Become a librarian

Turned in all my hiring paperwork today. And had a short meeting with the current children’s librarian.

I am so glad to finally have a job, and a good one at that. I can’t really rest on my laurels, though – job is starting in about a week and they are throwing me to the wolves right away. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

(Mostly kidding. I am excited to get started. And I’ve always thrived on nervousness, at least in the short term.)

I went ahead and accepted the firm job offer for the children’s librarian position at the local library! I thought about it and thought about it, and realized that in terms of the two opportunities themselves, there was no real drawback to either. And the more I thought about it, the more I want to stay in this area. I was just starting to feel at home here and to think about putting down roots in some way. It would have been extremely difficult, financially and emotionally, to relocate.

So, this goal is all but done. I think it’s been at the top of my list of goals since I started here on 43Things (OVER FOUR YEARS AGO?!! My GOD!). I still have to go in and fill out the official paperwork, so until that’s done and I’m officially on-paper hired, I’m keeping this goal. Should be marked ‘done’ by early next week!

from both parties to consider my options.

Now that a new job is on the horizon, I’m getting more anxious than ever to leave my current part-time position. Not going to bad-mouth anyone specific, but suddenly the subtle-but-pervasive emotional ‘blech’ is a lot less bearable. I’ve put up with a lot here. Every job has its problems, but I’m more than ready to move on to a new set of problems. :)

Today was kind of eventful.

1. I had a story time observation and then an interview at the local library. It went really well! It is a beautiful library and the potential coworkers are fab.

2. I got a message from the exciting out-of-state job about flying out to check out the place.

3. I got a firm job offer from the local library!

Yep, my first job offer! I’m really tempted to take it, for a number of reasons. For one, as exciting as the out-of-state job is, it’s pretty far away. And as spring creeps over Central New York, I’m remembering that this place really IS gorgeous for half the year. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I’m just relieved to have a job offer. It’s a huge emotional load off. I’m going to take at least 48 hours to think it over. No decision made yet!

Not a dilemma I’ve ever had to deal with before, nor one that I ever thought I would have to deal with…but if you have to have a dilemma, it’s not the worst there is!

Been busy. Just did my first interview today (finally!). I am not really sure how it went; it was a phone interview, and those are incredibly hard to read. I did not ace every question, that’s for sure. But I felt very good about my performance overall…so, we’ll see. In any case, I was glad to get the interview practice, and I know exactly what I need to improve on for next time.

Coincidentally, I have another interview scheduled for Tuesday! This is at a library that is relatively nearby, which is nice (I so prefer in-person interviews; I have great faith in my own likability, despite my occasional low self-esteem). I haven’t been there, so I’m going to visit tomorrow just to poke around and get a feel for the place…maybe come up with some questions about the space?

Several applications “on deck” in the next couple of weeks; I’ve been very bad about getting these done at the last minute, because I hate writing cover letters so much. However, the more of them that I write, the easier they are to do (and the more of them I can just tweak and send off).

...to check my reference for the job I really want.

He told me afterward that I am one of four candidates they are looking at.

Please let me do well on the interview!!!

...but I did submit a resume and cover letter that I feel pretty confident about. The job is in a neighboring state, and I could travel fairly easily for an interview.

I’m having a bit of a difficult time though figuring out how to address relocation in my cover letter. Lots of conflicting information out there, from folks encouraging outright lying (give an address that’s not yours?!!) to people saying ‘don’t mention it at all’. I’m thinking I need to say something about the fact that I’m planning to relocate to ‘x’ area for personal reasons (because I am thankfully in a situation where I can relocate to almost anywhere fairly quickly)...but the truth is, I don’t necessarily have plans to relocate anywhere by any specific date UNLESS I get the job.

Hmmm.

Just remembered that NMRT has a free email resume review service! And I’m a member of NMRT!

Time I made use of that; I will email my resume in this evening.

My recent move really threw me off my game as far as the job search is concerned. I feel like I wasted a whole month of time and a fair amount of energy focused on that. And with that, the election, the economic downturn, and my own personal economic woes…well, I’m having a hard time getting my head back in the game.

Probably a seasonal thing as well, but staying positive just got 100% tougher.

ANYHOO. It’s time I stopped kvetching and got myself on a schedule to move forward. I have applied for a (very) few jobs, and just filled out the questionnaire to get ranked on the local civil service list. I am back to scouring the joblines, though, and am slowly figuring out how to tweak and improve on my cover letters. By the way, I hate cover letters; I’d much, much rather introduce myself in person. But I have to get over that doublequick.

I think I have the basic components of the job search well in hand, and I think I know how to organize my time and effort to get those basics done.

What I want to know is: how can I keep working on professional development and networking while also sending out resumes and working full-time? I don’t have a ton of time for volunteer work etc., and frankly the local system is not set up for short term volunteer work. I can certainly keep reading, or teach myself a new computer skill. Is that enough? Should I be doing more?

I just sent off my first REAL application. “Real” meaning 1) it’s a job I really want and 2) the timeframe and duties are such that I might be able to actually fill it.

We’ll see. At least now my resume is in tip-top shape and I have a template for my letter of interest. Obviously the details of this letter will change with the position, but now I have something to start with.