I recently attended a course entitled "Marketing Yourself" run by Erica Sosna from The Life Project. It was designed to enable library staff to identify their skills and talents and explore different career opportunities in the light of these skills and talents.
Hmm, I thought, I'm looking for ways to make myself stand out in job applications and interviews. Maybe this course will give me some tips!
So I got the train to London and found room G15 at Birkbeck College (not easy when you're not familiar with Bloomsbury and there are numerous workmen digging holes in the road). Unsurprisingly, as the event was organised by the M25 consortium of academic libraries, all the other participants were from London. And what a mixed bunch they were! Half a dozen from the LSE, who are all leaving at the end of the year due to voluntary severance; a couple from Imperial College and University of Westminster; the rest from West London, University of the Arts and King's College.
So little old me, from Cambridge, out on a limb, wondering what to make of it all. Will the event be London-centric, due to the participants themselves and the location? Will they be brash, confident, go-getting librarians? Will they be quiet, unassuming and sheep-like? Will the focus be on library jobs in the academic sector, or just jobs of any kind? Will there be a nice lunch?
Well, the participants seemed nice enough, though on the whole they were a bit on the quiet side. On reflection, this may be because they didn't know what to make of it all either!
The course comprised several practical discussions about which skills each participant had, and how the skills could be used in different scenarios. We discussed how personality types affect these skills and how you use them, taking inspiration from the Jungian archetypes test and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment.
From this discussion, it was discovered that the majority of the people in the room were Idealists closely followed by the Rationalists. These types were predominant in libraries due to Rationalists being good with systems and Idealists being good with people. Some participants were Artisans, those who create, others were Guardians, the managers who like to organise and get stuff done. It turns out that I'm one of the latter (not a great surprise really), with a bit of the Artisan (which explains my creative side).
Some people claimed an affinity with aspects of all personality types, and couldn't fix on a definite archetype. Perhaps there was an element of selectivity in their responses. After all, some of the attributes are less than positive, and we none of us like to admit that an unappealing trait is part of our character.
The purpose of this discussion was to highlight that different personalities are suited to different jobs and working environments, and understanding your type helps you to understand your personal skills. It also helps you to understand why you react in certain ways to different situations. It certainly made me have greater awareness of how I am perceived by other people.
Creative Combining helped us to see our skills in a new light, and to think about using these skills outside the world of academic libraries. We had to define different skills we felt we had, then our interests or passions, then decide what the world really needs. The resulting concepts could then be combined to create a brief job description, for example:
Listening + social history + collaboration = Social Historian / Museum Curator / Archivist
Attention to detail + music + compassion = Music Therapist / Composer / Radio Presenter
A discussion about applying for jobs followed, in which it was highlighted that each job you apply for should contain at least 50% of the things you’re really good at, and 80% of the things you really want. We were also encouraged to think of different examples where we have used our skills (not always in a work scenario) that we could use at interview to support our application form or CV. We were also encouraged to think about our own essential criteria when looking for new careers, as it is important to apply for a job you really want to do!
Even though I had recently updated my CV, so theoretically I knew what my skills were, I still found it hard to separate generic skills from library-specific skills. Erica had said earlier in the session that we had all become institutionalised, and found it difficult to comprehend the differences between Universities and other sectors, both in terms of applying for jobs, the kind of jobs available, and the different working environments in other sectors. I tend to agree that those of us who have worked in the academic sector for a while become so unfamiliar with the wider world that we only look at jobs with similar employers - I know I do!
The end of the session involved considering career goals, action plans and vision statements as tools for focusing the mind on what you want and when you want it. Overall it was a useful day, and although I don’t think I learned anything new, it has encouraged me to look at my skills in a different way, and update my CV to better reflect the experiences I have gained both at work and in my studies. I have now updated my LinkedIn profile to include absolutely everything I am good at, not just my library-related skills.
I have also started considering how I can use my talents in other sectors and business areas. Do I have to continue working in libraries? Can I sidestep into IT? Are there opportunities in the media? We'll have to wait and see.
Hmm, I thought, I'm looking for ways to make myself stand out in job applications and interviews. Maybe this course will give me some tips!
So I got the train to London and found room G15 at Birkbeck College (not easy when you're not familiar with Bloomsbury and there are numerous workmen digging holes in the road). Unsurprisingly, as the event was organised by the M25 consortium of academic libraries, all the other participants were from London. And what a mixed bunch they were! Half a dozen from the LSE, who are all leaving at the end of the year due to voluntary severance; a couple from Imperial College and University of Westminster; the rest from West London, University of the Arts and King's College.
So little old me, from Cambridge, out on a limb, wondering what to make of it all. Will the event be London-centric, due to the participants themselves and the location? Will they be brash, confident, go-getting librarians? Will they be quiet, unassuming and sheep-like? Will the focus be on library jobs in the academic sector, or just jobs of any kind? Will there be a nice lunch?
Well, the participants seemed nice enough, though on the whole they were a bit on the quiet side. On reflection, this may be because they didn't know what to make of it all either!
The course comprised several practical discussions about which skills each participant had, and how the skills could be used in different scenarios. We discussed how personality types affect these skills and how you use them, taking inspiration from the Jungian archetypes test and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment.
From this discussion, it was discovered that the majority of the people in the room were Idealists closely followed by the Rationalists. These types were predominant in libraries due to Rationalists being good with systems and Idealists being good with people. Some participants were Artisans, those who create, others were Guardians, the managers who like to organise and get stuff done. It turns out that I'm one of the latter (not a great surprise really), with a bit of the Artisan (which explains my creative side).
Some people claimed an affinity with aspects of all personality types, and couldn't fix on a definite archetype. Perhaps there was an element of selectivity in their responses. After all, some of the attributes are less than positive, and we none of us like to admit that an unappealing trait is part of our character.
The purpose of this discussion was to highlight that different personalities are suited to different jobs and working environments, and understanding your type helps you to understand your personal skills. It also helps you to understand why you react in certain ways to different situations. It certainly made me have greater awareness of how I am perceived by other people.
Creative Combining helped us to see our skills in a new light, and to think about using these skills outside the world of academic libraries. We had to define different skills we felt we had, then our interests or passions, then decide what the world really needs. The resulting concepts could then be combined to create a brief job description, for example:
Listening + social history + collaboration = Social Historian / Museum Curator / Archivist
Attention to detail + music + compassion = Music Therapist / Composer / Radio Presenter
A discussion about applying for jobs followed, in which it was highlighted that each job you apply for should contain at least 50% of the things you’re really good at, and 80% of the things you really want. We were also encouraged to think of different examples where we have used our skills (not always in a work scenario) that we could use at interview to support our application form or CV. We were also encouraged to think about our own essential criteria when looking for new careers, as it is important to apply for a job you really want to do!
Even though I had recently updated my CV, so theoretically I knew what my skills were, I still found it hard to separate generic skills from library-specific skills. Erica had said earlier in the session that we had all become institutionalised, and found it difficult to comprehend the differences between Universities and other sectors, both in terms of applying for jobs, the kind of jobs available, and the different working environments in other sectors. I tend to agree that those of us who have worked in the academic sector for a while become so unfamiliar with the wider world that we only look at jobs with similar employers - I know I do!
The end of the session involved considering career goals, action plans and vision statements as tools for focusing the mind on what you want and when you want it. Overall it was a useful day, and although I don’t think I learned anything new, it has encouraged me to look at my skills in a different way, and update my CV to better reflect the experiences I have gained both at work and in my studies. I have now updated my LinkedIn profile to include absolutely everything I am good at, not just my library-related skills.
I have also started considering how I can use my talents in other sectors and business areas. Do I have to continue working in libraries? Can I sidestep into IT? Are there opportunities in the media? We'll have to wait and see.
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