Citizen journalism

I don't think this is her dream career, but Shelby Monroe has left her library jobs to become an embedded journalist in Iraq. From the article it appears that she has done this very much on her own nickel, an example of a citizen journalist. Her blogs are Spirits Up, Heads Down (2008) and 101 Days With The 101st Airborne Division: The Sequel.

There are plenty of other, less dangerous ways, to become involved in citizen journalism, if you have a call to write and report on the news in your neighbourhood. The Independent Media Centre, though strongly political, is one of the early examples of the movement in North America; citizen journalism is also extremely popular in Asia, with OhMyNews (English site, Korean is here) or JasmineNews. Citizen journalism may take off in other areas, with services such as Backfence or the EveryBlock service, the outgrowth of Chicagocrime.org.

Of course, any of these efforts could just devolve into a Twitterous-tumult of JuicyCampus postings, more hurtful gossip than news, but alternative community newspapers could also piggy-back on the success of Craigslist and it would be wonderful if the library, or librarians, were the hub of the movement.

You can follow Shelby Monroe and become an active correspondent or you could offer services, such as how to write programs or editorial services to citizen journalists, whether at the library you work at or as a freelance editor since we all want to look good in print.

Commericial for Jason Alba's Teleseminar

I also want to give a shout-out for Jason Alba's free teleseminar (participation is limited to 200) tomorrow about the differences between LinkedIn and Facebook and how to get the most out of these technologies, career-wise. Jason Alba is the author of I'm on LinkedIn--Now What? and co-author of I'm on Facebook--Now What? as well as the excellent JibberJobber blog.

The new IT girl

When I entered library school, I knew how to use a computer; when I left library school, I loved and adored them. I immediately sprang into a second program that I could use to learn how to teach with technology, combining two loves, that I was so glad I could meet with in librarianship.

If you love the tech, there are plenty of careers for a librarian; there are also plenty of regular "books 'n' bricks" library jobs that need the ability to jiggle the cord. IT World Canada has an article on tech careers that you never dreamed of, and though "librarian" isn't a job title, many of these jobs are jobs that techy librarians can and will do, especially if they perceive themselves on a management track.

This gun for hire

Yesterday, I spoke on a panel for alternative librarian careers. Since I consider myself very much a librarian, my career is not really an "alternative". But I'm not really concerned about that in this post.

I'm concerned about a comment that I overheard about how unsteady it is to be a freelancer and that the person really felt they needed a pay check. I like my pay check too, but I really like my work environment more. I don't think you could pay me enough to stay in work that sucks, but I have an advantage that most freelancers also have: we know what we can do that makes money.

Have you ever sat down and really thought about the things that you can do that people will pay for? These can be library-related like specialized collection development, or on the peripheries of library work (or stuff not always part of every librarian's job) such as editing, proof-reading, teaching, or skills that you have, not necessarily library-related that you can make money at, like installing a wireless network or translating from English to another language. Who would pay you for them and how would you market them?

Can you make money with them in libraries? For example, could you offer a paid workshop on how to give directions or greet people in Mandarin? I know a few librarians that might sign up for that as an online class, just for their own career development. How many people within libraries know what you know and if they don't know it, would they pay to learn it or use it to accomplish a task?

If you know what you can sell and what the market is like for your skills, I think you can make a reasonable living. And let's not kid ourselves: some entry-level library jobs are not a reasonable living and you may need to make some freelance cash to survive, or supplement your income. Sit down and figure out what you can do for money. The next step: how much money would you need to make at it to survive?

For a primer on freelancing, yesterday's WSJ put a loose plan together that you can use to stimulate your thoughts. And seriously think about it: even if you don't make it as freelancer, you still need to know what you can do and how to offer that to an employer.

The separation was amicable

Why did you leave your last job?

As a student, you can usually get off lightly with this one: you had a student job and once you were no longer a student, you have to move on. A simplified, no-fault divorce. But some of us are leaving positions for other reasons, some with fault and some merely uncontested. This question is trying to find out just how much fault and acrimony is on your side.

• The best answer is to just want a career change. You are interviewing for a position with more responsibility and you hope to learn more about your profession.
• A mediocre answer is to describe that the writing is on the wall at your old job: your beloved supervisor is moving on, positions are getting whacked with cutbacks, your contract has not been renewed. In these cases, do your best to phrase your answer to this question as if the circumstances were unexpected but you are taking charge of your career.
• Bad, bad answer: I wanted to set their clothes on fire on the front lawn. We leave jobs sometimes because we 1) hate our boss; 2) hate our colleagues; 3) hate the clients we serve; 4) hate the work environment. Hate may seem strong, but we sometimes cling to a pay check much longer than we should, irritating ourselves past irrationality. Additionally, you could have been fired or had your contract unexpectedly, not renewed. In these cases, your answer comes with a lot of bile and you sound like a victim, rather than a proactive, take charge survivor.

If you have a bad, bad answer to this question, I strongly recommend some practice with this question before trying to answer it. Even in circumstances beyond our control, you should do your best to sound as though you understand what happened and that you are taking steps to find a new position and give your best work to the new employer.

This question, though on the surface simple, can elicit some interesting responses from people who have not reflected on their role in their job loss or who are not very good at planning their career moves.