The Job Search for Library Deans/University Librarians: Advice to Provosts and Search Committees

The “Sound of Silence” is a somewhat haunting song and one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel tunes from the 1960s. “Hello darkness my old friend” and “sounds of silence”, poignant words from the song, are certainly appropriate and telling phrases that sometimes describe the job search and the love/hate process it invokes.

I don’t think I have ever met a person that said they love looking for a new job. For many people, the job hunt is one of those activities that are approached with fear and loathing. Some of this fear and loathing comes from the actual interview process, but the whole process can have steps that cause anxiety for the job seeker.

Having been involved in a large number of job searches, I have some advice for Provosts and Search Committees that can be helpful in making the process better for potential job candidates.

Advertisements: Crafting job advertisements that reflect the breadth and complexity of the position while also satisfying the requirements of campus HR is difficult. As some online ads charge by the word, there is also pressure to be precise.

·         Most job ads for Library Deans/University librarians have an aspirational tone and information about the library and the university. Include URLs for specific things like the library or university’s mission and strategic plan. Provide a link to a more complete description or position profile if there is one.

·         Education: Be clear on the educational requirements, especially as they related to an ALA-accredited MLIS. Be specific if other related education is in addition to the MLIS or can be substituted for it. If a having a doctorate is important, specify if it is required or preferred. Be upfront at what point academic transcripts will be required.

·         Experience: Be clear on the number of years of leadership/management are expected as a minimum. Be specific if the leadership is within an academic library or if leadership/management experience from other areas will be acceptable.

·         Soft skills: All job ads include at least some soft skills. Be as concrete as possible as to how candidates might demonstrate these.

·         Diversity and inclusion: A request for a statement on diversity and inclusion is becoming more common. Be specific if this is part of the documentation that should be submitted.

·         Submission requirements: Some job ads require submission of application materials to the Search Chair as well as applying on the university HR site. Make it clear to candidates what is expected.

Repostings: Jobs often get reposted for a variety of reasons. It is helpful to potential candidates to know that an online ad they see is a reposting, especially if the deadlines for the application have been extended or changed in some way. This can be made clear in the reposted advertisement with a simple statement.

Search firms: Many universities use search firms who create detailed position profiles. While it is not feasible to include that much detail in an online advertisement, providing a link to the full profile and the search firm is helpful. Provide detailed instructions for applying, especially if the materials are submitted to both the search firm and the university.

Nominations: Often job advertisements for Deans/University Librarians and other such high-level positions, invite nominations from the larger library community. Make the nomination process clear, whether that is through the search firm, or through the campus search chair.

Deadlines: Include deadlines for receipt of applications and a date when the committee will start reviewing the applications. If the application is opened ended, then a preferred by date should be used.

Visas: Be clear, in the advertisement, if the institution is providing Visa assistance for applications outside of the US. The visa statement often appears in the universities HR system, and not in the job advertisement. If the University is not providing Visa support it is helpful for potential applicants to know that upfront before they take the time to write a cover letter, update their CV, etc.

Airport interviews: Search firms and some campus run searches will use an airport interview for the first round of candidates. Contrary to the name, the interviews are not at the airport but at a nearby hotel. While this method involves a fair amount of expense and logistical planning, it is, from the candidate’s point a view, a valuable option. Meeting with the search committee in person and being able to see body language and how you are connecting with members of the search committee gives a candidate a richer experience.

Video interviews:  It is common to conduct preliminary interviews via Skype, BlueJeans, Zoon or another video technology. My experience with video interview is quite uneven, due to poor planning, poor location, and technical issues. Most often the glitches are caused by poor or inadequate microphones, a less than adequate camera, and arrangement of the search committee in the room. Search Committees should test all the components of the planned system ahead of time, using someone to play the remote interviewee to ensure that search committee members can be seen and heard.

Confidential interviews: A third option for a preliminary interview is an on-campus interview that is confidential; an interview with the search committee and a few selected others but with no announcement to the campus community. These interviews are about 6 hours or more so give both the candidate and the search committee more information.

Interview questions: Search committees often create very complex and multipart questions. While these questions may get at aspects of the candidate’s experience and philosophy that the search committee wants to explore, they can be difficult for the candidate to remember and answer effectively. It is, in my opinion, appropriate at the begging of the meeting with the search committee for the committee to hand a printed copy of the questions to the candidate. This allows the candidate to refer back to the question if needed while still allowing for a spontaneous answer. This is especially helpful if there are multi-part questions or if a question contains a scenario that a candidate is expected to respond to.

Search committee: In more than 30 interviews I have seen a wide variety of committee structures. Being a member of a search committee requires a significant investment of time, so it is critical to form a committee that is broad, diverse, and highly engaged. For a position such as University Librarian/Dean of Libraries/Director of Libraries, the committee should include librarians and library staff, classroom faculty, someone from student affairs, and one or more students. Chair of the Search Committee should be another Dean or Department Chair from outside the Library, preferably one who is regularly engaged with the library. Make the search committee makeup available to candidates, either directly or via the Library website. This helps the candidate understand who they will be interviewing with.

I have seen a few search committees for such positions where the campus administration has refused to include any librarians or library staff members on the committee.  This is a grave mistake and sends the wrong signal to potential candidates. This stance says that the campus administration does not value its librarians, and it also says that anyone, who may or may not have any expertise or knowledge of modern academic libraries, is totally qualified to judge potential candidates. I personally would not accept an invitation to interview at these institutions.

Campus interviews:

·         Include a tour of the library early in the interview schedule. I have been in interviews that have not included a tour of the library or have put it the very end as part of the wrap up of the interview. Both of these strategies puts candidates at a disadvantage. Seeing the library facility early on, with its various services, technologies, and building challenges gives the candidate time to ask the search committee and Provost informed questions.

·         For candidates that are coming from outside the geographic area of the university, provide time for the candidate to explore the area. This can be accomplished by allowing the candidate to rent a car and provide a half-day for them to visit the area and understand if this would be a city/area they can see themselves living in.  The institution should also have a realtor provide a real estate tour of the area so that the candidate can get a sense of housing options.

·         Interview schedules often include names of groups that the candidate will meet with; e.g. Dean’s Council, Academic xxxx. If possible provide links to the potential people in these groups, especially if it is unclear to the candidate who these people might be.

Presentation: Most interviews require candidates to make a presentation: usually 20-30 minutes followed by a question and answer period. Often these are recorded so members of the larger university community and members of the search committee can review it after the interview is over. If possible the search committee should give candidates a short prompt for the presentation so that all candidates can respond to the same issue.

Interview wrap up: At the end of the interview, the search chair should layout the decision-making process and the approximate time frame for a decision. Let the candidate know the role the search committee plays in the final decision as in many cases the search committee does not make a recommendation but only gives information to the Provost on the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.

Notification: Perhaps the most frustrating part of the job search, other than hearing you did not get a job offer, is hearing nothing. The “sound of silence” from the university is one of those things that makes the job hunt more frustrating. Here are some strong recommendations.

·         After a Skype or phone interview, notify candidates if they are being invited to campus for an interview. By the time a search committee has narrowed down the pool to a group for a Skype/phone/airport interview, the number of candidates is usually under ten, and it is not an unreasonable burden for the search committee to inform candidates who are not moving to the next level. Notification by phone or email should come as soon as possible after the search committee has made its decision. DO NOT just leave candidates from the preliminary pool hanging without any type of response. This is rude and also gives candidates a negative view of the university. If this is how they treat potential candidates, it might not be a good place to work.

·         When search committees wrap up an on-campus interview, give the candidate a sense of the time frame when a decision will be made and how they can expect to be contacted. Again, DO NOT leave candidates hanging, and do not be so rude that a candidates never receives any response from the university. While this has not happened to me, my daughter and another colleague had on-campus interviews at least 6 months ago and they never heard anything at all after returning home from the interview.

The goal of all of these thoughts is to provide some guidance that hopefully can make the search process better for both the university and the individual applicants.