I want to start with an apology - this post contains far too much psycho-analysis. You have been warned!
Earlier this summer for the first time since I started my current job (nearly three years ago) I asked to attend an event. It was part of the cpd25 programme and the topic was closely linked to the work I do supporting a subject team (I reflected on the event itself for Thing 5). It had taken me a while to build up the confidence to ask my line manager for permission to go, this was because of several reasons particularly the issues of cost, being allowed to take the time off work to attend and also at the time I (wrongly) thought events such as these were for other people i.e. those on a higher grade than myself. However despite these reservations my line manager agreed that I could go. I discovered that attending events outside your normal place of work can allow you to take a step back, review current practices and give you new ideas to try no matter what grade you happen to be on! Taking this first small step was important; looking back I feel more confident in taking control of my professional development and will keep an eye out for programmes of events to be held this Autumn.
I am not a good presenter. I have had a fear of standing up in front of groups of people for as long as I can remember; and I have had my fair share of traumatic experiences at school having to do presentations in front of the rest of the class. Colleagues have tried to allay these fears by saying it gets easier the more you do it but I just don't believe them. I find myself asking is it really worth feeling so nervous that you don't want to go to work? Thankfully due to my grade I don't have to give induction talks to the groups of 200 business students in lecture theatres as the colleagues in my team will have to do very soon. I have had opportunities to take part in delivering presentations to groups of secondary school children about what it is like to go to university but I shamefully turned these down. I know that in the long-run this is something that will hold me back in my career, but I also know it is better to be honest with myself about my limitations and be happy doing a job I love rather than having one where I dread going to work because I have a presentation to give.
However what I lack in terms of presenting skills I make up for in my organisational and written communication skills. (Yes I'm one of those people who everyone hates: organised, tidy and always on time for everything). I have had comments from people who have said to me I am in the wrong profession and that I could instead be earning a lot more money by putting my skills to use being a PA to some chief exec/managing director etc. I think I have always been an organised/methodical type of person; I like writing to-do lists and planning my week in advance. I think this relates to the fact that I like to be in control of what I'm doing and so being super-organised helps with this. I definitely feel I could offer my skills to help organise a professional event or by volunteering on a committee; I shall endeavor to investigate some possible ways of becoming more involved in my chosen profession.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Monday 15 August 2011
Things 11 & 12
Thing 11: Mentoring
After reading the 23 Things blog post about mentoring I am seriously considering finding a mentor, particularly as I have set myself the task of finding a professional post. So guidance about CV writing / interview technique etc would be very useful from someone who is further on than me in their career. However I'm not sure who to approach so some serious thinking is required!
Thing 12: Social Media
(also incorporating Thing 6 as I know I didn't blog about this at the time)
I am going to reflect on how successful/unsuccessful I have been in using the social media tools covered so far.
Blogging: I set up my blog when I started 23 Things so I still feel like a newbie! I must try harder to blog about more 'personal' things and build up the confidence to write about my own perspectives on library issues. Blogging about professional things like the new tools I have been trying out has been a great way to come up with material for my posts, but we are half-way through the 'things' now and I am slightly worried about what I will write about when the programme has finished! Success rating: 6/10
Facebook and LISNPN: I was already a member of Facebook and LISNPN before I started 23 Things. I have been a member of Facebook for several years and I use it for keeping in contact with friends; changing my status quite frequently now I have a smart phone. I consider Facebook as my 'personal' space as I don't think many of my friends would be interested in discussing library issues on there! I joined LISNPN about a year ago but after my initial interest I am ashamed to say I have not visited it since. Action: re-visit LISNPN: update my profile and take a look at the forums and resources. Success rating: 10/10 for Facebook (feeling generous) and 2/10 for LISNPN (I hang my head in shame).
LinkedIn: I have joined and added some very basic information. This professional network is definitely something I am interested in exploring further. However I think I will want to spend a lot more time on it to get any benefit out of it (for example creating and updating my CV). Unfortunately I don't have much time at the moment so it will have to wait for a few weeks when when I can concentrate on perfecting my professional profile :) I wonder if people put a link to their LinkedIn profile on job applications? Success rating: 2/10
Twitter: I am hoping this will become a mix of professional/personal. I have tweeted a few times and I am slowly building up followers and making sense of the interface. I might set myself a target of tweeting at least once a day - this will make tweeting part of my daily routine plus encourage me to regularly read other tweets in order to pick up on wider library issues. I shall let you know how this goes! Success rating: 5/10 (could do much better).
After reading the 23 Things blog post about mentoring I am seriously considering finding a mentor, particularly as I have set myself the task of finding a professional post. So guidance about CV writing / interview technique etc would be very useful from someone who is further on than me in their career. However I'm not sure who to approach so some serious thinking is required!
Thing 12: Social Media
(also incorporating Thing 6 as I know I didn't blog about this at the time)
I am going to reflect on how successful/unsuccessful I have been in using the social media tools covered so far.
Blogging: I set up my blog when I started 23 Things so I still feel like a newbie! I must try harder to blog about more 'personal' things and build up the confidence to write about my own perspectives on library issues. Blogging about professional things like the new tools I have been trying out has been a great way to come up with material for my posts, but we are half-way through the 'things' now and I am slightly worried about what I will write about when the programme has finished! Success rating: 6/10
Facebook and LISNPN: I was already a member of Facebook and LISNPN before I started 23 Things. I have been a member of Facebook for several years and I use it for keeping in contact with friends; changing my status quite frequently now I have a smart phone. I consider Facebook as my 'personal' space as I don't think many of my friends would be interested in discussing library issues on there! I joined LISNPN about a year ago but after my initial interest I am ashamed to say I have not visited it since. Action: re-visit LISNPN: update my profile and take a look at the forums and resources. Success rating: 10/10 for Facebook (feeling generous) and 2/10 for LISNPN (I hang my head in shame).
LinkedIn: I have joined and added some very basic information. This professional network is definitely something I am interested in exploring further. However I think I will want to spend a lot more time on it to get any benefit out of it (for example creating and updating my CV). Unfortunately I don't have much time at the moment so it will have to wait for a few weeks when when I can concentrate on perfecting my professional profile :) I wonder if people put a link to their LinkedIn profile on job applications? Success rating: 2/10
Twitter: I am hoping this will become a mix of professional/personal. I have tweeted a few times and I am slowly building up followers and making sense of the interface. I might set myself a target of tweeting at least once a day - this will make tweeting part of my daily routine plus encourage me to regularly read other tweets in order to pick up on wider library issues. I shall let you know how this goes! Success rating: 5/10 (could do much better).
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Thing 10: I never knew I always wanted to be a librarian
This week's 'Thing' sounds like a good excuse for everyone to show off about their qualifications and experience!
I think very few people want to be a librarian from a young age; I certainly didn't, my only contact with libraries had been the public library as a child and with academic libraries at FE college and university. My route is probably pretty standard: when I finished my degree I didn't know what I wanted to do, however, when I had finally finished my dissertation and I was handing back my books I saw an advert asking for library assistants for the next academic year. I decided to apply with the thought that I could work there until I found something else. I had been there for about 8/9 months when I saw another library assistant job advertised in my home town at a college of further education. Thankfully I got the job and with the benefit of hindsight the decision to move back home and apply for this post was the best decision I ever made. I enjoyed this job so much that I started to seriously consider librarianship as a career; I was working as part of a small team of 7 and I therefore got to experience a wide range of duties: budget management, the selection of stock, cataloguing & classification, display work etc.
After I had been there a year I started the process of applying for a place on a full-time Masters course; I applied to City and UCL. I decided to accept the offer from UCL to do the MA in Library and Information Studies. I really enjoyed the year; it was an opportunity live in central London and I made some great friends.
I soon realised that I was going to need to supplement my career development loan and so I worked part-time as a senior library assistant for a university in central London. When I finished my Masters degree they were unable to offer me a full-time post (they were going through a period of re-structuring and all posts were frozen). The economic conditions in Sep 2008 meant that professional posts were virtually non-existent, however I needed a full-time job and I ended up taking an information assistant post (I moved internally after six months to one of their subject teams). Although I love my current job and have learnt so much about subject liaison work, I still feel I have taken a backward step in terms of my career.
Taking part in 23 things for CPD will hopefully act as a springboard to help me re-build my confidence by providing ways of reflecting on my skills and knowledge. This together with some hard work will at some point lead to a successful application for a professional post -fingers crossed!
I think very few people want to be a librarian from a young age; I certainly didn't, my only contact with libraries had been the public library as a child and with academic libraries at FE college and university. My route is probably pretty standard: when I finished my degree I didn't know what I wanted to do, however, when I had finally finished my dissertation and I was handing back my books I saw an advert asking for library assistants for the next academic year. I decided to apply with the thought that I could work there until I found something else. I had been there for about 8/9 months when I saw another library assistant job advertised in my home town at a college of further education. Thankfully I got the job and with the benefit of hindsight the decision to move back home and apply for this post was the best decision I ever made. I enjoyed this job so much that I started to seriously consider librarianship as a career; I was working as part of a small team of 7 and I therefore got to experience a wide range of duties: budget management, the selection of stock, cataloguing & classification, display work etc.
After I had been there a year I started the process of applying for a place on a full-time Masters course; I applied to City and UCL. I decided to accept the offer from UCL to do the MA in Library and Information Studies. I really enjoyed the year; it was an opportunity live in central London and I made some great friends.
I soon realised that I was going to need to supplement my career development loan and so I worked part-time as a senior library assistant for a university in central London. When I finished my Masters degree they were unable to offer me a full-time post (they were going through a period of re-structuring and all posts were frozen). The economic conditions in Sep 2008 meant that professional posts were virtually non-existent, however I needed a full-time job and I ended up taking an information assistant post (I moved internally after six months to one of their subject teams). Although I love my current job and have learnt so much about subject liaison work, I still feel I have taken a backward step in terms of my career.
Taking part in 23 things for CPD will hopefully act as a springboard to help me re-build my confidence by providing ways of reflecting on my skills and knowledge. This together with some hard work will at some point lead to a successful application for a professional post -fingers crossed!
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