Content area
One younger librarian, for example, moved halfway across the country in order to trade off geographical convenience for higher pay and a stimulating workplace. "By the time I left," she says, "the library was divided into two factions: the enthusiastic newcomers who did most of the work, and everyone else, many of whom actively worked against the director's wishes.
Full text
SOME NEXTGENS FACE QUESTIONS about whether and when to move up into management (see NextGen, LJ 9/15/04). Others face the potentially more wrenching decision of whether and when to move out of their institutions. We need to take regular stock to see if our library, and our specific position, is still meeting our career needs. If it's not, we must identify options for moving on or run the very real risk of becoming disillusioned and stagnant in our jobs.
Those of you still in school or looking for that first job, keep reading as well. You can protect against some grief if you pay as much attention to selecting an employer as they do to hiring you. Forming a realistic picture of your future working environment can save you time and trouble later. If you are at the point where you'll accept any job but predict emotional unhealthiness, excess bureaucracy, or pitiful compensation at the one that is finally offered, remember that you can put a year or two in to gain that all-important experience. Then do it, and move on.
Identifying unhealthy workplaces
A recent LISCareer.com article, "In Search of an Emotionally Healthy Library" (www.liscareer.com/cunningham_eiq.htm), discusses characteristics of emotionally unhealthy workplaces. These include such basics as lack of communication, negative personalities that dominate, lack of administrative respect for staff, and a library administration that avoids conflict. Too often, though, those of us in such situations put our energy into complaints rather than identifying alternatives. This is hardly exclusive to NextGens, but we have a responsibility to both our own careers and our profession to start out right. Remember the following:
* The more time and effort you invest in an unhealthy working environment, the harder it can be both to leave and to adjust to a new workplace.
* You have 30, 40, or more good working years ahead of you. Decide how many of those you want to spend being unhappy. See if your library is making you unhealthy: physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
* We tout our NextGen energy and enthusiasm. We need to prevent that from turning sour by recognizing when situations are unchangeable and refraining from repeatedly beating our heads into the brick walls of bureaucracy and "we always did it this way."
* Your first workplace and your first few years shouldn't be the make-or-break experience for your commitment to librarianship as a career. Step back and learn to separate your specific workplace and experiences from the profession as a whole.
While much has been written about Generation X's and Y's lack of intrinsic loyalty to institutions and expectation of multiple positions throughout a life of work, it is nonetheless easy to get bogged down in the routine, or complacent in our roles as victims and put off making tough career decisions. Even in the unhealthiest of work environments, we build connections with fellow staff members, attachments to our patrons, and a level of comfort. Moving on means breaking those bonds, and that takes some courage.
Make your move
What do we owe to our first employers? What do we owe if they are not fulfilling their part of the employment contract-if they are stifling efforts at innovation, micromanaging, failing to fight for realistic compensation, or eschewing effective communication in favor of gossip and rumor? What do we owe ourselves? Think about the real possibility of burnout and apathy if you spend too long being frustrated. If you have made an honest yet fruitless effort at changing an unhealthy environment from within, be open to making your move. Then conduct an honest search for the right fit and the right conditions. Few of us get it right on the first try!
One younger librarian, for example, moved halfway across the country in order to trade off geographical convenience for higher pay and a stimulating workplace. "By the time I left," she says, "the library was divided into two factions: the enthusiastic newcomers who did most of the work, and everyone else, many of whom actively worked against the director's wishes. To top it off, the salary was so low that I was losing money every day I stayed." This just-tenured librarian made the tough choice to take a new tenure-track position and begin working her way up again in a more supportive venue.
Pack in info for your move
Once you decide to move on to your next workplace, do some research. Talk to the staff. Prepare questions to ask interviewers about the climate and culture. Canvass people in your personal networks (email lists, at conferences/workshops). Librarians like to share info and often will be forthcoming about their situations.
Take stock of what you really want in a job; identify your top priorities before applying. Talk up your experience; don't talk down your current employer. Reward yourself and your commitment to this profession by searching out a workplace that values you and the skills and energy you bring, then work with those new colleagues for your mutual benefit.
Rachel Singer Gordon is webmaster, Lisjobs.com, and author of The Accidental Library Manager (ITI, forthcoming). She is LJ's Computer Media columnist
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. Dec 2004