An open letter to new graduate students, from Prof Hacker

In today's Chronicle Blog, ProfHacker writes an open letter to new graduate students, giving them advice and suggestions about how to deal with the transition to graduate school. Advice includes work graduate school like a job, meet your subject specialist librarian (I want to say that they want to meet you too, but they may be a bit overwhelmed themselves at first, but they will still be happy to meet you) and network, amongst other suggestions and some advice that was crowdsourced via Twitter.

Welcome (and follow at least some of the advice in the letter).

Job Posting Chemical Reference Librarian

Wow: Chemical Reference

Found on SLA via a TweetDeck search

Librarian IV - Chemical Reference Librarian
Requisition #: 4836 # Positions: 1
Location: US-DC- Experience (Years): ..
Posted Date: 8/13/2010 Category: Library Services and Research - Reference
Security Clearance: Trustworthy Determination (there are links and resources in the External Links section of the Wikipedia article on Security clearance that will help you understand the requirements for security clearances)

As a federal government contractor, ASRC Federal and its subsidiary companies participate in the electronic eligibility verification system (E-verify). This system is used to validate that all of our employees are legally eligible to work in the United States.

More information about this job:

Job Description:

ASRC Management Services (ASRCMS), a Subsidiary of ASRC Federal is currently seeking a Librarian IV - Chemical Reference Librarian in Washington, DC.


Responsibilities:


Roles/Responsibilities:

• Providing professional-level library services that include, but are not limited to, reference support, collection development, collection maintenance, and user access support for both client staff and members of the public.
• The librarian will also coordinate and facilitate the use of additional library services for Headquarters staff that may be provided by the Lead Service Center or through other network libraries.
• Tracking usage statistics; preparing weekly and monthly reports as determined by supervisory staff and the client; participating in Library Network collaborative activities, including monthly conference calls, providing input for information product evaluations, providing professional input on network procedures and practices, etc.

Experience/Education:

Requirements:

• Minimum education level: MLS or equivalent from an ALA accredited institution.
• Minimum two years experience providing professional librarian services in the field of chemistry or allied fields such as toxicology, medical science, etc.
• Strong background working with chemical and toxicological reference materials and electronic resources.
• Demonstrated strong written and oral communications abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets, databases, and office applications.
• Proficiency with WWW searching and research.
• Experience in preparing analytic reports and statistics, use of applications such as Excel, and development of logical expressions and database queries.

EOE

Report: Unemployment High Because People Keep Blowing Their Job Interviews (from the Onion)

The Onion has it right in their satire about why people can't find work, Report: Unemployment High Because People Keep Blowing Their Job Interviews, that employers are fickle and persnickety over tiny issues during the interview.

In some cases, they can afford to be fickle and persnickety.

From Workforce Management: Illinois Bars Job Discrimination Based on Credit History

Illinois Bars Job Discrimination Based on Credit History, though some workers, such as those in the financial services and law enforcement, or for "bondable" positions, will still be subject to credit checks and they may miss out on a job due to poor credit.

The first step is to get your credit report--you can get a free one each year--and be aware that there may be discrepancies between reports. For example, on my report, a store credit card I had closed out with 0 on the balance was still showing 3 years later on a credit report with one agency and the other agency was still showing an outstanding balance on a separate student loan that I had also paid off and closed out. And the two credit reports had two different home addresses. The two agencies didn't have the same mistakes in common.

Cleaning up errors and looking for discrepancies is the first thing a person can do if they are worried that an employer may hold a bad credit history against them. You may also want to go through the process for yourself, since you will need to have it updated if you plan to buy a house and some apartment management companies will also ask to view your credit report before approving you as a renter.

Get your credit report:

• Equifax
• TransUnion
• Experian (no longer has consumer credit services in Canada)

Business Beat for August

Careers after the armed forces by Jon Mitchell

Transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce is a question that some librarians will have to assist their clients with. Careers After the Armed Forces is written specifically for Forces personnel that are considering leaving the Forces or who are in the process of leaving and who need to find work to support themselves and their families. In brisk, short chapters, the book covers making the decision to leave the Forces, selecting a career, writing a resume, interviewing and salary negotiation.

This book does cover some of the unique problems faced by military personnel, such as why leave the Forces during a recession and translating military experience into the civilian workforce, but most of the topics covered will need to be supplemented with a book or additional resources about a specific part of the work search. For example, the section on resumes should probably be read in conjunction with Best Canadian Resumes and the assistance of a counselor or resume review at the very least.

Both the publisher and the author are from the UK, so some of the terminology—“CV”, as opposed to “resume”, and “pay rise” instead of “raise”— and resources do favour Forces leavers from the UK, but the author does make an effort to write for soldiers in developed, English-speaking nations in general. Canadian Forces members will need to look for resources specific to the Canadian civilian labour force, and the one Canadian website reference in the book generated a 404 Page Not Found error.

On the whole, this book would not be enough for any current military member planning a transition from the military, but supplemented with additional resources specific to the person’s current situation, it would be a good book to get the person thinking about career planning and the steps involved in the process.

Careers After the Armed Forces: How to Decide on the Right Career and Make a Successful Transition

Voice of Careers Webinar

My bad news last week: Laurie Ruettiman will no longer be writing Punk Rock HR. And if you have no read Punk Rock HR, you will not know that that is really bad news. I could have cried--but I wouldn't since it only felt like someone had kicked a puppy but it wasn't my puppy.

She is, however, moving on to other stuff, which includes the Voice of HR and their upcoming webinar, Getting the Job You Want: Accelerate Your Career Search with a Sales and Marketing Strategy on August 18, 2010. Since this is the first one, anything could really happen--I'm hoping successful things, so we keep hearing more from Laurie.

JobPrize and other Job Referral Networks

Adding a financial incentive to job seeking and rewarding a connection is not new--there are plenty of companies that offer bonuses to employees that find a candidate that they can match to a currently open job, but JobPrize allows a job seeker to post a profile and offer a reward for finding the matching job.

The job seeker registers on JobPrize and offers a reward for the person who can find the job that they want. According to the About Us section of the JobPrize website, the job yenta should just be employed in the industry. Ideally, what I think they hope will happen is that an accountant at a hospital will make connections with nurses on the site because both work in the healthcare industry. They recommend the person to the position and if the match is made, the matchmaker can claim the prize.

I'm already detecting some problems with this: you don't know these people. This means they aren't in your network and you really shouldn't trust them.

• What if you end up recommending someone who lied about their education or ends up needing some serious anger management training? 
• Do you have to disclose your relationship to this person if HR calls you to find out why you recommended them? 
• What if the job seekers discloses how she found out about this position and it turns out you will be double-dipping: getting prize money from the job seeker and claiming the recommendation bonus from your employer? 
• How do you know that the job seeker, once they secure an interview, is going to be good for the bounty? The site states that the job seeker needs to put the prize into an escrow account, but how do you know if she really got the job--and owes you some money?
• What happens if the site is taken over by people who have better research skills (*cough* librarians) who spend their day finding job ads to match the people on the site, hoping to score prize money?

I don't mean to be a party-pooper but part of a network means you should trust and be trusted--which requires building a relationship, even if it is online. I won't undermine online networking, especially if you have done work for the person at a distance, but a referee should have some idea of your skills or personality and not put you forward because you offered them cash.

And guess what I found when I was searching on the topic? A patent filed for a job referral network system.

Other peer-to-peer job finding services:

• LinkedIn (via the referral system on their job board) 
• Ntroduction
  
• ReferYes
  
• TugLink

Spotted on Springwise.

Basic French Reference and Information Services Librarian

This job popped up in my TweetDeck search for librarian and jobs.

Basic French Reference and Information Services Librarian

• LN3 Librarian 3
• Term/full-time
• Renegotiated yearly

Manitoba Education, Bureau de l'éducation française Division
Winnipeg MB

Advertisement Number: 22898

Salary(s):  LN3 $49,287.00 - $60,427.00

Closing Date: September 6, 2010


An eligibility list may be created for similar positions and will remain in effect for 12 months.


The successful candidate will be working within the Direction des ressources éducatives françaises branch located in Collège St. Boniface , 200 avenue de la Cathédrale, under the supervision of the Director.

Qualifications:


The successful candidate will have excellent oral and written communication skills in French and in English. The incumbent will hold a valid teaching certificate. Experience teaching French as a second language is desirable. Experience in the use of information and communication technologies (word processing, electronic mail, automated library system) is essential. The successful candidate must possess school library experience which includes answering information requests, selecting new resources, organizing book displays, meeting and speaking to groups of students/teachers regarding their search for information, and promoting resources/services. The ability to support other personnel  in the delivery of workshops is desirable.  Ability to work both as a  team member and independently is essential. Excellent organizational skills are essential.

Duties:
The incumbent will be responsible for:

• answering information requests;
• performing circulation functions and other related services for the clients;
• researching appropriate new resources;
• promoting resources and services;
• supporting other personnel (i.e. in the delivery of workshops);
• provide consultation related to services and resources.

Apply to:
Advertisement #22898

July's Labour Force Survey

Statistics Canada has released the Labour Force Survey for July 2010, and though there are job losses, there is some good news for students in the 15-24 year age bracket, with increases that meant it was at least better than this time last year. The analysis also indicated that college/university age students did better finding employment than roughly high school age job seekers.

If you go to the bottom of the release, you can review the information by province.

CBC has also prepared a comparison between the US and Canadian data for July.

Upcoming Courses on Economic Gardening

WebJunction is offering a series of three seminars on "economic gardening": helping entrepreneurs, using business databases and library outreach. These seminars will probably be very useful to reference librarians, since they will sometimes get the question, How do I start my own business? especially if the person has given up looking for work.

Do identity theft prevention services really work?

After reading Googlebomb and Wild West 2.0, I've been a bit more interested in this topic, including identity theft. And PC World has written an article about protecting your identity which asks if the services work.

Now there are no reviews of individual services, but the article does have links and advice on how to protect your physical records, which thieves can steal (for Canadians, there is advice on the CBC website). People worry a bit too much about high tech methods of stealing data and don't worry enough about low tech methods (stealing mail, finessing you on the phone, someone unscrupulous takes your file from a cabinet and sells the info).

And this curious mix of low and high tech thievery that was profiled on Marketplace, Who's Minding the Store?

I don't want to be a fatalist and suggest that if thieves want your data, they will get it. Though this is possible, there are steps you can take to make it harder for them to get it. Especially when you are putting your data out online in a job search.

And before you think, whoa, I'm a penniless college student/consultant/professional, what are they going to get from me? here are some examples:

• Get more credit cards
• Get a job
• Get health care services
• Get insurance
• Buy property
• Get arrested while using your identity

So, not to get all John Walsh, but do your best to protect your own identity and show others how to batten the hatches.