What I’m reading at work at the moment: job applications.
I wish it was easier to tell what a person’s really like, from their written application and interview. This is so, so true:
I hire people for two reasons — and this is true — I hire people if they’re enthusiastic and if they’re nice. And to me nothing else matters… If they have those two things, we can teach ’em.
Bobby Flay, at Learning2007 Conference. (As cited by Peter Bromberg on Library Garden.)
And it’s probably just me being churlish, but writing that you “love reading” is actually not a positive when you’re applying for a job in a library. I read your application, and I think: “Hmmph. I hope you realise you won’t have time to read while you’re at work.” (The moral of the story: read the job ad and the job description, then write your application accordingly.)
2 Comments
A love of reading is nice but not so relevant working in an academic library – more relevant for a public library perhaps. What is nice to find is a good general knowledge, reliability, a willingness to learn, good people skills and being able to use your initiative. Well that’s my opinion anyhow!
I’m assuming these are library assistant level jobs… anything higher requires a lot more 😉
I suspect this is very common in many areas. Especially in the entertainment industry. I have heard several people in the computer games industry express that applicants need to like playing games, AND be passionate about MAKING them. Alternatively, imagine if actors were hired based on the number of movies/plays they had seen.