had some interesting chats with library muckety-mucks over the holidays, trying to figure out what people are looking for from recent LIS graduates.

from what i can tell it all boils down to one thing: professionalism.

• don’t send in a 1 page c.v.
• in your letter of application, make links between what the job is looking for and how you can meet those needs.
• don’t dress like a schlub at the interview.
• if you’re not interested in teaching, you better be interested in cataloguing.
• have something to say about current practice at the organization - or the very least about their website! (and not “it’s great - i wouldn’t change a thing!”)

this all sounds very basic but of the three muckety-mucks i spoke to, all mentioned that recent grads don’t seem to get that they are now starting their career, not another part-time “who cares?” gig, and should present themselves as such.

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