In this article, the author provides advice on how to successfully apply for jobs in law libraries

Steenken, Beau

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge Law Faculty Popular Media Law Faculty Publications 6-2011 How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process Beau Steenken University of Kentucky College of Law, beau.steenken@uky.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/law_facpub_pop  Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you. Repository Citation Steenken, Beau, "How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process" (2011). Law Faculty Popular Media. 16. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/law_facpub_pop/16 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Faculty Publications at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law Faculty Popular Media by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process Notes/Citation Information Beau Steenken, How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process, AALL Spectrum, June 2011, at 17. This article is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/law_facpub_pop/16 Advice to grads seeking a first professional law libraryjob from a recent survivor of-the processBy Beau Steenkens the days grow longer, thegraduation bells ring, andthe AALL Annual Meetingapproaches, many a job search begins inearnest. For many recent information!library/law school graduarcs with aninterest in a career in law librarianship,the initial job search constitutes the moststressful stretch of time in their youngprofessional lives. (And, yes, I amcounting both law school finals and barexams as part of their professional lives!)I know this because I went through theprocess last summer.In May 2010, I graduated ftomthe University of Texas School ofInformation having already earned a JD(also from Texas) and an LLM in PublicInternational Law (from the Universityof Nottingham in the United Kingdom).During my job search, I applied formore than 20 academic law librarianpositions, performed 10 screeninginterviews via telephone or atconferences, and participated in five on-site interviews before ultimately joiningthe library faculty at the University ofKentucky (UK) College of Law. Theprocess was new to me, as I had stayedin academia as a student past law school,and I made several mistakes along theway. By the end of the process, however,I had gained a better understanding ofhow things worked and wound up witha job that is ideal for me personally.In fact, my professional integrationinto the College of Law progressedrapidly enough hat our dean DavidBrennen, appointed me as chair of an adhoc search committe for a renure-trackelectronic services librarian position hereat1K, a scant foourp mths after I beganmy employment. My experiences hcadingthe search committee further rcvealed theintricacies of the hiring process. Since Iwell remember the stress of finding myfirst professional-level job, I thoughtthat I would share a few tips for recentgraduates ftom both my own eperiencon the markct and mn behiind the-ceeperspectiv as a sarch committee chair,tofhlpvmakecthprocs as succsfuland as painfrecas possible.While I acknowledge thestatistical improbability ofmany members of this year'sgraduating class having beenalive long enough to rememberthe actual event, for me the 1980"Miracle on Ice" Olympic hockey victoryby the United States over the SovietUnion remains an apt metaphor forlanding one's first professional job. TheU.S. team consisted entirely of collegiateplayers and recent graduates who hadnever played professional hockey, whilethe Soviets were large, amateur-in-name-only (thanks to appointments to theSoviet military and marching orders thatconsisted solely of hockey-relatedactivities), and extremely intimidating.Entering the law library job marketwith a degree or two but little or nofull-time professional experience canbe equally as daunting, especially whencompeting with seasoned veterans for thesame jobs. Yet, just as the United Statesdefeated the U.S.S.R. by using the rightstrategy, with the right approach aspiringlaw librarians can also emerge victoriouswith their own "miracles" of professionalemployment.Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980U.S. team, once famously told hisassistant that, "I'm not looking for thebest players, Craig, I'm lookin' for theright ones Law library directors andsearch committees often take the sameapproach Th earch committee onwhich I sred received a number ofapplications from talented aspiring lawlibrarians. While variation in abilityand xperience crtainl xisted ratherthan simpl selye rhe "best candidate,we determined at vwhat point ouracceptable" candidate cur off lay andthen looked for the "right" candidate,i.e. the one that fit in the best toour librarys culture, philosophy, andgeographic location. After all, we noronly wanted to find a good librarian,but we also wanted that librarian tfiburish ard to stick around.Forunaty cndidat can rakmeasure tha rhepo emphaiz howell they will fit into institutions towhich they apply. A candidate's goalshould be to stand out in how well heor she fits, because as Coach Brooksalso said, "You can't be common. Thecommon man goes nowhere; you haveto be uncommon." I have groupedthe following tips on how to appearas an uncommonly good fit into fourcategories: correspondence, conferencescurricula vitae, and presentations. As amotivational aid, you can picture a surlyhockey playetr furiously charging whilewearing harsh Soviet red with theCyrillic letters CCCP across his chest.Cross the letters off your list one-by-one and achieve your golden goal: aprofessional position in a law library.CorrespoidneCorrespondence in a job search thesedays reaches far beyond the traditionalcover letter and thank you note. As moreand more institutions shift to onlineapplication systems, and as emailincreasingly replaces the telephone as thelogistical means of setting up interviews,candidates leave an ever-growing amountof permanent record with potentialemployers. The good news is thatcorrespondeiice, and especiallv peripheralcorrespondence by its openndednarurc allows candidates the flexibilityto prss their personalirie in ways thatemphasize how well rhcy will fir into anygiven nsmtution.Ofrer, lay libraries ask forapplicarion materials to be submitteddirectly via email, which allowscandidates to generate a quick firstimpression. While you probably wantto keep the initial email brief (you vwill,after all, be attaching a cover lcrter asparr of your application marcrias 1)oudo want to us the opporruniry in aentence or wor oepres enthusiasmor thep ifcic iniinr ho wih youare applying. For instance if you hav[p Spcrum U ue211a tie to the geographic area of theinstitution, you definitely want toconvey that fact. Many law libraries facechallenges in retention, and possessing apersonal tie to the city, state, or region inwhich the library is located leads to aninference on the part of those doing thehiring that the candidate will be lookingat the position for the long term.Similarly, you can use your initialemail to express enthusiasm about facetsof the position itself. In my own jobsearch, I emphasized the fact that tenure-track positions really appealed to mewith my academic background. Thefacet to emphasize depends on thespecific job posting but can be anythingfrom working with students to theopportunity to participate in collectiondevelopment and budgeting. Just makesure you emphasize something that thelibrary is actively seeking.The tone of your emails also assumesa role of some importance. Your initialemail should be professional (especiallyif you are a recent grad with no recordof being an actual professional) yetcourteous and upbeat. For example,address your email to a specific personand use salutations. When I receive anapplication email with just my name andno "Dear" or "Hi," it definitely leavesme with a poor impression and a doubtas to whether it would be pleasant towork with an individual lacking thatbasic etiquette.Please note that after your initialemail, you may want to adapt your tonein further correspondence dependingon the tone of the replies you get.Kentuckians pride themselves onfriendliness and openness, so all ofmy correspondence with my futureemployers after the first email waswritten on a first name basis. Other lawlibraries emphasize professionalism, sofor those I continued to use titles andsurnames. You want to demonstratesubtly that you will fit into the culture,so simply follow the cues given you.Of course, traditional correspon-dee also plays a major role in landingyour first professional job. Cover lettersshould both conform to standardformulas and be adapted to therequirements of specific positionsConforming to standards is sott of likea secret handshake in that it shows thatyou know how to behave professionally,while altering what you emphasize allowsyou to greater express your fir to anindividual position. In my own coverletters I used rhe first paragraph toexpres enthusiasm for the specificlocation or institution of the position,rh e eond paragraph to expressenthusiasm for he specific job and tohighlight somc of my past acadcmicexperiences rha matched well with thejob description, and the third paragraphto provide a completely formulaicconclusion. Essentially, by using thetraditional structure and memes of acover letter, you show that you fit in theprofession. Addressing specifics of thejob posting shows how wecll you will fitin the specific institution.While cover letters allow you toexpress fit, because of thcir formulaicnature, they do so in a common way.Interview thank you notcs, however, allowyou to stand out in how uncommonlywell you fit. The real bcauty of theopportunity presented by thank you notesstems from the fact that you will writethem after you meet the people to whomyou are writing. You can personalize themand emphasize common ground as well ashow much you'd like to work with themon specific projects that camc up duringyour interview.When I arrived in Lexington to reportto work, Ryan Valentin, now head ofpublic services at the UK Law Libraryand a member of the search committeethat hired me, told me that he "reallyappreciated getting your handwrittennote. It was a nice personal touch andshowed me that you were someone whomI would enjoy working with." Valentin'scomment, besides helping to make mefeel welcome at my new job in a new city,revealed how drastically important it isthat you show not just how well youfit into a place professionally but alsopersonally. Thank you notes in particular,and correspondence in general, allow youto show just that.ConferencesDuring one of my interviews, a librarydirector asked me if I planned to attend"the meat-market, where everyone goesto find a job." She was referring, ofcourse, to the AALL national conference.Interviewers at two other institutionsalso strongly recommended that I attendconferences to further my job search.These comments led me to deduce twothings. First, library directors are notevil Though he cannot hire everyonewho applies to their institutions, theygenerally do want to se everyone finda job somewhere. Second, attendingconferences can be incredibly helpful toyour job sarch.Sadly, employers do nor simplyhand our jobs at the door at conferences.However, conferences play threeimportant roles in the job search, andyou should make every effort to attendat least one if possible. First, conferencealloy you to quickiy and efficientlygarher inelligenc on multipleermployers imon fewoop Iwplcit inde montraring that you are he righ ffor an employer is that you know what ar ght fit for th mployer is Schedulinginformal meetings with your potentialemployers allows you to develop a feelfor individual library cultures andlibrarian personalities, both importantthings to be aware of when crafting yourstrategy for presenting yourself. Mostlaw librarians looking to hire gladlyarrange to meet candidates informallyat conferences because such a meetingamounts to a freebie for the employerto conduct screening.You can also use the informalmeeting as a screening process, andindeed the opportunity of findingnatural fits is the second job-searchfunction presented by conferences.Part of finding the right fit, after all, isalso finding an employer that fits yourprofessional wants. To borrow fromConfucius, "choose a job you love, andyou will never have to work a day inyour life." Beyond identifying librariesfor which you'd love to work, you willbe able to honestly assess how well youmatch up with a particular place. Thisallows you to construct a triage of sortsfor where to concentrate your efforts.For instance, I applied to a number oflibraries that served law schools notedfor their trial advocacy and clinicalprograms and even interviewed at acouple. Doing so was probably not themost efficient use of my time becauseI have no litigation or legal practice ofany kind in my background. When Idid land a job, it was at a library witha stronger academic focus, which bettermatched my background. Thus,conferences afford you the opportunityto screen potential employers and topick your battles.The final advantage that conferencespresent derives from the professionalnature of conferences themselves.Participating in professional activitiesshows prospective employers that youengage with the professional aspects oflaw librarianship and that you belongin the field. As such, actually attendingconference programs, in addition toscheduling meetings with employers,assumes some importance. After all,your potential employers will beattending many of the same programsand allowing yourself to be seen onlyhelps you to stand our all the more.Plus, it then gives you soiiiching totalk about at later intervicys whichwill also help emphasize that you firinto the profession. Thus, you shouldnor underestimate the importance ofattending conferences.CVsIf youare at rcentrgraduatea actvellooking for your first profesionalp orn your CV probably cnstirutethe rnost frequently opened file on yourcompurer even if all you are doingU ALL Spcrum * n 20 1Stu's ViewsYou madethe team?But you'renot veryis attaching it to emails or onlineapplications. However, you should bedoing more than just simply attaching.By tailoring or tweaking your CV foreach individual position to which youapply, you can express how uncommonlywell you fit. As I had the good fortuneto work with two separate but excellentcareer service directors during my timein information school, I suggest thefollowing two methods for customizingyour CV, borrowed from Ron Pollockand Tara lagulli, respectively.First, you can create an individualiteration of your CV de novo for eachposition. Pollock suggested drafting amaster list of all your experiences, skills,educational achicvemnts, actiities, c.Then, every time You appl for aposition, generate a separate Iist ofqualities that the potential employersdesire You Can then select items fromyour master list that ansvwer the requestfrom the second Iist and creare an idealCV. Pollock possessed an excellcnt trackrecord of helping graduates find jobs,especially in the government sector, whenhe retired. The drawback of his nethod isthat it can be rather time-consuming.Iagullis recommcnded approaconvrsely, took very little rime toimplement and ye a lo struckme ashighly effecrive e suggestedtharIusea standard CV but tha I shift thc itemsup and down the page order dependingon th ype ofp stionrtovwhich IasStu A Rights Reserved www.STUS.comapplying. For instance, in applying totenure-track librarian positions, mymasters' theses and involvement inuniversity committees moved to positionsof prominence, while for more practicalpositions I bumped up my skills section.Either approach can be quite effective,and I highly recommend that you consultwith your local career counselor foradditional help in using your CV tostand out as an uncommonly good fit.PresentationsNot all librarian interview processesinvolve a presentation, but, for those thatdo, a presentation presents a wonderfulopportunity to e xplain exactly whyyou belong at a particular institution.Interviev presentations come in twops rhos that allow ou to chooseyour own topic and those with assignedtopics I will deal vwith them in order.Choosing a topic presenrs its ownchallen ge and opportunity becauseyour intervicwers will judge you by howwell your topic matches the mission oftheir individual library. Research yourpotential employer, and select anapropriate topic If you are inter iewingat a law shool with a strong practicumprogram you probably do norvwantrtopick a aademic topic such as the Valueof ludingHisrr BooksinaLawCollection (whih is ai isake I made)You do, however,vwantto chooscsomething that excites your passions sothat your enthusiasm will come through.(I also once chose as a topic the UCCDigest and Reporter system, and it cameoff as lifeless and sterile).Thus, choosing a topic presents quitethe balancing act, and for me that alwaysled to second-guessing myself right upto the moment I began speaking. If youfind yourself stuck agonizing over thechoice, I recommend that you consulta career counselor or mentor, err on theside of choosing an institution-specifictopic, and keep in mind the words ofTheodore Roosevelt: "In any momentof decision, the best thing you can dois the right thing, the next best is thewrong thing, and the worst thing youcan do is nothing."Having a topic thrust upon youremoves much of the indecision andthe potential landmine of talking aboutsomething irrelevant to the position forwhich you are applying, yet it presentsits own challenge, namely how to expressin a fixed topic and format that youwould be a good fit. I suggest using twotechniques. First, in choosing specificexamples to illustrate your points, alwayschoose jurisdiction specific examples.If you construct a hypothetical, makesure it involves a local issue or industry(e.g. oil in Texas, automobiles inMichigan, horse-racing in Kentucky).Second, match your illustrations andmetaphors to the backgrounds of theindividuals in the hiring positions. Forinstance, one of the professors on thecommittee that hired me possessed abackground in philosophy as well as law,so I used a cartoon version of Plato'sparable of the cave in my presentation.In these ways you can express howuncommonly well you would fit in atan institution even when handed a pre-formulated topic for your presentation.Going for the GoldCorrespondence, conferences, CVs, andpresentations do not form an exclusivelist of the ways that you can express howll you match up with an institution'sneeds and culture. I encourage you tokeep in mind that you should be lookingto be the "right" candidate and not the"best' cadidate throughout our jobsarch activities Reeping in ind theCCCP of the job search, though, shouldsend you skating in the direction of yourgoal. UBeau Steenken (beaunseenken @uiky edu is instru'ctiona s ervices libraratkh Univesy of~encky Colee ofLawt Library, where his dutie includeproviding efirene pare ticpngoha !!brariran each commnittee.tL Sperumt un 211

How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process

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How to Be Uncommon: Advice to Grads Seeking a First Professional Law Library Job from a Recent Survivor of the Process

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