Oh, Well

It's official - I didn't get the Director's job. Which is really no surprise, but I was a bit surprised that I didn't even make the cut for a second interview. Now that all is (pretty much) said and done, I am glad that I interviewed, and I'm proud of the interview that I gave. And while I am sure that my lack of "library" administrative experience (but certainly not administrative experience in general) was a legitimate factor, there's probably more going on than that.

In the meantime, I have also interviewed for another position at a local library; I have no idea what to expect there. I am quickly learning that I cannot trust my instincts on how well I thought I did in an interview - to date, I have not gotten jobs when I thought I had done well in the interview, and I got my current job when I don't think I have ever had such a lackluster (not to mention SHORT) interview performance. So, your guess is as good as mine.

To be honest, I am still bumming over the fact that I didn't get the university job I interviewed for back in February. That job was the job of my dreams. While I have enjoyed my public library job, being in an academic setting, and getting the opportunity to do instruction as well as reference, is what I really would like to be doing. This university offered the best combination for me - a university in a small-ish seaside community (as I have little interest in city-living) that is still large enough to have been able to offer me a challenging position (as well as the opportunity to get my PhD in my "spare time").

In the past three years, there have been only a handful of full-time reference positions advertised in my state - and breaking into the academic world is nearly impossible. Most of those positions are filled from within - I have heard of several jobs that have been available after the fact, when someone else has been moved into the position from another department. And in the public library realm, reference positions are also few and far between.

I'm starting to freak out; if I don't get this other job, I will join Walt Crawford in the ranks of the unemployed come September, as it is time for me to move on from my current position (and that may mean moving on to a job at Target, where I could at least get full-time hours).

Um, who was it that told me I'd have "no problem" getting a job after library school?