Career Blog: Skills
What Else to do While Job Hunting
Published: May 23, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
For some, job hunting can be a full-time job in itself. While there are dozens of library-specific search sites that can help make your search more effective, there is no set timeline for finding a job in the information space. Whether your search takes days or months, it’s important to keep up the momentum and remind yourself why you want to work in a library or archive. Whether you have work experience in information science or not, using the gap-time in your job search can be a great opportunity for honing your skills.
Learning the Art of the Interview with Big Interview
Published: May 5, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
An interview can be intimidating, whether it’s in-person, over the phone, or held as a video call. The only true way to improve interviewing skills is through practice, but if you are not in the active job search process it can be hard to find scenarios in which to do that. This is where Big Interview comes in.
How to be a Library Advocate
Published: April 22, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
Being a library advocate is not only a job responsibility for anyone working in the information science profession, but an opportunity to showcase your personal values surrounding equitable information access. Whether as a student or a recent graduate, it’s important to take your role as a library advocate seriously.
Finding a Job in Archives and Preservation
Published: March 14, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
The Archives & Preservation pathway is one of the most popular career pathways at the SJSU iSchool and more than 300 students are members of the Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists. Yet how common are Archivist jobs, really? Let’s explore the current hiring landscape to learn more about the nuances of finding work in the Archives field.
Building Your Library Resume
Published: February 28, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
An updated resume is arguably the most important aspect of your job search process. Regardless of the information science sector you choose to work in, you will be asked to provide an updated resume. But what exactly should you include in a resume for a library-specific position?
So You’re Graduating in May, Now What?
Published: January 15, 2025 by Aryn Prestia
It can be exciting to enter your final semester in the MLIS program. Whether that effort has been months or years in the making, you are now ready to demonstrate the culmination of your hard work in your e-portfolio and a degree that will lead you to a new career.
Getting that First Library Experience
Published: December 4, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
If you have started the job search, you’ve likely noticed that a majority of the postings indicate that experience is required. In fact, the most recent MLIS Skills at Work Report disclosed that 88% of job announcements include the stipulation that experience is required or preferred.
But what do you do if you’ve devoted yourself to your MLIS degree full-time and have no library experience? In this post, we’ll be looking into how you gain library experience when you have none.
Choosing Medical Librarianship
Published: November 20, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
Interested in becoming a medical librarian? The SLASC recently
hosted a Q&A Panel featuring medical librarians from Stanford
and UC San Francisco. While you can watch the full panel
here, you can find some of the panel’s top tips
below.
What Do You Want to Do with Your Information Skills?
Your Interview Outfit: What to Consider
Published: October 16, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
When preparing for an interview, it’s common to brush up on potential interview questions but it’s also important to consider how you will present yourself to a potential employer. A huge part of your first impression relates to what you are wearing.
Airtable for Librarians
Published: October 9, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
Project Management is one of many job skills that librarians will
find themselves using in the workplace. Though there are courses that students can take to
understand a bit more about the project management process,
ultimately the best way to learn project management is through
practice.
Coursera Career Academy for iSchool Students
Published: September 25, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
Being an MLIS student at SJSU comes with so many incredible
benefits. You have access to dozens of
specialized courses, fourteen active student
groups, scholarship programs, and
internship opportunities, all
of which can be accessed virtually to help you stay involved
no matter where you live. Adding to this slate of virtual
benefits is the Coursera
Career Academy, a free continuing education program for all
students.
Transitioning from a Library Assistant to a Librarian Job
Published: September 18, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
A majority of students in
the MLIS program here at the iSchool are already working in
library environments. Yet without an MLIS degree, the only
positions available to students are typically Library Assistant,
Circulation Aide, or Library Page. As you get closer to
graduation and begin thinking about the next step in your career,
what does it mean to take that jump from assistant/aide/page to
librarian?
How to Tailor a Resume Using AI
Published: July 24, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
AI Chatbots like ChatGPT are one of the most accessible avenues
to Artificial Intelligence for students. Not only is it fun to
play around with new technology, but it can actually be
beneficial to the job search as well. In this post, we’ll be
taking a look at how AI chatbots can be useful while crafting
resumes.
Review Your MLIS Skills at Work
Published: June 18, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
For several years, the research-heavy MLIS Skills at Work report has been compiled by the Career Services department at the iSchool. The 2024 edition of this highly respected annual report for library job seekers nationwide is now available to help you get a jump on your career exploration!
Brush Up on Reader’s Advisory Skills
Published: May 24, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
While you do not have to be an avid reader to be a successful
librarian, it certainly helps. One of the most in-demand skills
for librarians according to SJSU’s MLIS Skills at Work
Report is reader’s advisory.
No Creative Skills? Canva can help with that!
Published: April 11, 2024 by Aryn Prestia
Librarians often find themselves embracing a range of duties on
the job – a customer service specialist at the circulation desk,
a researcher at the reference desk, a sort-of referee in the
children’s section, and an all-around marketer and library
advocate at all other times.
Makerspace Librarianship
You Can Do It Your Shelf
Published: August 15th, 2023 by Hannah Nguyen
Makerspaces have become a staple in many libraries around the
country, and it’s easy to see why they are a match made in
heaven. These collaborative spaces offer equipment, software, or
supplies to help patrons create and innovate. Ideally, they are
designed to reflect what their community wants, which means that
no two makerspaces are alike. They can house anything from arts
and crafts supplies to 3d printers, to a podcast studio. Patrons
might use them to create physical objects, play music, or design
a virtual reality room. Here are some tips for those interested
in pursuing makerspace librarianship.
Should Librarians Be Worried About Artificial Intelligence?
Published: May 29, 2023 by Hannah Nguyen
As new technology emerges, there is often a discussion about how
librarian’s roles will change in relation to it. This
conversation has become especially relevant with the introduction
of new artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These innovations are
certainly going to affect America’s workforce, and librarians are
no exception to this. But what are the opportunities and risks?
Should we be worried?
Four Reasons to Join Student Leadership
Published: April 30, 2023 by Hannah Nguyen
There are ten student groups offered at
the iSchool that offer a wide range of benefits to enrich
your educational experience. Several of these groups are
associated with larger professional associations (such as
ALA,
ASIS&T,
SLA, and
SAASC),
and others have been created at the iSchool as a reflection of
student interests. You may be familiar with many of them from
emails advertising free panels, student mixers, or webinars. If
you have ever considered joining student leadership in one of
these groups, many of them are actively recruiting for the
upcoming academic year. Here’s why you should consider nominating
yourself to be a student leader: