Why business books are bad for you from BNET

"Most business books are air sandwiches". I like that and sadly it is sometimes true. I also avoid any business book that includes "inspirational" in a cover blurb.

What's your job geography IQ?

This is a cool little quiz from HRPeople that asks where, by state, major companies like GM, Whole Foods and Marriot maintain their headquarters. If you have someone who is stalking the Fortune 500 for a job (yes, they really get that fixated) this might be something fun to test their and your knowledge.

Caveat: You have to sign in to have access to the results, which completely annoyed the heck out of me. They sent me a temporary password with a blank password field. Since they issued it, I kinda need that info. No, entering my email and pressing "enter" without a password didn't work. So, cute but dumb.

Knockout job interview presentations by Rebecca Cornfield

So, you've been asked to do a presentation as part of your interview, but you have no idea how to prepare. Or you have done some presentations at interviews and think they are the reason why you have not gotten the job offer. Knockout job interview presentations will explain how to prepare for interview presentations, even if the presentation topic isn't presented to you in advance, what employers are looking for in presentations and how to get feedback on your presentation and your delivery.

For librarians that are preparing for an interview that has a presentation component (usually academic library positions), this book will probably help if you have never given a presentation before or if your presentation experience is limited. If you are already a great presenter or instructor, but you are not quite sure why an employer would want you to present at an interview, this book will help you understand how an employer mindset might be different from a student mindset.

This book is also a very quick read, since I was through it within an afternoon, so you could easily include this book as part of your interview "homework".

Two postings from Red Deer Public Library

The postings with the contact information appear on the Red Deer Public Library Employment Opportunities. They both close on September 17, 2010.

Teen Services Librarian (Librarian 1)
Full-time , Permanent (35 hours per week, varied schedules)


Red Deer Public Library is looking for an outgoing and enthusiastic Teen Services Librarian who has a passion for making a difference in our community!

Do you thrive on working with teens and delivering excellent customer service? Are you excited about planning and delivering services in collaboration with diverse communities? Are you comfortable with serving teens in the mezz, our teen space at Red Deer Public Library's Downtown Branch, as well as meeting new people outside traditional library settings? Are you a team player?

Under the direction of the Youth Services Librarian, you will be actively involved in planning, promoting and delivering library services to teens with the help of Library Assistants from the Youth Services Department. You will be responsible for front-line customer service, within and beyond the walls of the library, to customers from a wide range of cultural, economic, social and educational backgrounds. You will be active in community engagement (including outreach and community consultation), staff training and coaching, and collection promotion. You will also be a member of the Library's Management Team and have the opportunity to attend and present at library conferences.

Qualifications

Minimum academic requirement is a Masters of Library Science degree from an ALA accredited library school with two years of related experience, ideally in a public library, serving a diverse clientele (preferably teens). A passion for community and customer service is essential, along with the ability to work effectively outside of traditional library activities and settings, and the capacity to adapt readily to shifting priorities and new service directions. Superior interpersonal, communication, presentation and collaboration skills are essential. Personal commitment to the Canadian Library Association Position Statements on Intellectual Freedom and on Diversity and Inclusion is essential. A working knowledge of a language other than English is an asset. Must have the ability to travel throughout the community and to work varied shifts including evenings and weekends.

Salary for the position ranges from $53,472 to $63,955 per year, with an excellent benefits package. 

Information Technology Librarian (Librarian 1)Full Time, Permanent

Red Deer Public Library is inviting applications for an Information Technology (I.T. ) Librarian.

Winner of the 2005 Canadian Library Association Information Today Award for Innovative Technology, the Library is an innovative organization committed to ensuring community access to the universe of information, experience, and ideas through the creative use of technology. A revitalization of the Dawe Branch library has just been completed, including the conversion of the collection to RFID technology, as well as the implementation of 2 self-checkout units on site. Plans are currently underway to upgrade several key components of the library's technological infrastructure, including the network switching fabric, e-mail system, Office 2007 migration, ILS and OPAC software, and VOIP telephone system.

The I.T. Department at Red Deer Public Library is responsible for ensuring the reliable operation of all Library systems, including the library catalog, IP telephony system, security camera system, web and mail servers, network security, and public Internet gateway service. All members of the I.T. department provide technical support and troubleshooting for the Library's hardware, network, operating system and applications software support.

Reporting to the Assistant Director, the I.T. Librarian will be an integral member of the I.T. team at Red Deer Public Library. He/she will have the responsibility for managing the library's SirsiDynix Unicorn/Symphony integrated library system, as well as the library's web site content management system (Drupal). As well, the I.T. Librarian will take a lead role in staff and customer training. The IT Librarian is a member of the Library's Management Team.

The ideal candidate has

• Experience and interest in library automation, the Internet and the World-Wide Web, network development and network security.
• Excellent communication, problem solving, decision making, and time management skills
• Strong customer service orientation.
• MLS/MLIS degree from an ALA-accredited Library School.

Salary for the position ranges from $53,472 to $63,955 per year, with an excellent benefits package.

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.