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Managing Your Career in a Negative Environment – Library Worklife:

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This article is from the February 2013 issue.

By Mandy R. Simon

Many of the colleagues I’ve spoken to lately have alluded to having a similar problem in their work environments, regardless of organizational size or type: rampant negativity from co-workers. Workplace negativity is insidious and can feel downright inescapable. As the old-timey educational movie reels explain about tooth decay and drug addiction, negativity can seep into an organization unannounced and threaten to discourage even the most motivated and enthusiastic leaders. How does one manage their career in such a climate? Here are some tips I’ve found useful for staying buoyant in a pessimistic sea.

Maintain organizational awareness and self-awareness.
Buy into the vision and mission of your organization. Then ask yourself, where do you fit? Take a self-inventory of what is within and outside of your control. Where can you positively contribute and what skills do you have that can positively influence others (who may also be feeling the ill-effects of a negative environment)? Focus on the things you can change and improve. Go where you can do your best work. Pay attention to your co-workers. Encourage those who are working towards their own goals. Praise them on projects they initiate and effort they’re putting forth. They may not be getting recognition for their efforts, either. If you see someone doing a good job, acknowledge it. Encouragement isn’t reserved for managers and supervisors.

Find a friend.
Find a supportive friend with whom you can commiserate and allow yourself a certain amount of time to complain. Then, stop. Each of you is responsible to pull the other out of the negativity drain. Make a commitment to acknowledge when enough-is-enough and the conversation needs to turn around. Periodically remind each other about the organization’s mission. Get to know each other’s career aspirations so you can remain on the lookout for opportunities as they arise and seem to fit each other’s professional goals. Be a cheerleader for this person and vouch for their competencies and successes when you can. Read more…

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Essential Soft Skills | Office Hours

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By on February 20, 2013 3 Comments

Are we preparing graduates for the information workplace? That’s a question I recently considered while reading Paul Fain’s article “Grading Personal Responsibility” in Inside Higher Ed (12/13/12). He describes a new initiative at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, NC, emphasizing as part of the curriculum “soft skills,” including personal responsibility, interdependence, and emotional intelligence.

These are important concepts to consider, and I wonder just how much emphasis is placed on these types of skills as students move through our programs. Are LIS grads as work-ready as they could be? Are there some soft skills particularly necessary in information ­professions?

Consider the following soft skills essential for our libraries and information centers.

Communication

A given, right? It should be a tremendous concern if a student is graduating without experience communicating via the written word, as a participant in a conversation or group meeting, as a presenter in front of groups, and online within various interactive channels. Clear, concise writing no matter what the format—memo, proposal, brief, email, blog post, Facebook posting, Tweet—is paramount. A focus on literacy, in every sense of the word, should be crucial as students move toward their degree.

Initiative

I would also stress the willingness to speak up and be heard. New librarians are often too silent. Of course, they shouldn’t be annoying or act as know-it-alls—those traits are career killers—but they should be willing to submit ideas up the chain, talk to higher-level administrators when they can, and use their communication skills to make themselves heard, recognized, and appreciated. They should join teams, even during probationary periods, and submit ideas for efficiencies and improvements. With money tight and staff limited, any good administrator is going to welcome this type of new librarian.

We don’t have the luxury to have new hires wait for detailed step-by-step assignments or direction. Librarians should take their projects and run with them and have the support of their administration to do so. Is the student who asks multiple questions about every detail of an assignment destined to be the hesitant micromanager hooked on having meetings with little tangible outcomes? Read more…

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The World’s Best Career Development Tool You’re Not Using (Yet) | The Savvy Intern by YouTern

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The World’s Best Career Development Tool You’re Not Using (Yet) | The Savvy Intern by YouTern.

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Lea McLeod

Google alertsThe other day a client was asking me how to keep in touch with networking contacts after they’ve had that initial conversation. For me, this was an opportunity to talk about one of my favorite career tools: Google Alerts.

The tool is legendary for its use in the job search; tomes have been written about that… yet remains largely underutilized.

And I don’t get it! For building your network, building relationships and deepening expertise in your field: Google Alerts is an amazing career resource.

Google Alerts, in their simplest form, are free alerts you subscribe to that provide fresh content and updates on the topics you are most interested in. The updates are sent to your email Inbox, smartphone or services such as Google Reader.

Here are a dozen ways you can use Google Alerts to help you manage your career in the short term, and for the long run:

1. Manage Your Online Reputation

Set a Google Alert for yourself, as well as your Twitter handle and any side gigs, and see what news shows up about you online. Read more…

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Mind Blown: Time to Re-think Happiness vs. Success [Infographic] | The Savvy Intern by YouTern

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Mind Blown: Time to Re-think Happiness vs. Success [Infographic] | The Savvy Intern by YouTern.

Mind Blown: Time to Re-think Happiness vs. Success [Infographic]

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Bryce Christiansen

How often have you felt beat up at work?

You just met your sales goal… so now they doubled your quota. You got passed over for promotion in favor of the CEO’s best friend from college.

You really don’t want to go to work today, and your stomach does feel a little icky, so you take a sick day. You feel unsuccessful; in return… you’re unhappy.

What if we have this backwards? What if I could show you the true secret to better work?

Well here you go… Today we present a special infographic from our friends at Careertopia, based on Shawn Achor’s book, The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work:

Apply Yourself : Hack Library School Blog

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Joanna June's avatarHLS

When I tell people what I am doing in Florence, Italy for a year, I am invariably asked one question: “How did you land such a position?!” To which I smile broadly, often chuckle a little and answer simply and honestly: “I applied.” This, my LIS, MLIS and MSIT friends is one of my best hacks for library school and life.

“80% of success is showing up.” – Woody Allen

You have to show up. For most positions and roles that you want to land, that means tossing your hat in the ring with an application.

If you have been following HLS’s new series “So What Do You Do?” you have heard about a number of great internships and programs to round out your LIS education. In none of them (at least so far) does the hacker say: well I was just standing around on a street corner and someone…

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