unemployed". According to Surviving a Layoff by Lita Epstein, "Some estimate the jobless rate in this country to be closer to 10 percent if one considers the under-employed and those who have given up looking" (p.x).
  

I urge job seekers to fearlessly account for the gap, either on their resume or during their interview, and for HR managers to have some compassion and really listen to them when they explain. You could be next HR person: get some good karma.

Where are all the green jobs?

If you have patrons coming into the library wondering about "green jobs"--when they are coming and where to find them--BNET has a post recommending three different websites that post green jobs.

Maybe Europe?

Careers That Don't Suck has an interesting post on The European Job Market. I am sure there are several libraries in Europe ;->>

Despite the bleak numbers, it may be an option for some--if you're on a study abroad, or have secured an internship. Put it on the possibilities pile.

Resume writing scam

Jason Alba of JibberJobber has prepared an excellent post about the Ladders resume writing scam, which also grabs some of the critiques of the Ladders resume writing service into one post. At the bottom of his post are links to reputable services that will help people find professional resume writers.

The comments to his post as also really worth a read. You will recognize a few resume book writers, like Susam Britton Whitcomb, commenting on the post.

It is good to be aware of these scams, not only for yourself, but any other patrons who come to the reference desk looking for someone to write their resume.

Will buying an ad on Facebook lead to a job?

ERE interviews an MBA grad who has bought an ad on Facebook to try to get a job with Microsoft.

It's an interesting way to exploit the Facebook platform and their ads services: he can keep his costs down and he is generating interest--but not a job--while demonstrating his marketing capabilities.

Again, beware the fad, but I am sure he is still shopping his resume around.

How to be a good boss in bad times

Bob Sutton, the author of the No Asshole Rule, as well as the co-author (with Jeffrey Pfeffer) of Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense, a book that librarians who love evidence-based practices should eat up with a spoon, has written an article for Harvard Business Review, How to be Good Boss in Bad Times. Because of how HBR works, you will have to pay for his article. To decide if you want to, watch the interview that he participated in on the McKinsey Quarterly.



I was really interested in his explanation of the "toxic tandem" and when he talks about the fall out of layoffs: the first thing that happens is the best people start leaving.

If you are interested in Sutton's work, he does have a blog, Bob Sutton, Work Matters.

Get a Job Toolkit

ALA will launch a Get a Job Toolkit during the annual conference, and they are currently soliciting stories about what to do and what to refrain from doing when you are looking for work.

It is not clear from the press release if this is meant for librarians looking for work, or who select staff, or if the Get A Job Toolkit will be a tool that librarians can offer to their clients.

The Meltdown: The Story So Far

If you haven't seen I.O.U.S.A yet, you can watch a 30 minute speed version. There don't appear to be any more public events scheduled, at least on the website, but if you have a documentary night in your library, you may want to include this movie to your roster.


Once you've tackled that, take a look at this article from the New York Review of Books, where Bill Bradley, Paul Krugman, George Soros, Nouriel Roubini, Niall Ferguson and Robin Wells comment on what happened and what is coming. Since you have watched I.O.U.S.A you will be struck with shudders when you read:

...it seems reasonable to anticipate a much more rapid explosion of federal debt to somewhere in the region of 140 or 150 percent of gross domestic product.

It's enough to make you want to go back to bed sometimes.

But in the world of better news, and because I work amongst many Krugman fans, when he says, things are improving, I am happy to make link to The Man.

More about Paul Krugman.