Kick Start Your Career Search Strategy! by Rebecca Walden

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No doubt you’ve heard before that the library is an invaluable asset for those either in or considering career transition. And while the same core services – assistance with resume development, company research and mock interviews – are widely available all across the country, libraries are also quickly developing more sophisticated programs to aid an increasingly savvy job-searching public.

Following Your Bliss

So you’re at a career crossroads. Now what? Do a little blue sky thinking, and tap into the local library while you’re at it. When you’re in an unfulfilling work situation, or without work, the temptation to take “just any job” is strong, driven by necessity. Even under such circumstances, taking time to explore your strengths can pay off professional dividends.

“The job coaches with BrainFuse JobNow can help people understand what it is they really enjoy doing, and identify a career path that coincides with what they like to do,” says Nancy Schram, Library Division Manager, Thousand Oaks Library. “For example, a library patron [of ours] recently reported to library staff that he was feeling a bit lost after graduating from the local college in this difficult job market. But, after doing some research here and discovering career opportunities online, he found a job as a paramedic and loves it! He told staff that he never would have considered this career path for himself if it hadn’t been for his research at the public library.”

Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Even for seasoned job searchers, the entire process of the job hunt is often fraught with bouts of isolation and frustration. Enter the career coach. These job strategists, whose services are typically otherwise available for fee, are accessible to you for not one penny, thanks to the library.

Providing just the right mix of mentoring, encouragement and reality check advice, career coaches as a collective are one of the most powerful tools you should consider adding to your job search arsenal. The best ones have spent their careers on many sides of the job search process. Lisa Chenofsky-Singer is a great example of this, and the patrons who attended her workshops at Somerset and Morris County Libraries in New Jersey are just a few of the beneficiaries of her straightforward career advice.

“I’ve done executive and leadership coaching, HR compensation and benefits and HR generalist work. I’ve run recruiting teams, I’ve been through re-sizings, both up and down, mergers and acquisitions, and I’ve done work in executive outplacement. I’ve truly been on all sides of the table when it comes to the job search.”

Having evaluated more than her fair share of talented job candidates, and even having had the experience of reinventing her own career, Lisa is clearly passionate about helping others navigate their most efficient path to professional success.

“I want them to use my expertise to help them develop their strategy, not to do the tactical research they can do on their own,” she says. “I give classes on attitude, where we really focus on timing. You don’t need to step into that job search circle until you are fully prepared and ready. I cover HR from the inside out. We talk about what an HR team looks for, why it’s so important to have a network into the companies you’re interested in and how to most efficiently mine the data to get the information you need.”

She adds, “I learn so much from reference librarians. During my seminars, they will jump in and mention tools that are available. I don’t know about everything that is out there because things are constantly changing.”

Investing in Human Capital

As many social psychologists have noted, social media, for all its benefits, is also derailing our social graces. So every now and then, take a break from your online networking efforts and get to know folks the old fashioned way. Your library offers countless opportunities.

At North Castle Library in Armonk, New York, library visitors recently gathered to hear career/life and business development coach Marcia Grubel.

“These people are looking at how to approach their job search differently with new ideas and a fresh mindset,” she says. “When people come together with the benefit of a trained counselor, they are very generous in sharing their experiences, offer helpful information and are very supportive of one another because the trust level is heightened. While online social networking is an excellent way to connect, it does not replace the need for people to have in person collaboration for what can be a very isolated task of finding a new job and or new direction for their lives.”

In an example of social networking helping one of her clients, Grubel shares the following success story: “A client who was in the security business wanted to transition into journalism where he would work in high-risk environments such as war zones. He started taking writing courses online. He started developing his connections in the security business to build a network of contacts. Then, he started writing articles for online publications and he got exposure and experience.” 

You most certainly don’t have to go it alone. Head to your library today and kick that job search strategy into high gear.

Resources List

The career fitness program: exercising your options by Diane Sukiennik, Lisa Raufman and William Bendat

What color is your parachute? : a practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers by Richard Nelson Bolles

Working identity : unconventional strategies for reinventing your career by Herminia Ibarra

The boomers' career survival guide : achieving success and contentment from middle age through retirement by Ken Tanner

The start-up of you by Reid Hoffman; Ben Casnocha

Photo credit: "Jumping  leap or leaping jump" by Mike-Lee

Rebecca Walden

Rebecca Walden is a Birmingham, Ala.-based freelance writer. She has more than a decade of experience in information services, during which time she has worked with all types of libraries throughout the United States.