Published: February 28, 2019 by Havilah Steinman

On February 6, Jill Klees, iSchool student and alumni career consultant, hosted an online career workshop titled, “Your LIS Career Starts Here!” The workshop was full of excellent information nuggets for career-oriented students here at the iSchool. I’m excited to share some of them with you today.

We’re quite fortunate here at the iSchool because it’s the first program of its kind to provide customized career resources for students. From career direction to interviewing, Klees has you covered!

I’d like to share an encouraging note from Klees: “I am here to work with you now while you are a student and after you graduate when you’re an alum. You have access to career coaching for a long time!” After touring the robust Career Development page with attendees, Klees shared what she refers to as her “nuggets” that many students don’t know about even after spending time with the resources.

The first of these nuggets is the Self Assessment tool, which is located directly under the Career Direction tab. Many students, including myself, begin the program with a vague idea of what they’d like to do after graduation. The tool is an excellent place to begin to pinpoint which jobs you should be applying for. The process of taking the assessment is intuitive and begins with asking what functions you enjoy while working, then the ideal relationship you’ll have with the people around you in that job, and lastly what kind of setting you picture yourself in.

Klees also pointed attendees to the iSchool Career blog, which can be accessed from the main hamburger menu under the News and Events tab, within the blogs section. The Career blog has recently been taken over by iSchool student Greta Synder, who is in her final semester before graduation. The blog covers similar concepts presented in this workshop, but from the perspective of a student! 

Informational Interviewing is another excellent opportunity for students to learn more about areas of the librarianship industry they are interested in. This page can be found under the Networking tab, and if you’re not sure what questions to ask during your informational interview, the Career Resources section has a page full of ideas for you, entitled Interview Questions to Ask.

Another nugget Klees brought up that I had actually not heard about before is the Career e-Portfolio. Students working toward their MLIS will complete an e-Portfolio or a thesis. The Career e-Portfolio is an option as a culminating graduation project, but can also serve as an excellent way to market yourself to employers. If you have a very clear sense of the type of roles you are hoping to apply for, going through the process of a Career e-Portfolio might be for you!

Klees also encouraged students to email their resumes to her for review. She can offer her support and feedback regardless of where you are in the journey of picking the right career pathway for you. Her email address is jill.klees@sjsu.edu and she asks that students expect up to seven business days to hear back.

Lastly, I’d like to let you know that this workshop and all of the previous workshops Klees has hosted are recorded and available on the Online Career Workshops page, located under the Career Development menu. And there you have it — check out some of our previous blogs about career resources!