de Stricker

Info Pros: Star Performers

In the spirit of the holiday season, I trust my readers will indulge me in some allegorical thinking about our profession:

Treated by dear and incredibly generous friends to a Canadian Tenors concert in Toronto (www.canadiantenors.com), I had the opportunity to watch at close range the intricate workings of the orchestra supporting those four magnificent singers: The musicians worked the piano, strings, and percussion - what an amazing array of drums, cymbals, hanging xylophones, rainstick type instruments, and other sound producing objects I don't know how to name! - with obvious engagement and enjoyment to organize and sequence thousands of individual notes into a harmonious, powerful, and sometimes surprising result. The light manager provided a splendid visual complement to the music, and the copious amounts of water vapor released into the concert hall lent a touch of magic. Each song performed reached back through decades or centuries to revered composers and was given life in the moment by the latest technology - in a manner uniquely suited to the occasion and the audience.

Giving thought to the vast planning and coordination required to produce an experience so clearly enjoyed by the sold-out house, it struck me: Isn't that what info pros do, too? Don't we, well, "orchestrate" myriad individual preparatory and immediate actions in order to "produce" the experience our audiences receive? Don't we collaborate within our organizations and across the profession to gain the skills to, well, "play those instruments with such perfect timing"? Don't we rely on the work done in decades and centuries before us and on the latest technology to meet our clients' unique needs? Don't we plan and organize so that the "star performers" - our users - get to deliver outstanding results?

As for the tenors - they, too, seemed like info pros to me - bringing to bear their education and talent on producing value. We're talking world class operatic stars … who related to the audience with humility, warm humor, and personable ease. In just that way I so often see information professionals being utterly modest and unassuming about their work, no matter how outstanding it is: Don't they deliver spectacular performances in the way they hit just the right notes when they do research or produce strategic plans (etc etc)?

Indeed we info pros do not perform in misty, colored lights on a background of exquisite music to deliver value to our clients. But in my humble opinion, we are pretty close.

Thank you for indulging me. Peace and Good Will on Earth this Solstice.

Influence ... Why Don't We Have More?

In late October 2011, I had the great honor - along with my colleague Connie Crosby - of being named Instructor of the Year at the iSchool Institute of the University of Toronto Faculty of Information (http://institute.ischool.utoronto.ca/). It has been my pleasure to teach in the program for years, and I look forward to doing so in the years to come. Nothing is as rewarding as seeing course participants realize how they can apply the course content to their own jobs; I teach each course in the hope of encouraging my professional peers to "go out there and make something happen". In other words, I like to think I make a difference.

Then, I came across a statement in an article by K. Matthew Dames in the November 2011 issue of Information Today (Intellectual Property - Libraries Encounter the Piracy Paradigm - www.infotoday.com/it/nov11/index.shtml). In it, he said "the library community … does not have the political influence to fundamentally change the conversation. The result is the nation's major political, economic, and legal stakeholders virtually ignore the library community."

Matthew Dames' article focused on copyright, but his direct statement about influence hit home. In a time when public libraries are shut down and corporations and government departments look to do without libraries, what influence do we librarians actually have?

In a recent item written for Information Today Europe - http://www.infotoday.eu/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=78092
- I commented on the 'new you' we all need to become. In my question "haven't we been polite about it long enough?" I was referring to the fact that we cannot afford to stay silent about the consequences of inadequate information behaviors. But Matthew Dames' comment shows my questions about information husbandry extend to society in general:

What influence do we have on public policy and funding for education, social and health services? Are the librarians - so very familiar with social and educational challenges - consulted when it comes to designing social programs? How can our knowledge be brought to bear on political will?

In the spirit of "isn't it time we moved from service to influence", I urge reflection … "how can I, as an information professional, make a positive difference in the legislation and practices of my society?".

Giving "Conference" a New Meaning - Library 2.011

With founding sponsorship from the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science, my esteemed colleagues Scott Brown and Kim Dority have spearheaded the world's first globally encompassing, entirely virtual, 48-hour FREE conference for information professionals - check out www.library20.com for all the details on the November 2-4 event. As of today, 160 sessions have been accepted - there's something for everyone!

I encourage my readers to browse the sessions and participate online … but there's more. The organizers are looking for our support; here are some ways you may offer it:

Volunteer to orchestrate one or more sessions:
http://www.library20.com/group/library2011conferencemoderatorvolunteers Why not take this opportunity to add a nugget to the resume that will prove your initiative and tech savvy (not to mention meeting colleagues all over the world)?

Bring your organization in as a partner: http://www.library20.com/page/conference-partners Show your support to the profession by having your library, school, association, or other entity be among the many partners already on board.

Spread the word: For their contribution to the library community, Scott and Kim deserve all the publicity they can possibly get for the conference. Make sure the people in your network know about this groundbreaking event - that's what our blogs and tweets are for. Here's a sample: "First ever global free online library conference Nov 2-4 at www.library20.com - be there!"

It was my honor to be invited to sit on international advisory board … join me in saluting Kim and Scott by helping them make Library 2.011 the fun, educational, relationship-building, and precedent-setting event it can be!

Where do Opportunities Come From?

At the 2011 Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, author Bruce Rosenstein spoke about, and featured a video interview he had conducted with, Peter Drucker (see the 2005 video at www.brucerosenstein.com).  In the video, Peter Drucker makes a point worth pondering when saying about his business career  "I took the opportunities … that fit me".  

Before we can choose what fits, we must have choices.  Where do our opportunities - for finding professional employment and for finding the best candidates to hire - come from?

Of course we have already laid the base for attracting opportunities.  We know that having a professional blog supports our statements of expertise.  We have a resume and LinkedIn profile doing us justice (see the free resume webinar at www.destricker.com/en/seminars.html).  We participate appropriately in discussion groups.  We carry a micro-resume (key professional skills shown on the back of a business card) and hand it out liberally so as to increase the number of instances when someone looks at it.  Our organizations' websites have a "career" section that entices applicants. 

But beyond ensuring we are findable, can we further generate opportunities?  Yes, we can. To take the opportunities that fit us, participating in professional events is one must-do activity in maximizing our choices.

The conference, like any other professional event, provided a concentrated set of circumstances that inherently stack up opportunities to (1) make a positive impression on someone who may hire us or mention us to hirers they know and to (2) find candidates who offer the skills needed for a position.  Active job seekers and those currently employed seized the moment when they participated actively in conference sessions, chatted up people they meet at social events, and engaged exhibitors in conversations.  Employers on the lookout for good applicants to hire likewise recognized the opportunity inherent in being at the conference.

Sometimes, an opportunity appears out of the blue.  But add to the farming method  of "plant, water, fertilize" the conference method of "show up, participate, prowl the exhibits". You cannot lose.

 

Thinking of Writing a Book? Think of Collaborating!

The Information and Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success was published by Chandos in Spring 2011.  I am so very grateful to my co-author Jill Hurst-Wahl for our successful collaboration, and I encourage others who are thinking about publishing to seek an opportunity to work with a colleague.

Note: The following was recently posted to the blog operated by the Leadership & Management Division of Special Libraries Association and is brought here with permission from LMD:

Sometimes, an idea floats around for a long time, looking for a hook into reality. I can't count the number of years it occurred to me vaguely "the advice colleagues ask for and receive ought to be written down for easy reference" as I went about my usual practice of speaking to student groups and reviewing resumes. Then it hit me: Why do it alone? Who else do I know who regularly has conversations with new career entrants and career changers? Hello, Jill? We each had some publisher contacts, and the process of pitching the proposal unfolded. I encourage others who walk around with a "book in the head" to seek out a collaborator - having a sounding board is priceless, and mutual reviews of text makes for a very clean manuscript going to the publisher.

The resulting book can be seen as a "recording" of so much we have said and keep wanting to say in public speeches and seminars and in private conversations. It sets out a foundation on which our interactions with colleagues can be that much more productive because we can focus on the situational specifics. Moreover, it's a manifesto allowing us to be frank about some convictions we built over decades of experience.

For me personally, the book in addition represented an opportunity to speak about the very individual nature of our work lives: I believe it is important to factor one's innate strengths and preferences into any planning for a career, and I hope readers will feel encouraged to take into account how powerful it can be when we do so. Sure, the first and second job out of school may be happenstance … but we still have every opportunity to put conscious planning in the mix.

I am grateful to Chandos for the opportunity to publish the Handbook - and do allow me a plug: The entire process of working with Chandos was smooth and efficient beyond my wildest expectations. I am blown away by the professionalism of that team!

References:

Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/hetqpD

Kim Dority's review at http://bit.ly/jklN69

Robyn Stockand's review at http://bit.ly/iWLnAF

Interviews with Ulla and Jill by Dennie Heye: http://twaud.io/qKwQ and http://twaud.io/qQ79

AMAZON listing and reviews: http://amzn.to/e285mO

Europe: www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=2101&ChandosTitle=1

"Beware Online Filter Bubbles" by Eli Pariser: Further to Expert Intermediation

Thanks to my colleague Linda Stacy, Senior Research Specialist & Training Manager at a consulting firm in Boston, for drawing attention to a thought provoking TED talk by Eli Pariser on "Filter Bubbles" (May 2, 2011 - http://bit.ly/kLYcuD).  In it, he outlines the risks resulting from news sources and search engines manipulating what we see based on past search and click behaviors among other factors: What links or whose input we click on now - for whatever reason or purpose - will shape what will be served up to us in future. 

The risk inherent in "filter bubbles" reinforces the angle in my last post on intermediated or curated content:  Is a trusted expert doing the sifting and selecting for information consumers … or are they on the other end of an admittedly sophisticated machine process of previous behavior analysis to determine what appears on their screens?

Eli Pariser points out how democracy is built on an informed citizenry relying on journalistic ethics to have information impartially presented; and he describes the effect of preference-based algorithms as being akin to living on a diet of information dessert, missing out on the information vegetables. The latter image is humorous, but the risk of never seeing fresh (or as he says, uncomfortable because unfamiliar) content is not trivial. Not knowing what items were quietly filtered out from the potential universe, we are deprived of the opportunity to judge for ourselves what information is relevant for a given situation. 

Well worth a couple of viewings, the concise (9 minutes) and beautifully articulated talk offers  specific value to information professionals in providing points to discuss when explaining why their intermediation/curation services are worthwhile.

Could Intermediation Become Respectable Again?

In collegial discussions about trends having affected our careers, one phenomenon tends to rise to the top:  Disintermediation.  The doing away with the research intermediary transformed our profession irrevocably and entirely altered the way in which we serve, and communicate about our services to, our clients.  It took some time, but in the end we collectively decided "the intermediation train had left the station" and got on with myriad ways of assisting our clients in doing their own research.

To no one's surprise, the "everyone for himself" research model generated a lot of dissatisfaction, in turn feeding a busy industry of public search providers and vendors of enterprise search solutions.  Users looking for information have a lot of options but often express dismay at the bewildering variety of those options and the impossibility of determining which ones are preferable.

Now, a different term offers the intriguing possibility of the train returning:  Curation.  Typically associated with archives or museums, the term refers to the act of collecting and arranging for others' viewing a number of objects - a wiki manager curates the content in it or a content manager is the curator of intranet information.  If the curator in question happens to be an expert whose judgment can be trusted in terms of what information to collect and arrange - and in some cases with respect to any commentary provided - those making use of the curated collection have a high level of confidence they are spared all the useless clutter and are offered "just the good stuff".  When I hear "the best place to get X type information is Y source, right?" I know the inquirer is looking for such confidence.

In a twist on traditional indexing and abstracting services whose goal was and is comprehensive coverage of a defined body of scientific or professional or news sources, some bloggers and organizations focusing on a particular subject matter have established themselves over time as authoritative sources of guidance.  In effect, they become "first port of call" because they consistently provide good quality results for users.  As one example, a recent Beyond Search blog post describing a targeted new blog entitled Backnotch (http://backnotch.com/) states "online has moved from vertical search to vertical 'finding' services" (see http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2011/04/27/vertical-blog-a-new-spin-in-online/).  Aha, is intermediation back?

In the past, we held the intermediary role when our clients came to us, described the research need at hand, and went about their business knowing we would, in the time agreed, deliver (at least a solid first pass at) useful information.  Now, we can occupy a new version of the role when we take it upon ourselves to curate - select and comment on - information for clients with special interests.  The key differentiator between old style current awareness ("here is today's harvest of content mentioning topic X") and curation ("here is what I believe warrants your time today regarding topic X and why") is … yes, judgment and knowledge.  Some information professionals have shied away from applying it, believing clients are the ones to choose for themselves; however - in my humble opinion - today's realities deny clients the luxury of reviewing large amounts of information.  As business partners with our clients, we owe them the service of curation - intermediation with expertise.  Sure, that will open the age old generalist-vs-subject-matter-specialist conversation … but isn't that a good thing as we keep working to refine our roles and enhance our professional value?

How Do We Define Opportunity Spaces for Information/Knowledge Credential Holders?

At a recent event put on by Knowledge Workers Toronto (http://linkd.in/dIwVaM) I had the honor to speak and chose to touch on whether information professionals and employers could "get a little closer".

Pointing to a study of organizational productivity (http://bit.ly/dOn2eN) by Economist Intelligence Unit and noting how the study summary does not use the term KM explicitly (our community will recognize it as an underlying topic), I asked "how can we who hold information credentials appeal to employers who may not, understandably, be aware we could be very productive for them in many areas of KM?". 

Another illustration of our opportunity space was articulated briefly at CMSWire in a post (http://bit.ly/ed7G78) by Martin White about (the lack of) intranet strategy.  The trick for us is to show managers in private and public sector organizations that holders of information credentials are well suited for many kinds of roles associated with management - in the specific example here, to show managers that developing a sustainable intranet strategy aligned with corporate strategy is typical of the challenges information professionals can help meet.

The conversation has continued after the event, and will likely never end:  What do we need to learn from employers about their requirements as KM challenges and related tools evolve over time?  One question raised by an attendee was particularly intriguing:  "As opposed to 'getting things organized', what counts as KM experience?"

Thinking of Planning a Conference? Tips from a Volunteer

As a career-long association volunteer, I make it a constant practice to encourage others to offer to contribute to professional events and publications, always citing the many benefits including gaining visibility, getting to know colleagues better, and enjoying learning new skills.  Having just returned from the extremely successful 25th annual conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (judging by the enthusiastic feedback on the program and the entire experience), I reiterate the encouragement, backed up by feedback from the entire conference team:  Volunteering truly is a matter of getting more than one gives. 

Not only did I enjoy every aspect of my activities as conference co-chair, I came away with valuable experience for 2012 (yes, I want to do it again).  Happily, most of the takeways were confirmations that our judgment was right.  Here are a few success factor illustrations I would give to other conference planners, based on the positive experience of having worked with a sterling team for almost a year. I hope to inspire readers that conference planning is fun and rewarding!

• Relying on other team members is paramount.  Volunteering is not about "lone heroics" - it's about collaborating to ensure work loads are reasonable.  I was so lucky to have a dynamite group with lots of experience - and doesn't it speak volumes that several members signed up to volunteer for 2012! 
• No matter how carefully one plans, some things (usually ones nobody notices) will escape attention.  Each such discovery is a useful tip to be applied to future situations:  Memo to self - arranging for a different Master of Ceremonies to announce each new morning's and afternoon's events will reduce stress and give several others an opportunity to be "up there" getting used to the function.
• Consider the "culture" of the association to determine how to balance organizers' desire for punctual session starts with conference attendees' desire to network (the 20 June 2010 blog post focuses on the value of hallway conversations).  At the very least, closing the doors when the session starts is a courtesy to introducers and speakers.
• Given that Conference Chairs need to check messages just as everyone else does, having a co-chair enables taking turns "hovering over the event" and "paying attention to our lives".
• Reach out to first-time attendees in various ways ranging from a simple arranged welcome handshake and chat to a formal orientation event (as is AIIP practice).
• Understand and document early on for everyone on the team the allocation of tasks.  If it becomes necessary, reallocation is relatively smooth if individual task areas are clearly described. 
• Keep good documentation for the current and the next crew.  Next year's team is entitled to make new decisions and depart from past practice of course, but there is huge value in knowing what the previous year's experiences were.  (I had, and have appointed for next year, a Knowledge Manager!)
• If there is an association management office (whose responsibilities typically would include such crucial practicalities as venue and hotel arrangements, catering and menus, AV, signage, attendee handout printing and bags, etc) - take advantage of such an office's expertise and build a solid working relationship!  If there isn't such an office, consider hiring a professional planner for key logistics and overall support - evidence suggests the total work load of a typical full blown conference at a hotel is daunting for an all-volunteer crew.
• Arrange for social events in addition to the subject oriented events.  Attendees get so much out of going on tours, having meals together, and the like.

My heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you who set up AIIP 2011 and who came from near and far to make the conference so valuable and enjoyable.

Translation from Info Lingo to Business Speak: Key Skills for Finding Jobs

Thanks to our professional networks, I recently had two occasions to participate as a panelist/speaker in a "Professional Preparation" class (I would never pass up such an opportunity!).  Kimberly Silk at the University of Toronto and Cabot Yu and Terri Tomchyshyn at the University of Ottawa have been inviting their colleagues to share insights and advice with LIS students in the courses they teach as adjunct faculty, and we colleagues appreciate the chance to meet and interact with soon-to-be new colleagues.  In both cases, the theme of "salesmanship" or "crafting compelling arguments for investments, initiatives, or hiring" was a prominent topic of discussion - and understandably, the hiring part is top of mind for the members of the class.

It's encouraging to read stories like the piece on impending information technology labor shortages in Canada at http://business.financialpost.com/2011/03/29/tech-labour-crunch-looming-in-canada/, yet the takeaway is that information professionals may not obviously be courted by organizations needing to fill their information technology positions.  For classes like Kim's and Cabot's/Terri's, I endeavor to stress the fact that employment opportunities do exist - but we must connect the dots for the potential employers.  In my work, I encounter many individuals who have positions focusing heavily on knowledge acquisition, sharing, and analysis - and I always think "ah, such work would be just the ticket for an information professional".  The hitch is that managers in organizations with openings whose job titles include such words as "analyst" or "officer" may be unaware how closely the LIS graduates' skill sets match the demands of the job.  We can, and should, do whatever we can to raise awareness generally about the versatility of LIS qualifications!

One suggestion I give job seekers is to examine job postings broadly to identify ones using language suggesting they are "information centric" and then to apply using the business terminology appropriate for the hiring organization.  Easier said than done, of course - but what's to lose?  The exercise of stating our skills, past work, and accomplishments in terms meaningful for the hiring teams can only help us get better at convincing potential employers we have what it takes to be highly productive in countless environments.  As examples, consider how much public policy or administration, client relations, and fund raising have in common as a result of their reliance on information and knowledge management - and then consider how pervasive intensive work with data is in business and public sector settings.  

Of course, per the story referenced above, any information professional could benefit from thinking about enhancing his or her technical skills - but let's not overlook the opportunities available right now among organizations looking for talented employees.

Career Book in Print ... We Offer to Speak on its Key Topics

Last Fall, I announced with great pleasure that Jill Hurst-Wahl's and my book - The Information and Knowledge Management Professional's Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success - had been sent to the publisher.  After an incredibly smooth process - kudos to the publisher - the book was a physical reality last week:  ISBN 1 84334 608 7  and  ISBN-13: 978 1 84334 608 1.

Published by Chandos (Woodhead) Publishing in the UK, it is distributed in North America by Neal-Schuman.  It may be ordered at Amazon (pre-publication price guarantee) and Barnes & Noble and Neal-Schuman. 

Jill and I hope it will serve as inspiration for our current and future colleagues.  Conceived to offer a set of guidelines for a career  - not as a guide to how to find a job - the book shares our own experience and that of our colleagues "in the real world". 

Jill set up a Facebook page  - we hope you'll check it out!

We now extend an offer to colleagues who may be in a position to arrange meetings and programs for information professionals:  If it's feasible, we will come to speak at your event about the key topics of the book; otherwise we will make ourselves availble on skype or in virtual meetings to address your group.  Let us know of your interest and we will discuss the options for presenting.

Overview and Table of Contents:

Information Professionals and Knowledge Managers deal with significant career challenges for a number of reasons associated (for example) with common misperceptions of their expertise and roles. In environments where they must often justify their work and value over and over, those already in the profession and those just entering need to prepare for a reality that may differ from expectations.  Based on the authors' own extensive experience, the book is intended to give readers a set of tools and techniques with which to secure a strong career, build an effective brand, and succeed as professionals.

1. Introduction:  What is in the book

2. An opaque profession:  Special challenges

3. Knowing who you are:  Determining a good "fit" for you

4. Developing your brand:  The professional image

5. Looking for a job:  Tips and tricks

6. Creating your story:  Crafting a compelling resume

7. Knowing where you want to go:  Plan - but not too much!

8. Navigating corporate waters: Understand organizational psychology

9. Winning support:  Sell your proposals, ideas, and solutions

10. Making the leap to a leading role:  Your first job as the boss

11. Resilience at work:  Thrive even on the challenging days

12. About the money:  Earn what you are worth

13. Passing it on:  Collegial support and mentoring

14. Our colleagues speak:  Career snapshots

15. Jill and Ulla speak:  Our professional journeys

We are all in business: Part III of the ASIST Series now Out

In my 9 October 2010 post, I described the first two parts of a three-part series of articles by independent information professionals published by the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (see http://www.destrickerblog.com/de_stricker/2010/10/index.html). 

The final part, with insights valid not just for entrepreneurs, is now out at http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Feb-11/Bulletin_FebMar11_Final.pdf  (pages 28-48).  I always encourage information professionals to watch what the self-employed are "up to" … for a simple reason:  In my view we are all in the business of earning our clients' and investors' attention, custom, and support.  Public libraries must prove their value to the community, special libraries must demonstrate to funders that they are worth the cost, and so on.  We must communicate in ways to engage the interest and engagement of our target audiences … just the way any other business must.  In my talks and workshops, I express that view pointedly by asking "what would you say if you were asked why the salaries you and your colleagues earn are worth it to the employer?" and "complete the sentence beginning with YOU PAY ME BECAUSE YOU WANT …". 

Have a look:

• Making It Work as an IIP  
• International Collaboration - Needs, Essentials and Pitfalls 
• Collaborating - Key to Providing Complete Answers Online and Off 
• Independent Information Professionals in Europe: Using Geopolitical and Cultural Boundaries to Advantage 
• How to Generate Income from Teaching and Training
• Think Strategically:  Add Value to Your Business 
• Strategic Communication:  Making Your Marketing and Website Content Work for Your Business

 

 

 

 

 

Nailing the Job Interview: Practice, Practice, then Practice Some More!

Sometimes, candidates with strong qualifications miss out on a job offer because they aren't practiced in the art of answering difficult questions with ease.  Here are two essential recommendations I always stress in my career workshops:

1.  Practice the answers to likely questions over and over until they roll off the tongue smoothly.  During such practice, you will soon notice when a particular phrase sounds odd, when the logic is not quite right, or when a particular formulation doesn't do justice to what you have to offer.  Practicing your answers boosts confidence that you won't end up with ums and ahs and helps you retain poised composure.  If a colleague or friend is not on hand to act as interviewer, a pet or the refrigerator will do just fine!

2.  Dig out and memorize specific stories to illustrate points you want to make.  It is essential to be able to back up with concrete evidence every skill and competence we say we possess.  Prepare anecdotes to tell in response to questions:  "In my position with ABC, there was X situation and I did Y action to achieve Z outcome."  Let me illustrate, using two common questions posed in job interviews:

►YOU HAVE HAD SEVERAL JOBS IN THE LAST 5 YEARS?

In those years, I have probably experienced a disproportionate share of significant organizational change resulting in downsizings or outright department closures.  In no case was my performance at issue, but it has indeed been challenging to deal with quite so much change beyond my control.

►YOUR RESUME STRESSES PLANNING SKILLS.  CAN YOU GIVE MORE DETAIL?

I make it a practice to look ahead and prepare to minimize future effort.  As an example, in my job at ABC Company I anticipated a potential merger and set up long in advance a spreadsheet showing the overlapping functions my boss would need to address; it saved a lot of time for everyone when the merger actually came to pass.  Another example would be the annual meeting I planned for DEF Organization's employees in 2010.  I had the privilege of handling every aspect from program content and speaker engagements to venue selection and catering to registration and logistics, and I'm proud to say the event was smoothly executed and received rave reviews from attendees.

Among the many tips for making a positive impression in an interview, these two are at the top of my list:

1.  The best approach is to be genuine, heeding "truth in advertising" advice.  Of course we all wish to present favorably, but being candid is likely to help us feel more relaxed and to give interviewers a better impression.  For example, if you feel saying "I have experience with …" is a stretch, you may be more comfortable saying "I have had exposure to …".  Speak out loud the various possible statements you could make - your gut will tell you which one is right.

2.  The interview is a trade negotiation.  We want the job, and the employer wants the best candidate.  Hence we compete with other applicants for a position - and the employers compete for the most suitable applicants.  Go in from a position of strength, thinking "just as you want to discover whether you should invest in me, I'm here to find out if the job would be a good career move for me".  You are entitled to ask probing questions about the organization's culture!

There is no shortage of information resources to support job seekers - yet no amount of advice has the impact practice has.  Sure it feels weird talking to the walls at first … but trust me, the effort will pay off!

Roundhouse Kicks: Talk about Speaking the Clients' Language!

It was recently my great pleasure to be at the annual workshop of the Special Libraries Association's Military Division.  An intense and superb multi-day event, the conference offered sessions dealing with a range of topics related to communicating our value to clients and stakeholders - and the focused attention of participants showed the relevance and practical applicability of such topics.  Imagine my delight - as someone who often speaks about the need to communicate with our target audiences in ways that are meaningful to them - when I witnessed Rachel Kingcade, Chief Reference Librarian at the US Marine Corps University Library, describe her use of well known references to martial arts and popular culture in reaching out to and guiding students.  Referring on the library website to steps in the research process as Roundhouse Kicks (think Chuck Norris) and to her own style of work assisting students in their course work as Dr. Evil, she demonstrated  how to put a set of cultural associations to work.  In her environment, metaphors suggesting impact and effect are understood, and the "just do it" approach is routine.  Using those metaphors and that approach to support her message of "you are here to pass your exams and I am here to show you how", Rachel said, helps her reach the students in ways she could not do if she were to dwell on the intrinsic merits of the library resources.  Rachel's sharp illustration of the principle that "it's all about the clients' goals" is being posted at the SLA Military Division's websites http://sladmil.cimes.fsu.edu/ and http://slamilitarylibraries.org/wpcms/.   

I came away with a sense of reassurance that we information professionals are in fact deploying the tactics of adopting our clients' familiar imagery, their aspirational framework, and their cultural frames of reference when we communicate with them.  Sometimes I put my recommended strategy this way:  Our tools and resources are our business, and no one cares how we do what we do.  Let's drop that information to the bottom of our missives and instead zoom in on the simple fact that we are here to help our clients reach their objectives - period.

Rachel Kingcade will be presenting at the annual SLA conference in June 2011 … don't miss it!

Getting Ready for Your First Job: So Much to Learn - Start Here

In the last few weeks I had the pleasure once again to spend a day with soon-to-be-newly-minted holders of the MLIS degree, discussing the skills required to succeed in the world we so often describe as "real".  As workplaces undergo considerable change in these times, it is more than ever essential for new graduates without previous full time work experience to be prepared for the norms and expectations characteristic of organizational cultures; for that reason I emphasize the "soft skills" topic during "Career Day" events.  Usually triggered by the question "should courses and grades be on one's resume?", our conversation focuses on the simple but - in the context of the work load in graduate school - stunning fact that supervisors and coworkers rarely care about academic achievements.  Instead, they care greatly about skills in adapting to the needs of the workplace, working on teams, dealing with clients, representing the employer professionally, and so on.

The thrust of the conversation was captured previously in a concise and illuminating article by Alvin Schrader, former Professor at the University of Alberta School of Library and Information Studies: "Hitchhiking Across Cultures from the Classroom to the Workplace" (Feliciter, Issue 2, 2008, p. 43 at http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Vol_54_No_2&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=5255).  Alvin zeroes in on the steep learning curve many graduates must climb when they move out of an environment centered on individual learning, outlines the stark contrasts between the academic and organizational environments, and makes practical recommendations for ways employers and graduates alike can facilitate the transition:  "The classroom is about intellect, while the workplace is about leadership."

Dear graduates, as you get ready for that life-changing first day on the job, do yourself a favor by paying close attention to the insights Alvin offers.  In addition, let me suggest: 

• Read up on the industry or sector in question:  What developments are having an impact on the work of organizations like the one you will be entering, and what challenges could they therefore expect?
• Find out as much as you can about your new employer:  Use your research skills to shed light on the past and likely future of the specific environment where you will be working. 
• Brush up on the key elements of emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication:  You will need considerable social nimbleness given the work relationships likely to exist in your new group of colleagues. 
• Lean on colleagues who have gone before you:  What did the graduates from a few years ago learn as they started their first jobs?  What could seasoned colleagues tell you?  (Oh, and you know where to find these colleagues - in the relevant professional association.) 
• Finally:  Don't be afraid to ask questions of your new boss and new team!  Asking shows you are interested in performing well and acting appropriately, and it's better to ask than to assume and be off the mark.

With such preparation, success should be well within your reach.  For those I haven't yet had the privilege of meeting:  See you at the next Career Day event! 

Curious about a Career in KM? Watch These Videos

I'm often asked "what does it take to build a successful career in information and knowledge management?" and feel tempted to answer "are you free for the next hour?" because it's less than straightforward to come up with a list of definitive requirements.  At professional meetings, we discuss the matter frequently, and now Karen Huffman, Chair of the Knowledge Management Division of the Special Libraries Association, has taken the initiative to record some of our comments.  Her video series on the functions, successes, and challenges of KM professionals features excerpts from interviews in which we share our views on the special characteristics of work in the KM arena. Check out the recordings made so far in the series at http://www.youtube.com/sladkm - and be inspired!

The stories we tell are very different, yet they add up to painting a picture of the engaging work we do.  As it very much involves people and their perceptions, decision making processes, interactions, and "way of thinking", our work keeps evolving with the ever changing factors determining what goes on in every workplace.  I hope viewers take away from Karen's videos a sense of the pride and reward we get from our varied activities, and I hope those curious about a career in KM will feel encouraged to pursue it - even though it may not be easy to define it clearly and briefly.

Many thanks to Karen for undertaking the video project!

Wondering What Information Career Specialty to Choose? Or Could You Use Some Help?

Thanks to the efforts of Crystal Sharp, Guest Editor, the October 2010 issue of the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology  http://www.asist.org/Bulletin/Oct-10/Bulletin_OctNov10_Final.pdf features contributions from members of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (aiip.org).  In two sections entitled "Research:  Much more than Search and Retrieval" and "Services: Marketing, New Media, Writing, Consulting and Information Management", each contributor describes the value an IP's services brings to clients in a wide range of fields.  Here are succinct overviews of specialized information types and tools providing a fascinating glimpse into the vast range of activities the "information arena" contains. 

For those wondering what specialty to select in an information career, the collection of essays is a superb sampling.  For those wondering whether an IP might assist in their projects, it is one great place to start exploring.  (Note: Additional contributions will follow in February 2011.)  Help yourself:

Adding Value: The Business of Independent Information Professionals

Looking Back, Looking Forward

PART I - Research: Much More Than Search and Retrieval

The Unexpected Value of Research in Biomedical Business

Patents in the Realm of Independent Information Professionals

The IIP and the Small Business High Tech Client

Government Information: Adding Value as an Expert Guide

The Independent Information professional as Government Contractor

Competitive Intelligence: How Independent Information Professionals Contribute to Organizational Success

Business Research Beyond Borders

Today's Genealogist: Providing Value-Added History

PART II - Services: Marketing, New Media, Writing, Consulting and Information Management

Information Professionals and the Nonprofit Sectors

Enhance Your Marketing Productivity: Hire an IIP

Consulting: Helping Clients Plan, Adapt, Choose...and Much More

Social Media: Essential for Research, Marketing and Branding

From Reference Interview to Project Proposal: Defining Client Needs to Ensure Research Success

The Accidental Knowledge Manager: Another Role for Independent Information Professionals

  

New Book on the Way - Info / Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success

Jill Hurst-Wahl and I recently submitted our manuscript for The Information and Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook: Define and Create Your Success to Chandos Publishing (see www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/ChandosHome.aspx for general information and www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=2101&ChandosTitle=1 for the book entry).  The anticipated publishing date is February 2011; the book will be distributed in North America by Neal Schuman Publishers. 

Needless to say, we are thrilled and look forward to working with the copy editor Chandos will assign.  Allow me to share with pride the acquisitions editor's comment on the high degree of polish in the manuscript text! 

The book is intended as a career-long companion to be read now and later dipped into as its topics are relevant.  It will be a terrific gift for new graduates and young professionals, but it is written as well for those who change careers later in life.  If focuses on personal attitudes, professional networking, learning and mentoring, interpersonal skills and organizational savvy, and other elements going into building a rewarding career.  (Just to be clear, it is not a technical "how-to" manual or "where-to-find-a-job" directory.)

Jill and I leaned - with gratitude - on many colleagues for their input to the book, and we present our own experience in hopes it will serve to inspire readers.  We have learned so much from other professionals who guided us as we were developing out careers, and we hope the book will add to our continued efforts to support and encourage our colleagues.

There will be reminders as soon as the book is "in hand" … and we understand advance orders are possible. 

Feedback: Have You Given Yours Today?

Recent email yielded two out-of-the-blue items of feedback.  The first read:  "I just finished reading your article in the July/August 2009 issue of Information Outlook (v.13, no.5) entitled Creating Influence through 'Being There'.  Very informative.  The piece on social capital is bang on!  I found the article educational and I have made a copy of it part of my leadership learning arsenal." 

As I always do, I sent a note of thanks.  It is indeed terrific to find out how work we have done has made a difference for others.

The second correspondent said "Thank you very much for coming to speak at our roundtable discussion. A few of our [SLA Chapter] members have requested to contact you with feedback. Would it be alright if I provided your email address to them so they could contact you directly?" My reply here, of course, was "But of course!".  (And I look forward to continuing the conversation we had at the roundtable.)

Sharing reactions is fundamental to our professional networks.  We should never hold back or believe anyone would be uninterested in what we have to say.  Here's why:  Feedback rewards us for our contributions to the community and helps us stay motivated to continue to grow as professionals and contribute - to individuals personally or generally through such activities as writing.  Feedback lets us know what's useful, what we could work on improving, and what questions still remain.  Feedback keeps us connected and keeps us fresh.

The next time we are at an event and a speaker hands out an evaluation form, we will of course provide our "ratings", but let's consider adding a personal - constructive - comment to help him or her further develop the presentation material or delivery.  Should we come across a colleague's written material and notice it needs a bit of help or could otherwise be improved, let's offer input.  If a colleague's comments in a meeting were particularly effective, let's say so and say why.  It's gratis, aside from the minute or two it may take.  In case of any anxiety over how feedback may be received, one approach I have often used is to ask prior permission:  "Are you interested in hearing my impressions?"  It would be unusual to encounter a lack of interest, and my experience is that even when some feedback may be slightly uncomfortable, in the long run the recipient is grateful for it.  I know I am!

So … have you given feedback to a colleague today?

 

Compensating for Lack of (Recent) Experience to Inspire Employer Confidence: Guest Post by Alexis Bonari

My readers know I provide recommendations for resume construction in frequent seminars and online (see http://www.destricker.com/en/seminars.html).  It is my pleasure to provide Alexis Bonari's supplemental commentary on the conundrum of "lack of (recent) experience":

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and resident blogger at College Scholarships.org.

If you have had poor luck with job opportunities, needed to attend to family matters for some years, or just want to get back in on the vocational action after a long absence, you may feel at a disadvantage. It can be frustrating and difficult to find ways around the obvious requirement of experience, but here are some tips.  Careful preparation, knowledge of your expertise relative to your desired field of work, and attention to detail can help you overcome your lack of experience to land you a new job.

Assess What You Have to Offer

Analyze the situation from the viewpoint of your potential employer. Which attributes do you possess that might contribute to the advancement of the company? Do you have something more valuable than experience? Don't forget you may have some fresh ideas for the potential employer as a result of your volunteer or internship experience. Strong personal qualities such as excellent self-motivation, well-channeled passion, professional curiosity, and thoughtful innovation can be highly attractive to employers who are not by legal regulation required to fill positions with individuals meeting predetermined requirements for recent experience. What you need to project a positive image to prospective employers is a strategy to showcase these qualities: draft some responses to potential interview questions that demonstrate your fit with the company and the job opening. Making everything fit together seamlessly goes a long way toward convincing an employer that you’re the right choice. Some background research may be necessary, so naturally you act like the info pro you are and search for background on the company and information about the likely characteristics of the job.

Stay Connected to the Professional World

Temporary work, volunteer work, and participation in conferences relevant to your career and expertise can provide evidence that you are professionally motivated, determined to make the most of your time, and engaged in the networking opportunities.  Search local newspapers or other publications for temporary and volunteer positions, freelance writing opportunities, and upcoming conference events.

Refresh Your Skills

If you have been out of practice for a while, you may want to brush up on some specific skills currently in demand due to technological progress. Online courses, community college classes, or just consistent practice can help you develop your skills and thus feel confident in answering pointed interview questions.

Reformat Your Resume?

Some resume advisors recommend listing experience according to skill sets or experience as opposed to providing chronological evidence of work.  No matter what your choice, it will help to feature some recent volunteer or temporary experience to fill in any gaps.  Feature in your resume a qualifications summary  including a headline, one or two short paragraphs about your experience, and a list of specific areas of expertise such as computer skills and interpersonal communications.

Could Recording Presentations in Advance Be a Confidence Builder?

Driven in large part by the many times my colleagues and I have talked about career related questions, I offered to, and in the Fall of 2009 had the pleasure to, deliver a series of career related presentations to the Toronto Chapter of Special Libraries Association.  One of the questions raised during those sessions was how to avoid going blank when asked such predictable job interview questions as "please describe a situation in which you handled … ".  I'll get back to that in a second.

 

Since then, entrepreneurial Cabot Yu - who sets up many a professional event through Canadian Library Association - has arranged several re-deliveries (all in one day!) for students and information professionals; most recently he arranged for the recording of "studio" versions anyone may view and listen to at www.destricker.com/en/seminars.html.  Two down, two more to go - but I would be most pleased to entertain suggestions for new topics to add to the series.

 

Creating the recordings was, as they say, an "interesting experience".  Here's why: 

 

When speaking live to an audience, I benefit hugely from the interaction with the participants.  We share common experiences, roll our eyes collectively, listen to each others' stories, and so on.  It never occurs to me to memorize what I'm presenting because I experience the activity as a conversation.  Sure, the slides provide direction for my comments but by and large, I use the attendees' input to guide me in determining where to put emphasis, when to throw in an illustrative anecdote, and how to respond to questions.  More importantly, the live environment compensates for any half-completed sentences, segues, pauses, and other characteristics of interactive speaking because the audience members and I can see each other.  So much of the message conveyed derives from the body language happening while I move around, throw up my hands, etc.

 

Speaking into a microphone, knowing the recording will be listened to in future and not here-and-now as in a broadcast webinar, is - trust me - a most restrictive experience.  I soon found out that "just talking" the way I do in person simply wasn't on.  Every "um" and hesitation stood out like a sore thumb and made me lose track.  I needed to hit the keyboard and craft exactly what I wanted to say to each slide.  (I assiduously avoid reading out the slide wording viewers can perfectly well read for themselves.)  It was reassuring to know I could record each 20-40 second sound snippet repeatedly until it rolled reasonably smoothly off the tongue - and if I couldn't make that happen, I changed the words!

 

Then it hit me:  Could it be that writing out and recording the anecdotes needed in job interviews might be a means of overcoming sudden speechlessness?  Could it be that for those of my colleagues who say they are terrified of speaking to a meeting of executives or at a public event, the act of recording their remarks would help them become comfortable with the flow of the material and hence more confident in the live delivery?  Could it be that listening to the recordings would help them edit the wording for the next practice session? 

 

It's just a thought.  Who's to know you practiced with your computer mike until you had your "tracks" down in your head?

New Blog on New Information Careers: Infonista.com

I’m delighted to share with my readers Kim Dority’s new Infonista blog in which she focuses on the opportunities available to holders of information credentials. 

 

This Saturday, when I once again have the privilege of sharing my “Career Planning at Any Stage” program with information professionals, I will refer in particular to Kim’s ten-tips piece on how to make graduate school work pay off for years to come:  http://infonista.com/2010/ten-tips-for-building-your-career-while-you%e2%80%99re-in-grad-school/.  In it, she makes recommendations all new professionals would be well served following; the good news is that Kim’s advice pertains even though graduate school may be over and done with.  No matter what the stage of anyone’s career, there is room to volunteer, to write, to take on leadership roles, and – thereby – to become visible.

 

For years, my colleagues and I have been encouraging new information professionals to “strut their stuff” in safe environments such as associations - just as Kim encourages in her 9^th tip to “practice doing scary stuff” [in school].  Here’s why:  Traditional information jobs are becoming rarer and we need to demonstrate our capabilities across a wider audience not familiar with the details of “what we do”.

 

In my consulting work – assisting clients determine the optimal strategies for supporting knowledge workers – I often see that “an information professional (or three, or more, depending on the size of the organization) could be a significant value add … within the business teams or close to them”.  Yet, as the number of roles for information professionals as embedded (or portfolio) researchers and information consultants is modest, it is particularly important for information professionals to have practiced the “scary stuff” of business cases, ROI assessments, and similar analyses so as to sell their skills into new roles.  In other words, information professionals face an employment landscape in which they are in effect required to sell potential employers on the desirability of creating new positions where unique information skills will contribute to organizational goals.  Established information center managers are similarly required to demonstrate the value and ROI of the infrastructure costs they incur for the parent organization; they are in effect becoming agents for hiring and deploying information professionals working directly with subject matter experts.   Scary, yes; doable, yes.

 

Thank you Kim for your new blog.  Here’s a request to my readers:  Please spread the word that we who write about the information profession are keen to hear about your experiences!

 

Social Collaboration: The Beautiful Combination of In-Person and Virtual Sharing

It was my privilege to be part of two recent professional events showcasing the power of collaboration:  One was large in scale and a beehive of sessions and activity – the 2010 annual conference of Canadian Library Association; the other was intimate but no less powerful – a collegial exploration of library services to teenagers organized by Stephanie Vollick (see clasy.wordpress.com for details on the “Canadian Libraries Are Serving Youth” event).

 

In both cases, I was struck by the richness of ideas emerging equally from the orchestrated sessions and the hallway or reception discussions.  Many a challenge in front of information professionals was subjected to the creativity of attendees, and it was obvious how much it meant to those present to have an opportunity to exchange direct experience and on-the-ground knowledge.  Pens were whipped out (“what was that URL again?”) and dates were made for further discussions among those who had just discovered they were working on similar projects.

 

Cabot Yu, active events organizer in CLA, coined the phrase “conference is our social collaboration space” in a conversation focusing on the need for both in-person and virtual means of communicating.  That’s when we came up with a little jingle that both are fine but the combination is divine.

 

I am further privileged to be attending the annual conference of Special Libraries Association (www.sla.org). I long ago lost count how many SLA conferences I have enjoyed – for decades, I have witnessed the evolution of the event and the association through the powerful lens provided by several thousand information professionals converging in one space.  Here, too, we are seeing the double power of personal and virtual exchange and the dedication of those who work diligently to share knowledge with their colleagues.

 

In a recent post, I stressed how conferences are not a luxury but rather an investment in our careers.  It is gratifying to see how many colleagues are turning up in New Orleans, expressing by their presence that they see it that way, too.  The beauty is that now – unlike decades ago – we have so many social networking tools for supplementing what we gain from meeting in person.  The offer of virtual conference attendance at this year’s SLA conference points in a direction I find so very encouraging:  How can we share with those who were not able to travel?

 

PS:  This year, I am honored to be on the slate of candidates for election to SLA’s Board of Directors.  It is a continued privilege to have the opportunity to engage with the professional community – more on that matter in the months to come.

Guest Post: Why Educators Should Focus on Information Skills - No Matter What the Discipline

This guest post is contributed by Tim Handorf, who writes on the topics of top online colleges.  He welcomes comments at tim.handorf.20@googlemail.com.

 

Last year, de Stricker's blog featured a post entitled “Social Capital: Invest in It.” The post summarized the reasons why we should invest in this increasingly important component of a system that makes use of interconnected sets of human relationships without exploiting them. Social capital adds a human dimension to traditional definitions of capital.

 

Social capital isn't a new concept - the earliest human communities depended on it for survival -

but it is now saturating the very fabric of our lives in a breathtakingly exciting way. The most inspiring part of it all is for information professionals is that information science is at the center of social capital as its purveyor, which is all the more reason why educators must stress skills in information seeking and management in order to maximize social capital.  Whether they are producing graduates in engineering or sociology, educators will serve their students well by steering their attention to the importance of using social tools for positive outcomes. 

 

Social capital and information science draw from various sources, and so by extension they are more conceptual than concrete. Both systems traffic in ideas, and ideas, pure and simple, are becoming more important in almost any forward-thinking career.  Managing information will be the most powerful force in any future development, whether economic, environmental, or social in nature. If that simple fact isn't enough of a clarion call for educators to emphasize information skills in their curricula, I'm not sure what is.

 

Let me illustrate by citing a few specific trends in social capital and how they are fueled by information management.

 

1. Mass Collaboration or Wikinomics

 

A pervasive trend in the world of social capital is a phenomenon known as mass collaboration, or, more popularly, “Wikinomics”. The main tenets of mass collaboration are outlined in the book by Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams by the same name: Being open, peering, sharing, and acting globally. Businesses, governments, and even social activists are increasingly embracing the Wikinomics model. What's most interesting is that information is the currency of mass collaboration. As such, when educators stress information skills, they are preparing their students for how pretty much every large-scale, idea-based project will operate.

 

2. Microcredit/finance

 

A few years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus speak. Yunus is considered the founding father of microcredit, an innovation in economics that considers future potential—not past credit history—in approving business startup loans. Microcredit was designed to battle poverty in the third world and has met with stunning success, especially in Yunus' home country, Bangladesh. The social capital connection here is fairly self-evident, but how does information science come into the picture? Simple. Yunus' basic idea was eventually appropriated and transported to a web-based platform so that microcredit online has been implemented by various organizations to enable peer-to-peer lending. As such, microcredit can been considered a subset of Wikinomics - based on the efficient dissemination of information.

 

3. Blessed Unrest: The emergence of the “largest movement in the world” that “no one saw coming.”

 

While the idea of mass collaboration is broad and that of microcredit is specific, they both fall into an umbrella categorization first discussed by noted entrepreneur and environmentalist Paul Hawken in his 2007 book “Blessed Unrest”. Hawken theorizes that information-based, grassroots organizations in the public and private sectors are banding together, thanks to the connectivity of the Internet and thus thanks to the effective sharing and management of information, to solve global problems.

Investing in Our Careers: Conferences are Not a Luxury

Receiving rave reviews from attendees, the recent annual conference of the Association of Independent Professionals (aiip.org) was a perfect case study illustrating the value of direct interaction between peers with similar interests and concerns.  The enthusiastic feedback to the organizing team focused on the long range benefits and takeaways of discovering the latest thinking in relevant topical areas, having confidence-building 'aha' moments, and establishing personal contacts.

 

The conversation among attendees about the value of the conference reflected similar comments I have heard throughout my working life.  Given the understandable personal budgetary concerns prevalent currently, I want to reiterate here - I have touched on the topic in the blog previously - the salient and universally applicable points regarding personal investment of time and money in professional conferences. Unless it just so happens a conference is held in our back yard, the out of pocket costs - shared car rides and hotel rooms notwithstanding - are significant.  But I believe they are necessary and justifiable investments: 

 

§ The personal connections we make at a conference may last - and yield yet more connections - for our entire careers.

§ The value of the trust arising from having interacted personally cannot be overstated.

§ The concentrated dose of information about experience gained by colleagues would likely be much more time consuming to obtain via websites, social media, podcasts, etc.

§ Hearing what speakers have to say and what fellow attendees think about it right then and there is a nuanced experience offering the opportunity to ask face to face "could you give an example?", "how did you specifically implement?", "what should I be concerned about given my situation?",  and so on. 

§ Where there are exhibits, the conference is a unique opportunity for everyone to learn about information industry trends and for buyers to engage with vendors in detailed discussions about their products and services.  Demonstrations and brief tutorials are typically offered on the spot. 

 

Viewed over the long career term, what we pay to be with our peers at a professional conference is worth every penny.  Of course, we arrive with detailed agendas outlining how to spend every precious hour to soak up the program offerings.  Then, using the social events to catch up with colleagues and meet new ones is a valuable bonus - requiring, of course, some stamina on top of a 10-hour day packed with activities.

 

Having benefited from and enjoyed (and yes, returned exhausted from) professional conferences for decades, it is second nature for me to prioritize them in my budgeting.  I encourage everyone to develop and maintain the habit:  Invest in your career - go join your peers! 

Information Professionals as Transportation Managers? You Bet!

Regular readers will be familiar with my belief in information professionals’ relevance in business contexts not usually considered to be our domain.  As travel is on everyone’s mind just now, here’s an example:  In every airport or railway station, I seek opportunities to watch the employees who handle all the background activity - fuel pumping, cargo loading, cleaning, and so on – because I’m fascinated with the orchestration of processes resulting in passengers being invited to march on board.  Yet the work I am able to see is just the beginning:  What about the information underpinnings of the spoken or recorded messages we hear once inside the planes and trains?  How could I even get to the windows overlooking the gate or track area without the IT infrastructure of the check-in kiosks and their underlying information and data management? 

 

In my next life, I will look into engagement in the field of traffic management.  For now, I pay attention to the similarity between most organizations and transportation entities:  The revenue or funding any enterprise earns must cover a vast array of functions associated with information, data, records, and knowledge to sustain its overt activities, and it would soon be untoward if those functions were to fail.  That’s where information professionals come in.  They can trace the information flows, find the blockages or gaps, and recommend strategies for dealing with them; they can spot opportunities for streamlining processes to get the necessary information to the right person at the right point in the chain of business transactions; and they can recommend ways to improve customer experience through analysis of the activity evidence at hand.

 

But we must promote our contributions to managing the business process:  Yes indeed, we are relevant on the team designing that new rapid transit system.  Certainly, we can advise on the customer service centre’s knowledge base with a view to minimizing callers’ wait time.  And most assuredly, we will help interpret past customer behaviour for the purposes of new service planning.

 

The task of convincing employers to hire information professionals for roles in such areas as operational analysis and capacity planning – just to name a few examples related to transportation - continues to be challenging.  I’m always looking for case studies and ask my readers to offer any they may have.

 

Talk about a dream job: LinkedIn to open office in Canada, will need staff

Having had a profile on LinkedIn for a very long time, I was recently surprised to find that some MLIS students weren't familiar with the service.  I suggested in the strongest possible terms that they get busy creating their profiles later the same day!

LinkedIn management may not instinctively look to the information profession to fill upcoming positions in the just-announced new office in Canada … but we could encourage it.  Have a look at the Financial Post article at http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2738867 and be sure to check out the links to related stories … great food for thought there.

In the business of connecting people and information and connecting people with people, we information professionals are in a position to offer the LinkedIn team our experience with content management including the applicable categorization and labeling, usability, alerting services, and collaboration tools (to name just a few relevant areas).  We could turn out to be a good source of product development suggestions; one coming quickly to mind is that a template or similar tool would be helpful in assisting profile writers go beyond the standard resume-like model to include descriptions of skills in such a way as to demonstrate their transferability.  In fact, a transferable-skills focus might just be a good angle for the new auto-match feature being tested now http://blog.linkedin.com/2010/03/22/linkedin-profile-match/.

LinkedIn has demonstrated impressive product development over its lifetime.  Wouldn't it be one cool job to help the team continue? 

Working for a Vendor: Look Into It

At the Ontario Library Association Superconference just concluded, I once again had the opportunity to gaze out over a large exhibit hall full of vendors devoting a great deal of effort and expense to give customers and potential customers the opportunity to speak directly with representatives.  Seeing so many information industry companies in one place always reminds me to encourage those seeking employment to include in their searches entities in the publishing, software, library systems, and related areas.  True, being a vendor representative is a subspecialty in our profession - and not one for which formal education prepares new professionals explicitly.  Some students actually say "oh no, I could never be in sales".  My answer is always "ah, but it's not sales, it's customer service!".

 

A few colleagues who have recently "gone over to the other side" have contrasted library work with what they felt was a more daunting exposure as vendor representatives.  They were right on the money in identifying a key feature of the front line job experience of vendor representatives:  Unable to promise any kind of product or service enhancement and unable to provide technical detail explaining, say, a functionality glitch, they are in the hot seat in two ways:  They are expected by their employers to portray products and services in a positive light with consummate professionalism; and they are expected to react to any criticism with consummate poise. 

 

Fortunately, customers tend to be understanding when they feel they are hearing the full story.  One thing customers value especially highly is the ability of a vendor representative to make executive decisions - granting a free trial of an online service, for example.  It is my hope that vendors look for ways to give their new representatives as much leeway as possible here - after all, it's a win win when the (potential) customer is pleased and when the representative experiences the satisfaction of making it happen.

 

If you are looking for work and feel uneasy about a vendor role, let me assure you:  Customer facing positions in the information industry are perfect for information professionals.  Your value proposition for getting hired is that potential customers react well to dealing with a fellow professional.  Your value to the employer over time is the "consultative selling" you are able to execute as you assist customers select the best options, implement them, promote a new product to end users, and so on.

 

A designated seating area where vendors and job seekers may meet for informal discussions could be a good addition to any exhibit hall.  Just my 2 cents!

 

More on Information Credentials and Continuing Education

In response to the February 10 post, Wendy Reynolds provided the following comment: 

 

Fascinating post, Ulla. I wonder if some of these jobs come after a few years of experience in the workplace. How much can one degree program include, and still provide an meaningful educational experience? If the program goes in too many directions, there's a risk that the marketplace won't know what to do with the grads. Communication is going to be a really important piece of this. I'll be watching with interest.

 

With her permission, I shared it with Bruce Stewart, the new Director of the Professional Learning Centre at University of Toronto's Faculty of Information, who in turn permitted me to share his reply:

 

When I think about degree programs, what I see is a stream coherent and comprehensive enough to allow those who complete the Masters level to assume a professional role and to allow those who so wish to carry on into the stronger research focus of the Doctoral stream.

 

Continuing education, therefore, takes up the slack vis-à-vis the changing careers of the degree holders. There are also — particularly in the records management field — many who are transferred in to do clerical/process-oriented jobs who never did hold the professional degree, and these are catered to where the need makes sense. For those with the Masters degree out in the workforce, however, continuing education should keep them up to date in their field and give them paths to move amongst the Information space streams as their roles evolve and grow. A librarian, for instance, might find him/herself driving a project to define the information architecture for an online service in the future: while there are IA experts, some "new background" would be needful, and this is a need we should be able to meet.

 

The mark of a true profession — say, law or medicine — is the requirement from the professional society for continuing education to retain the right to practice. The Information professions do not yet share this characteristic, but it is — as engineers have shown for years — a good touchstone to have. (IT "professionals", despite a half-century of aspirations toward professional recognition, have not shared that commitment, and I suspect that's one of the solid reasons they are not seen to be professionals in the same way as are solicitors or surgeons or even chartered accountants or professional engineers.)

 

In our Faculty's "space", the Information Management and Records Management areas have the least sense of professional definition; Librarians and Museum curators do understand themselves to be professionals, but do not yet have the full public recognition of being "a profession" as the Law Society or College of Physicians does. But, because our "space" for continuing education is as broadly defined as it needs to be to keep pace with the Faculty's research interests and teaching, our catalogue will always (I suspect) feel "more scattered" than Continuing Legal Education or Continuing Medical Education programs do to the outside viewer.

 

I hope the way we revamp our catalogue (online and in print) will help make some of that apparent confusion go away over time.

 

Many thanks to Wendy and Bruce for their input!

Addendum to Feb 10: Wendy Reynolds' November 2009 Post

Wendy Reynolds kindly reminded me of one of her previous posts:  Dealing with the outlook for information professionals' jobs, it's highly relevant to my recent focus - check it out at http://www.slaw.ca/2009/11/01/speaking-out/#comments

The Relevance of Information Credentials: We have Work to Do

My fellow instructors in the Professional Learning Centre at the University of Toronto Faculty of Information and I had the occasion recently to meet with its new Director, Bruce Stewart (www.ischool.utoronto.ca/news-events/news/professional-learning-centre-welcomes-its-new-director).  During our meeting, we touched on the ramifications of the fact that "information credentials" prepare professionals for many jobs and functions going far beyond the traditional ones.  We each could relate personal experience illustrating how expertise in the management of records, documents, information objects such as multimedia clips, intellectual property rights, and other variations of information and knowledge is relevant in workplaces that are likely outside the job search scope for recent MIS graduates and mid-to-late career changers alike - and similarly out of view for managers looking for qualified personnel.  We see a need for efforts to bring together the cadre of employers needing information professionals, but not labeling them as such, and the cadre of information professionals whose skills are easily transferable to a wide range of settings.

 

As an example, some information professionals work as business analysts.  Wouldn't information credentials be relevant in facets of safety and security work as well?  Public policy analysis and development deserves a closer look as a career path for information professionals; information forensics could prove a fascinating line of work, and so on.  However, "we're not there yet".  For starters, typical job descriptions, classifications, and assessments require tuning to accommodate the contributions skilled information professionals are in reality able to bring to the table.

 

Our discussion turned to the need for supplementing technical information related skills with "soft" ones associated with organizational dynamics, interpersonal communication, the art of influencing at the grassroots and senior decision maker levels, managerial and political savvy, and the like.  Something as basic as presenting oneself convincingly to a potential employer outside traditional mainstream work settings was pointed to as an example of a skill area often receiving insufficient attention.

 

Working to assist our course attendees widen their skills and their career scopes, we instructors in effect participate in a permanent campaign to deliver the benefits of information credentials in new domains such as the ones suggested here.  There is much work to be done, and I for one look forward to the ongoing process of doing my part.  Welcome, Bruce!

Business Case Packaging: The Role of Visuals and Presentation Skills

Thank you to Karen Huffman for inviting me to guest webex today for her Library Technologies & Project Management class at Catholic University of America.  Karen had asked me to cover the subject of developing business cases, and I provided a highly condensed version of the material in my book on the topic (http://books.infotoday.com/books/BusinessCasesforInfoPros.shtml).  The exchange after the presentation touched on some aspects I'd like to share here, with credit to the class members.  Those aspects go into the series of what my colleagues and I refer to as 'things we didn't hear about when we went to school'.

 

Make it visual:

 

At senior levels, some decisions are made quite quickly - contributing factors could include prior familiarity with the circumstances at hand, previous evidence pointing toward an approach, and the combined voices of stakeholders having chimed in.  In the "boardroom moment", there is not enough time to wade through long texts or spreadsheets - instead, punchy visuals summarizing data and illustrating desirable future states can be powerful persuaders.  There is a reason data visualization is a hot business area - given the same number of seconds for a person to assimilate information, much more can be crammed into visual means than is possible to communicate through the written and spoken word.

 

To be sure, a business case document must be solidly backed up with evidence, indicators, references to published literature, quotes from authorities, and so on.  But crystallizing facts and statistics into images to help decision makers understand quickly the key messages could be the factor setting one case apart from others when the votes are cast.  Of course, visualization may be a challenge for information professionals because our cases may be abstract to put it mildly; teaming up with people talented in the art of creating visuals or looking for an appropriate continuing education course could be advantageous.

 

Make it memorable:

 

In my book, I emphasized the value of practicing a business case presentation so that it comes across with factual heft, research strength, and professional polish … what I didn't say but wholeheartedly endorse is that - as a class member pointed out - our few minutes in front of the executive committee must also be vivid and memorable.

 

For information professionals advancing and advocating initiatives, I believe "it's not about us, it's about the stakeholders".  We do not ask for funding … the stakeholders do.  We are not pushing for change … the opinion leaders / knowledge workers / sales & client service reps (etc) are.  Yet we are likely one day to be standing there in the boardroom, having 10 minutes to pitch our proposal and put all our research and previous work into one concise delivery.  Skills in getting and keeping the attention of a tough audience are paramount!  "Where do I learn such skills?" you may ask.  I told Karen's class that several of my colleagues have described the strong boost in confidence they gained from the Toastmasters process (www.toastmasters.org).  Several avenues can be explored … the key is to be goal oriented about the need to build skill in engaging an audience.

 

Many thanks to Karen's class for raising these points.

What are the Non-Mainstream Jobs?

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking, with colleagues Derek Bates, Claire Lysnes, and Tylene Reaume, to students in the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Western Ontario.  Erin McDonald, pioneer in establishing the SLA student group there, had taken the initiative to invite her fellow students to discover what "special librarians" actually do - and our first indicator of curiosity was the fact that the room was packed.  The questions raised by the students soon confirmed that the job opportunities available outside mainstream libraries are the subject of great interest. 

 

My colleagues described their career paths and the typical functions they carry out in supporting knowledge workers in the corporate enterprises they serve - ranging from planning large, long term knowledge management projects to producing answers to research questions "needed yesterday" - and characterized the skills and aptitudes required in fast paced settings, encouraging the students by stressing how rewarding they had found their work.  I suggested the students think about their "cultural fit" to determine the type of environment where they might feel most comfortable, contrasting (say) the nature of a job supporting intranets in a large corporation with a sales function in an startup software company, and pointed out the universal benefit of building social capital and professional visibility starting now. 

 

How does one get a non-mainstream job?  Organizations already featuring an information or knowledge management centre  or already aware they need staff with MLIS qualifications typically advertise on information faculties' job boards when they want to fill a position in records management, research, knowledge management, customer service, or IT.  But it stands out that some types of employers may not; as a result, job seekers are advised to look for job postings on the websites of organizations such as:

 

ú Museums and archives collecting, protecting, and making accessible various objects - think maps, photos, archeological artifacts, art and design - through such functions as digitization, indexing, and web display.

 

ú News media, publishers, and organizations in the arts and cultural sector.

 

ú Government agencies needing analysts for research, policy development, program delivery, and myriad other functions.

 

ú Companies selling content management, enterprise search, and software products and services.

 

Can one create a position for oneself in an organization without an information centre or other obvious unit?  Our consensus was that doing so would be possible through an existing connection to a manager in such an organization but would be a long shot without such a personal "in".

 

I had started my talk with the musing that "career planning" may be a contradiction in terms, given how many of us can tell the story of falling into a particular job through happenstance - but nothing stops anyone from giving luck a little push by greatly broadening the scope of the search for a job.

 

Publishing's March: Part 3 - Implications for Info Pros

(Continued from December 9 and 13)

 

What does it mean for Info Pros when our clients work with transitory "publications" assembled on their screens on the fly (think http://livingstories.googlelabs.com/)?  How do we assist users who participate in scholarly forums and thus exchange ideas and observations outside the traditional publishing channels?  What do we need to do differently vis a vis a younger clientele accustomed to the kind of information gathering typical of social networks?

In our current context, we are already working with the social networking tools and with the open source community in order to straddle the span from traditional publishing and dissemination mechanisms to the evolving ones.  We continue to be ideally placed to act as connectors between the long established and the new means of publishing - and thus of knowledge sharing, too.

Our future challenge is assessing how best to support our clients.  For example, how do we balance work to ease access to and use of scholarly publishers' materials versus work to help clients navigate the ecosystem Michael Nielsen talked about (see my November 13 post), and how do we support the educational community's need to provide for mobile learning at the same time we sustain the original academic learning environment?

One useful guiding principle could be that we strive to be viewed as information partners and "secret sauce for success" by our clients - as opposed to being seen as advocates of certain approaches to information gathering.  The fact that we may demonstrate qualitative and other differences among sources of information and among tools is a strength to apply when appropriate; our message is "come talk to us, together we will work out what is best for you to save time and get what you need" rather than "we represent an official standard in information practices".  (Our clients may well come to hold the view we are the gold standard, but it's best they form such an opinion on their own.)

It is equally essential for us to work closely with the developers of existing and new sharing tools, public ones as well as those intended for internal use in an organization.  Herein lies a special challenge in that such developers may not leap to the conclusion - as Google is widely reported to have done - that they need librarians on their teams! 

On January 21, I'll be joining colleagues on a career oriented panel event organized by the SLA Toronto Student Group:  Yet another opportunity to reinforce the message "the publishing industry is on a march and we need to be in it!"

Guest Post by Adrienne Carlson: Where the Jobs Are

Guest post by Adrienne Carlson, writer on the topic of online engineering degrees. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions:  adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

 

Students close to graduating and recent graduates, take heart:  Some industries are hiring new employees.  Look here:

·        Healthcare and pharmaceuticals: The healthcare sector and the pharmaceutical industry will present employment opportunities in step with the aging of our population and with increasing environmental challenges.  If the practical work of a nurse or pharmacist is not for you, look for administrative, management, or project roles in hospitals and other healthcare settings.  Healthcare related records management and research are obvious niches for information professionals.

 

·        Education: In a society believing that education is the foundation on which our children’s futures are built, schools and academic institutions are always going to be in need of qualified teachers and educational support professionals. In addition, with the loss of many jobs in recent times, people are heading back to school in droves to upgrade their skills or move to a different line of work. Today's emphasis on new instructional methods - using various forms of e-learning such as podcasts, webinars, and the like - could prove to be an opportunity.

 

·        "Mobile" industries:  The companies supporting every kind of mobile gadget need information savvy personnel.  Think Geographic Information System based technologies for starters and look closely at the job opportunities at the "data supply" end:  How did those maps get into the GPS in the car?

 

·        Renewable energy, disaster preparedness, and other climate related domains:  With climate change and the need to wean the world off fossil fuels, the need for scientists and engineers will persist - along with the need for information professionals to work with them.

 

If you think you’re in the wrong industry or one that does not seem to be looking up, be willing to make a shift. It may necessitate crossing career lines and taking an entirely new path, but if that’s what it takes to put food on the table now and build a foundation for the future, that’s just what you must do. You may need to go back to school and earn another degree or take a certificate course, but the time spent will be justified when you are able to find a job and banish "unemployment" from your dictionary.  

Guest Post by David Hook: Where are the Jobs? Part 1 of 2

David Hook, Manager, Operations Information and Configuration Management at MDA Space Missions provides this guest post in response to "New Graduates Ask Where the Jobs Are".  David started out in a somewhat traditional role at his company and later branched out ... quite a bit!

Leaving the Library Part 1: From the Outside

So, you're a new information professional and looking for a non-traditional job?  Well, here is the good news: there are plenty of companies out there that could use your skills. The bad news?  Most of them don't realize that they need your skills, and if they do, they probably don't know where to find you. Your mission is to find them and let them know that you have the skills that they need.

 

One place where you are likely NOT to find non-traditional jobs posted is on library job boards.  You are going to have to venture out further than that.  If you are at college or university, visit some of the other faculties on campus and have a look at their job boards. If your school offers an MBA degree or has a business school, try starting with them.  Another possibility is the computer science department. Or perhaps any other department where there might be some need for your skills.  You never know what you'll find until you try.

 

A couple words of warning.  First of all, be careful of faculties such as law, medicine or engineering where a professional accreditation is required to work in the industry.  Not all jobs will be exclusively for those with the accreditation, but you are less likely to find something open to you than at, say, a business faculty where no accreditation is required. 

 

Secondly, when applying, you need to be aware that you will be competing for these jobs against graduates from a different program.  Does that mean that they are more qualified for the job than you are?  Not necessarily.  All it means is that they have a different skill set from you.  If you are competing against MBA grads, for example, they may be stronger on business knowledge, but you will have stronger research skills.  Be sure to play up your strengths and advantages. 

 

Your Campus career centre can be a big help.  Most of them keep profiles on companies that frequently hire from your university.  Why not go through some of the profiles and look for knowledge-based companies that may not be posting for jobs at this time, but look like they could use someone with your skills.  Put together your strategy to sell yourself and contact them. 

 

Outside of the university, you can try setting up automatic searches at places like Workopolis or even Monster.com.  Set up searches for terms like ‘research’ ‘competitive intelligence’ and so on – depending on the area in you are looking to move in to.  Terms like ‘knowledge’ and ‘information’ may turn out to be too broad but ‘information management’ might produce some beneficial results.

 

Finally, consider sending your resume to recruiters (also known as headhunters) who place people in your desired area.  This approach may work to your advantage, because then you will have the recruiter working on your side to sell your skills to a potential employer who may not have otherwise considered someone with your background.

 

It can certainly be a lot more work to find non-traditional library jobs than to just stick with what gets posted on the library job boards.  But the reward for your extra work is that you open up your job search to much greater possibilities than before. 

New Graduates Ask Where the Jobs Are: Let's Help Out

It was recently my pleasure to speak to Cabot Yu's Information Management class at University of Western Ontario's Faculty of Information & Media Studies (thank you Cabot) about "Information Management in the Real World".  Describing organizational environments in which IM skills make a difference, I attempted to paint a picture of careers for information professionals outside the core settings of libraries, information centres, archives, and records and IT departments.  Not surprisingly, one question was "what does a job posting look like for those nonstandard positions?" 

In our discussion, it was mentioned that holders of fresh credentials in information management would be relevant applicants for positions with titles containing such terms as "analyst", "officer", "examiner", or "specialist" in the public sector.  In the private sector, position titles could in addition include such words as "associate" or "representative" to describe, for example, roles in customer service, client and public relations, marketing, and any organizational unit depending heavily on research, environmental scanning, and analysis of data.

The key for job seekers is that professional positions in all domains call for considerable skills in information management.  The challenge is to craft an application and resume that will grab the attention of the hirers - a task requiring casting information management expertise in terms related to the operations and goals of the organization in question.

I can help with applications, resumes, and advice - and I take this opportunity to ask my readers to join me in assisting new information professionals get started in their careers:  If you are in a nontraditional role, would you share how it happened ... and would you share your advice on job seeking "out there beyond the library"?

Thank you from me ... and from the job seekers.

Sharing Our Experience: The Entrepreneurship Course

On July 9, Pam Casey (www.informationnow.ca) and I had the pleasure of delivering the first rendition of a course on information entrepreneurship through the Professional Learning Centre at Univerity of Toronto's Faculty of Information (http://plc.fis.utoronto.ca/).  A repeat date has been set for November 20, and work is under way to deliver it in Edmonton this Fall.  We were blown away by the interest in the topic and by the positive feedback along the lines of "although I may not set up my own business, I learned so much that is relevant for my work".  Our thanks to Eva Piorkowski (Kupidura) at PLC for including the course among the program's offerings to allow us to share our experience as independents with those taking a look at the career option we chose.

We take the positive reaction to arise from the fact that - whether we think of it that way or not - all information professionals are "in business", selling their services and deliverables to clients who "pay" if not with money then with their time and attention.  Success depends on "making the sale" - convincing clients it is worthwhile investing in our services as opposed to making a different choice among many possibilities open to today's knowledge workers.

One of the key messages in the course focuses on the priceless role of reputation and visibility in reducing the (for some) cringe-inducing need to promote one's business.  The good news is that reputation and visibility may be achieved through activities that aren't scary at all - writing, serving on committees, and speaking - for example, to groups of students or recent graduates.  Regardless whether there is an independent business in anyone's future, it cannot hurt a career to be well thought of in the relevant professional circles.  We got the impression the course participants fully understood the need to practice salesmanship ... every day.

As the economy evolves along with demographics, we may see an increase in the - still relatively small - number of independent information entrepreneurs.  We believe there is plenty of demand and invite anyone curious to give us a call - and take the course, of course!  For those considering consulting, there's always the book to read: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=401.

Speaking of Volunteering: A Sharing of the Wealth

Last night, I met with colleagues to deliver the second event in SLA Toronto Chapter's 5-event "Career Series" (http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/events/default.asp), focusing on corporate cultures and the "fit" we may or may not experience in them as a result of our individual work styles and talents. (In response to popular demand, the organizers have scheduled a repeat for May 5.)  One of the attendees was Bruce Harpham, a highly promising new professional who, at www.bruceharpham.ca, demonstrates volunteering in a creative way through expert deployment of "all the new tools". From the get-go he has joined the ranks of those who share discoveries and observations with time-starved colleagues, and I expect his diligent contribution to the profession to be reflected in his career.

After the session, the topic of SLA's upcoming annual - this year the 100th anniversary - conference in Washington DC (http://www.sla.org/content/Events/conference/ac2009/index.cfm) came up in conversation.  It is a worrying concern for habitual conference goers - not to mention presenters - that overall, employer funding for professional events and training appears under pressure, limiting opportunities for some to interact in person with their colleagues across the world. The benefit of professional growth and value brought back to employer organizations in the form of new skills may not sway budget managers, and taking vacation days and footing personally the entire bill for attending a major conference may not be feasible.  (Ironically, I am presenting at the conference a Leadership & Management Division workshop on June 13 focused on business cases; it seems we need that polished business case for conference attendance in the first place.)

If the cost of in-person participation in an event in a major city is prohibitive, it is especially important for us all to get the most out of those "new tools" by networking, pointing to resources, asking questions, discovering how others have tackled a challenge, and so on.  In these interesting times, it is essential to reach out and share the wealth - the wealth of what we know and what we have to offer - with our colleagues. If you haven't already done so, now is a good time to set up that profile on LinkedIn and Twitter and to become an active contributor of comments to relevant blogs - or to follow Bruce's example and create a personal blog.  We'll discuss those and more options at the third event in the SLA Toronto Careeer series on September 8: "Self Promotion, No Cringe: Gaining Visibility Through Giving".

Social Tools: Invest

The media coverage of the business uses of social tools such as Facebook and Twitter and their siblings, the number of spinoff web services offering various add-on enhancements, and related information is intense.  (It makes me remember the simple old days when a different corporate name was associated with "world domination".)  I participate in social networking tools (LinkedIn, Plaxo, and the two above named) because they are valuable, each in their own way, and because I believe any potential risks are easily outweighed by the advantages if prudence is applied.  But there's more to social tools domination.

Think back on the communication and information related tools and technologies we have used in our work and personal lives:  Each time something new was introduced, we adapted and got used to it and forgot how much work we thought it was to learn its ins and outs.  Nothing new here.  What may be new-ish is the shrinking time interval between the arrivals of new tools.  For those of us without assistance to monitor them and e.g. pump out posts and tweets on our behalf, the time investment seems to be climbing dramatically.  That investment is necessary because our social capital may depend on and benefit greatly from it.

Prominently at the conference mentioned in my last blog entry (and at every other conference I have the opportunity to attend), I see the personal "bookends" in the hallways and in the coffee shops: Long standing relationships between colleagues who have traveled the communication tool road for decades - and brand new relationships being formed right there in the event rooms or on the bus on the way to the gala event.  In both cases, those relationships now continue via Twitter/Facebook etc.

Our success as information professionals depends on our ability to forge and maintain trust-based relationships with our clients and stakeholders.  Existing relationships we can comfortably manage with established communication practices according to mutual preference.  As for the new generations of individuals we need to engage (who, we are told, do not regard email as a cool tool), we have been handed a new set of instruments - and although those instruments may seem awkward as work tools, they do prove themselves.  For example, 140 characters can give meaningful information with a couple of words and a URL or two. 

For anyone not already plunged into in the social tools I suggest: There's always the option of engaging someone to help out!

Social Capital: Invest in It

On the evening of March 10, the Toronto Chapter of the Special Libraries Association launched its 2009 Career Development event series (see http://units.sla.org/chapter/ctor/events/default.asp for the events on April 21, September 8, October 6, and November 10).  Our first event dealt with resumes - that brief document with such a huge impact. Judging from the questions raised, I stand confirmed in my belief that a resume is the most difficult document we may ever need to construct.  (At  http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/seminar_page.php?sid=96 you may view a public version of the slides.)

During the evening, the concept of social capital came up, reinforcing that it deserves deliberate attention in the context of careers.  Looking back, I see how building social capital paved the way for the evolution of my own career - a key factor was an innate tendency toward assistance to colleagues and association activities over and above the responsibilities of work. Now, I am in a position to advise younger career builders:  "Invest in your social capital - it will pay off, if not tomorrow, then later throughout your working life."

By social capital I mean the reputation we build as we contribute to the communities in which we move professionally and personally and the "brand" or "label" we attach to ourselves through those contributions.  It also involves the "bank account" of trust and rapport we draw on when we need support for an idea or outright help in a specific situation.  We may not think of it as social capital building when we respond to a request with "of course I can do that for you" - but that is the cumulative result.

Here is a sampling of what I tell career builders:

• Sign up:  Offer to perform a task or role in a relevant group or association.  Even better, run for office. Serving in an official capacity looks good on the resume.

• Write up:  Tell the editors of a newsletter / bulletin / blog that you will contribute a piece ... or four.  Summarizing key points from a conference session may be a good beginning ... later, add pieces arising from your own professional pursuits.

• Show up:  Come to the local events put on by your professional associations and engage in speaking to attendees you don't already know.  In so doing you easily broaden your reach and visibility in the community. 

• Link up:  Use the professional tools such as LinkedIn to stay within reach of those who may be needing your skills.

• Pick up:  Consciously endeavor to earn a reputation as someone who picks up the phone, the challenge, the lead.

As those activities accumulate, they earn a rightful place on the resume.  Potential employers may not think "social capital" when they read it, but they do appreciate seeing how, on top of employment achievements, candidates volunteered their skills for the benefit of others. 

I'd like to think I have done for decades as I advise.  But I'm not done yet:  If you feel your resume could use some work, you know where to go:  To the SLA Toronto Chapter Career Committee Chair at ulla@destricker.com.

Value focused selling: Australian inspiration

For anyone queasy about "selling" I have great news.  Through my colleague Heather Carine in Australia (www.carineresearch.com.au), I have had the pleasure of reading Robyn Haydon's outstanding book The Shredder Test (see www.winningwords.com.au).  Robyn's book, detailing how to write a winning sales proposal, is a joy to read - clear, down to earth, and pointed!  For those wanting a powerful step up in the impact of their sales proposals, reading Robyn's book will be an eye opener.  Why do I like it so much?  Because it focuses on what the client needs to hear.  Robyn's book shows how a sales proposal is indeed a service to the potential client in showcasing the ways in which proposed initiatives may succeed.  We information professionals, though we are not selling products or engineering projects, will benefit from the sharp instructions made in Robyn's book through the reinforcement that selling is a service when it is done properly.

Naturally, I swapped Robyn a copy of my Business Cases for Info Pros: Here's Why, Here's How (http://books.infotoday.com/books/BusinessCasesforInfoPros.shtml).  We focus on different client scenarios  but we believe in the same principles ... thanks to Heather for making the connection.

Conference season is upon us ...

Large numbers of information professionals are heading off to conferences during the summer - yours truly included.  For those "just" attending - I use quotation marks because attending a conference's many sessions, visiting exhibitors, and seeing to the social networks is serious work! - the conference is likely a welcome annual professional highlight; for those who have worked on committees in the association in question, it is an opportunity to see the entire year's efforts come to fruition.

This is my moment to encourage anyone who may be considering volunteering in the appropriate association ... don't hold back!  Every association needs willing hands to make events happen, get out the newsletter, take care of the website and blogs, and scout for members deserving of special recognition ... not to mention stand for election to the board of directors!  There is a need for every volunteer ... and do consider that association roles and positions look good on a resume!

Professional associations are an invaluable source of collegial support and inspiration - in fact, many say the # 1 reason they are members is the networking benefit.  But associations don't run themselves.  Of course, many may hesitate to add commitments to already crowded schedules ... that is understandable ... yet let's keep in mind that active participation is an investment in ourselves and our careers.

Not sure what role is most appropriate for you?  Call me - we'll talk. 

Two solitudes who could get a lot closer

In December 2005, I had the pleasure of delivering a very well received presentation [what happens to market research data once it enters an enterprise] to the inaugural MRIA Business Intelligence Conference (www.mria-arim.com).  Just now, I moderated a panel at the 2006 edition and came away convinced more than ever that the market research / business intelligence community and the special libraries community have so much more in common than they might think.  The speakers reminded me of several "gem insights" I will comment on here shortly.  The key takeaway though:  We would all gain by investigating win-win opportunities to collaborate (starting modestly in our camp by investigating MRIA).  They should not be a solitude, nor should we! 

Oh, I could never take a job in sales!

Those who have been in the audience at one of my "career skills" talks will recognize the message that "Guess what!  Any job in the information profession IS in sales!".  Succeeding after library school is heavily dependent on skills in interpersonal relations, networking, negotiation, committee management, communicating in ways that are appropriate for the target audience, and so on (the shorthand expression is "schmoozing skills"). 

Why are we here?

Professional pride is a powerful driver of on-the-job behavior, appropriately so.  That said, I find it's often helpful to "step back from the brink of perfection" and ask:  Are we here to run the most perfectly managed information centre in the world, for example cataloguing every item to the most stringent standards ... or to help the clients get their jobs done?  The answer is obvious. As always, it's not about doing things right (the way we were taught back at library school) ... it's about doing the right things.  And the "right things" ... are the activities that will make a positive difference to our stakeholders. The choice is one we need to make - and sell - every day.