by infonistaadmin | Jun 20, 2016 | Job Hunting, LIS Career Options, LIS Career Strategy, LIS Students
Anytime you’re asking a favor of someone, it feels a bit awkward, and information interviews are no exception.
Generally, you’re asking someone who’s both successful in their career and really busy to give you their time and attention out of the goodness of their heart. (Okay, occasionally for a cup of coffee or a quickie lunch….) Yep, that usually triggers our automatic “do not impose on people” response, but it’s time to get over your hesitation. Why? Because informational interviews for which you’ve done your homework can be one of the most effective ways to advance both your career knowledge and your career (think network building and professional visibility) ever. (more…)
by infonistaadmin | May 23, 2016 | LIS Career Strategy, LIS Students
Recently New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about “The Choice Explosion,” or the increasing number of choices we have regarding every aspect of our lives. The research he cites confirms the tendency of Americans to prefer a high level of independent, personal choice. And in many ways, we’re no different when it comes to our careers. (more…)
by infonistaadmin | May 16, 2016 | LIS Career Strategy, LIS Students, Professional Development
Recently I gave a talk to the Rocky Mountain SLA chapter on adaptive competence. It’s basically the ability to repurpose if not reinvent your LIS career (pretty much on demand) as market needs and opportunities require. Your adaptive competence is built on a core understanding that regardless of your current paycheck, we’re all self-employed – it’s up to us to take charge of our options and outcomes.
One of my recommendations for building adaptive competence, also known as career resiliency, was to find your tribe. Although marketing guru Seth Godin popularized the phrase in his Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Portfolio, 2008), Godin’s focus was on leading movements. With apologies to Godin, I’m going to redefine and repurpose it here (clear tip-off to my content-developer roots!) to describe a tribe as that group of people who make up your career inner circle. (more…)
by infonistaadmin | May 9, 2016 | Job Hunting, LIS Career Strategy, LIS Students
When you’re trying to learn more about potential LIS jobs, employers, or careers, few options are better than going straight to the source, otherwise known as having an information interview. They’re one of the easiest and fastest ways to increase your career smarts – even when you’re not looking for a job. Why? Because these informal conversations can provide the perfect “reality check” for what you may have read or heard about a particular employer, industry, or career path – an insider’s view of how the world really looks from those in the trenches.
To max out the benefit of any information interview, however, you want to make sure you do these five things: (more…)
by infonistaadmin | Apr 11, 2016 | LIS Career Strategy, LIS Students, Professional Development
Professional conferences can be a great LIS career booster – in-person networking, learning from cutting-edge presentations, immersing yourself in the dynamic energy of the profession or a new-to-you industry. There’s just one problem: conferences, including their registration, housing and travel costs, can be way expensive.
In addition, the broader your LIS interests and areas of expertise, the wider the range of conferences that might pique your interest. PLA, SLA, ALA, AASL, ACRL, and AIIP might just be the starters. Then there’s Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian, the Charleston Conference, KM World, ARMA Live, the ASIS&T annual conference, and dozens of other specialized information professional events.
Information professionals are even finding a home at theoretically unrelated events such as the music and tech festival, South by Southwest (SXSW), an indicator of the expanding range of information/library expertise and interests.
If you can only afford one, does that mean you miss out on everything else?
Not necessarily. (more…)
by infonistaadmin | Apr 4, 2016 | LIS Students, Professional Development
As you grow your LIS career, one of the most effective ways to build your professional reputation and visibility is to present at conferences.
You’ll have a chance to share your expertise with colleagues interesting in learning more about your topic, and create credibility for your professional knowledge.
If you’ve never gone through the proposal process, however, it can be a bit daunting at first. Rest assured, it’s actually a pretty simple process. (more…)
Anytime you’re asking a favor of someone, it feels a bit awkward, and information interviews are no exception.
