In a recent survey I conducted, 96.4 percent of hiring decision-makers agreed that they had interviewed individuals who looked great on paper but fell short during the interview. Although I did not ask, I would assume the opposite is also true: interviewees who have been excited about a particular library likely have discovered it looked great on paper but fell short in person. This is why the onsite interview is such an important and informative stage in the job applicant seeking process. Too often, participants forget the onsite interview is an opportunity for both the applicant and interviewer to check each other out.
Anyone who has ever been involved in the interview process has at one point or another equated the process of hiring to dating. In a recent conversation I had with a library director, he made the same assertion, but also added, “Like dating, it is important for all parties to be honest during the onsite interview and listen to their gut instinct so they don’t end up married to the wrong library.”
I firmly believe an onsite interview is an interview for all people involved. A quick look at my CV shows that I have moved into a new job every three to four years. Moving so often for work does not make me an expert on onsite interviews, but it has allowed me to glean some unique insights from the variety of onsite interviews I have been on over the years. Some interviews were great and some were horrible, but I always learned something new. I hope that by sharing some of my thoughts and experiences with you, I can aid in making the onsite interview a more positive experience for all involved in the process. Along with my thoughts, I will share comments from a few fellow librarians, applicable statistics and comments from the survey I conducted in 2013, and tips from some bestselling texts about the job search. I also will address issues and provide insights and recommended behaviors for before, during, and after the onsite interview.
Some Basics
First, I’d like to share a few general thoughts about applying and interviewing for jobs today. Early in my career, my boss told me that she applied for at least one new job a year. This was interesting to me because I knew she had been at the institution for many years and had not expressed any interest in leaving. When I inquired further, she said the process of applying ensured that her CV was never out of date. Additionally, participating in phone and local onsite interviews allowed her to keep her interview skills sharp. In their article “Interviewing Techniques and Tips: Putting your Best Self Forward and Getting the Job,” authors John Kobara and Melinda Smith support many of my old boss’s assertions about why you should interview regularly. They further recommend interviewing to refine your search for a new position and assert that it can even make you aware of new trends in positions in your profession. According to Kobara and Smith, speaking with new people and locating individuals to be references bolsters your professional network.
Another tip is to always be honest with yourself and the library about your true interest in the position. If, after an initial phone or Skype interview, you know you are no longer interested in the position, pull your application. It is unkind in our current economic times to have an institution pay for your travel if you know that you will not take the job. Additionally, I have always been equally honest with my contacts at the interviewing library when on the fence about a position. This allows the interviewer to determine whether they want to continue with me as one of their candidates.
Pre-Interview Preparation
As mentioned previously, participants in my survey were asked if they had ever had a candidate who looked great on paper fall short during an interview, and an overwhelming 96 percent said that they had. Even more informative were the comments on why they believed
candidates fell short. A theme repeated by the bulk of the participants was that the candidate did not do his or her homework on the institution prior to the onsite interview. One participant stated, “Research. Show me you can find out information about the firm beyond a cursory glance at the website.” Another said, “Prepare! . . . it’s all out there on the internet. Think about how your experience fits what you learn . . . make sure you’re ready to articulate this.”
Early in my career, a mentor told me to always read and be ready to discuss the mission statement of the institution at which I was applying. In interviews she conducted for a lateral position at her institution one of the first questions she asked was the candidate’s view on the law school’s mission. She was surprised to learn that the majority of the first-round candidates could not answer the question. Some even admitted they hadn’t read it.
In the best-selling book What Color is Your Parachute, author Richard Bolles recommends that prior to an interview, you research the organization by going to the website or asking your friends if they know anyone who works or has ever worked at the institution who you might be able to reach out to for information informally.
Additionally, when preparing for an onsite interview you are going to want to discuss the following details, which will often be provided during email exchanges with your contact at the library. Having this information in advance will help ease many pre-onsite interview jitters:
- Travel: Sometimes the library pays for your flight and sometimes you are reimbursed after the visit. Make sure to share arrivals and departures to aid in the creation of your interview agenda. Request the agenda in advance so you can do your homework about the interviewers you will meet. Always inquire if someone from the library will pick you up at the airport or if you will be taking a cab so you can plan funds and attire accordingly.
- Contact information: Make sure you and your contact at the library exchange cell phone information in case flights are delayed or plans change while you are midflight.
- Hotel: You will want to know if wifi will be taken care of by the library or if it is an incidental that you will need to pay for. In some hotels wifi can cost up to $20 a day.
- Dietary restrictions: At the first onsite interview I ever went on, I forgot to mention that I was a vegetarian, and the interview team took me to a steakhouse.
- Presentation: Ask if you will be giving a job talk, the length of time for the talk, and the intended audience, and let the contact know your technology needs for a talk. One of the most interesting and enjoyable job talks I ever gave was on the topic of administrative law research. My audience was faculty members pretending to be 1L students. Knowing the “audience” helped me to temper my talk appropriately and not be thrown by the basic questions I was being asked by the faculty.
The Interview
The hiring managers who participated in my survey shared comments about finding and hiring a person for their institution who was the “right fit.” One participant shared, “I would add don’t ignore your gut about someone. If they look great on paper and say all the right things but you get a bad vibe, do not ignore it. Your gut will be right most of the time.” Others shared, “I look for fit, then train for skill,” and, “Even if someone looks qualified, it’s best to heed one’s reservations.” Linda Matias addresses the aspect of “fit” from an interviewer’s perspective when she describes hiring decisions in her book, How To Say It: Job Interviews: “Hiring decisions for the most part are based on who the interviewer felt interviewed better—not on who was the most qualified for the position.” Matias adds,“You have to take into account how you approach the interview process, the way you dress, your nonverbal communication and the way you handle anxiety.” In What Color is Your Parachute, Bolles shared a similar sentiment: “An interview is not to be thought of as marketing yourself . . . . Rather, an interview is the part of your research, i.e., the data collecting process that you have been engaged in.” Bolles adds, “An interview is not to be thought of as a test. It is a data collecting process for the employer too.” The librarians/faculty/lawyers/judges who are interviewing you will be obtaining data about you from your answers to their interview questions but also from your attire, tone, body language, and conduct throughout the interview.
Proper dress for an interview is important to make a good first impression. Several survey participants recommended that interviewees err on the side of overdressing instead of underdressing for an interview. Additionally, you will want to keep in mind regional standards for professional attire. The standard in Miami may be very different from the standard in Seattle. I know of one librarian who, prior to her interview, looked at the staff photos on the library website to gauge the institution’s idea of professional dress.
Being able to manage stress is also important for an onsite interview. For some people, a little bit of stress may actually be helpful because the additional pressure will help them focus and fine tune their interviewing skills. A lot of stress or not being able to manage stress, however, can impair a candidate’s ability to behave nonverbally. I once watched a candidate participate in an entire interview without looking anyone in the eye. The candidate’s lack of eye contact was due to nervousness, not culture, and, unfortunately, the interviewers never got a true feel for how the candidate would interact with her potential future colleagues.
Bolles also states in his book, “Throughout the interview, keep in mind: employers don’t really care about your past; they only ask about it, in order to try to predict your future [behavior].” In an interview you have the wonderful opportunity to tell your potential future employer your story as an employee and a person. This story should not be too crafted to provide “perfect” answers. Survey participants expressed concern for those who do not practice answering interview questions but also for those who provide answers that are too rehearsed.
In telling your story, you will instead want to identify key moments and experiences from your past that demonstrate who you are, your core belief system, the type of worker you are, and the type of worker you wish to be in the future. By providing this information without oversharing, you will give an interviewer the data he or she needs to determine if you are the right fit for the library.
In the book Get Hired Now: A 28-Day Program for Landing the Job You Want, authors C.J. Hayden and Frank Traditi remind the reader, “If you really won’t fit in at a particular company, you do not want to work there. But what you are able to do is be personable and professional. Smile, look the interviewer in the eye and engage in a two-way conversation. Listen carefully, respond thoughtfully and don’t digress in personal details.”
I also recommend creating a career portfolio of your work to bring with you on an interview. The portfolio is a useful tool in a number of ways: if there is a lull in the conversation, it can spark questions on a specific project; it provides visual aids when discussing products or services you have participated in or created at other libraries; and, if you are battling extreme nervousness, it can be a “crib sheet” to your past if you blank on an answer. If you do choose to create a career portfolio, make sure the material included is a true representation of your work but is also visually interesting and dynamic. Also, do not be upset if the interview is going so well that no one looks at your portfolio.
Providing strong answers to questions is important during the onsite interview, but it is just as important for you to prepare questions to ask about the job, the institution, and your future. Some general topics to think about to create more specific questions for your interview could include professional development, special programing or services highlighted on the website or by the interviewers, service offerings, instruction, billing, databases or programing, and clarification of duties. Get Hired Now provides the following assertion about questions:
“When you ask discerning questions, you find the interview becomes more of a discussion and less of an interrogation. You will learn more and also have more of a chance to show the interviewer who you are.”
Asking questions is an excellent way to start a comfortable dialogue, but also remember to listen to the answer provided. It is very obvious to hiring managers when candidates ask questions because they think that they should and not because they are actually interested in the answer.
Post-Interview Follow-Up
When the onsite interview is over, there is still work to be done. My first boss during an internship shared with me an important piece of advice: “Law library land is a small world. Remember to mind your Ps and Qs.” Simply put, do not talk smack about the place you just interviewed at or the librarians who work there. Do not post information about your interview or interviewers on social networks. Always follow up with any information or citations that you discussed and said you would share. Send a thank you note or email that addresses specific conversations or moments from the interview, and highlight why you are the strongest candidate for the position.
Post-interview, the interviewer also has some work to do. In the book Practical Help for New Supervisors, Joan Giesecke provides the following recommendations for after the interview: Take time to digest the onsite experience; review the position description, notes taken during the entire process, and candidates application packet; then analyze the entire experience, not just the first impression; and make your decision.
Finally, based on comments from survey participants as well as informal conversations with several library directors, a common frustration among interviewees is not receiving any notification when they were not selected for a position. Many stated a simple letter or email telling them they did not receive the position would suffice.
So, as you go for your next lateral or promotion job, don’t forget to do your homework on the library and institution, be true to yourself at the interview, and follow up with appropriate information and thank-you emails.
~Kathleen (Katie) Brown~
This article was featured in the March 2014 issue of the AALL Spectrum, the official magazine of the American Association of Law Libraries.
