ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 728 / C&RL N ew s ■ Ju ly /A u g u st 2001 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s ens w Personnel officer to Robin the Boy Wonder: “Do you have any references besides Batman?”1 The final (but still important) job application p iece by Janice K. Christopher J ob application materials must be accu­ rate, current, and relevant. Applicants often devote their time to letter and résum however, and fail to consider their list o f ref­ erences, a potentially dangerous omission. Good references can boost your chances; bad references can fatally injure your candidacy. Good referen ces • Current supervisor. He or she knows your skills, most recent work history, and professional potential. If you don’t want this person to know y o u ’re job-hunting, indicate that you wish to be contacted before he or she is called; address the issue then. If your relationship with your current supervisor is spectacularly bad, you may hope to omit him or her, but missing supervisors look suspi­ cious. List your supervisor plus references for damage control, such as previous super­ visors or senior colleagues w ho can say, “It’s unfortunate [supervisor] doesn’t w ork well with [applicant]. In my relationship with [ap­ plicant], I’ve found him or her to be a valu­ able asset, . . .” • Professional (library) colleagues. These colleagues can address your knowl­ é edge, accomplishments, interpersonal skills, writing/speaking ability, or general collegi- , ality. • Non-library references. Employers outside the library world, professors or re­ searchers, or university administrators may not speak “librarian,” but they can assess you as an em ployee or provide external perspec­ tives. Bad references • Dead people. Do not provide a refer­ ence w h o is deceased, regardless o f name recognition. Search committees like to speak to references. • Blood relatives and in-laws. Your mother approves o f you automatically. Your brother-in-law wants you hired so yo u ’ll move out o f his basement and quit drinking his beer. • Friends, neighbors, and former teachers. These folks don ’t know you in a w ork context. Co-workers w h o are friends can be references, but they should be com ­ fortable describing you solely in professional terms. • Subordinates. Yo u cou ld retaliate against them, so any reference is tinged with About the author Janice K. Christopher is monograph catalog librarian at the Colorado School o f Mines in Golden, Colorado, e-mail: jchristo @min es.edu mailto:jchristo@mines.edu C&RL N e w s ■ Ju ly / A u g u s t 2001 / 729 coercion. Is this person being nice just be­ cause you’re the boss? N ew bie librarian issues Librarians fresh out of school may have lim­ ited library experience and need to go out­ side the field for references. Remember: Al­ most any em ployer can address organizational ability, work ethic, initiative, independence, teamwork, and so on. Search committees know that this person will de­ scribe you as a worker or colleague, not as a librarian. • Library school professors. Professors encounter many students; those who speak vaguely about you are bad references. The best references come from professors you worked for as a teaching assistant or research assistant; they are your “employers.” Thesis advisors or independent study directors are also good references. Don’t list a “name” pro­ fessor trying for extra cachet if you don’t have a close relationship with that person. • Reference letters. These letters are of­ ten suggested for placement files. If you’re “carpet bombing,” applying for many posi­ tions, these types of letters make sense be­ cause then your references won’t be both­ ered as often (so you hope). If you’re selec­ tively targeting potential employers— by ge­ ography, position or library type, or for maxi­ mum attention to each application— the place­ ment file letter is weak, because it can’t ad­ dress each job’s requirements. If a letter em­ phasizes your teamwork skills but a poten­ tial employer is interested in independent work, this letter doesn’t help. Dealing w ith referen ces Always ask potential references for permis­ sion before you send out an application. Why? 1) It’s polite. 2) You’re asking to be endorsed professionally, so be sure you can and will be (given levels of hiring-related litigation). 3) You don’t want the first comment out of the reference’s mouth to be, “He/she is ap­ plying for that?” 4) Professional or personal commitments may limit a reference’s avail­ ability. Nasty surprises (a previous supervi­ sor taking a six-week “nature hike” in central Alaska) can be avoided. If a person declines, thank them and move on. When formatting your list, include your name (you’d be surprised how many people Listing o n ly one reference, even a su p erhero — Batm an— isn ’t sm art. Sure, you w o rk w ith Batm an, drive th e B atm obile, and hang o ut in the B atcave, but can you w o rk w ith a g ro u p ? During d a y lig h t? Or as a lead er in stead o f a sid ekick? forget this). For each reference, provide the form of address (Mr., Ms., Dr.); title (“Direc­ tor of Libraries,” “Head of Technical Ser­ vices”); and office address and phone num­ ber. Summarize each person’s relationship to you: “Ms. Doe is my current supervisor” or “Mr. Doe is a senior reference librarian, my co-worker and mentor.” Give your references the job ad, your résumé, letter of application, list of refer­ ences, and any information about what should be emphasized, such as your plan­ ning or public-contact skills. If you’re elimi­ nated from consideration for a job, tell your references. A w o rd to th e w ise Listing only one reference, even a super­ hero— Batman— isn’t smart. Sure, you work with Batman, drive the Batmobile, and hang out in the Batcave, but can you work with a group? During daylight? Or as a leader in­ stead of a sidekick? Even if you’re self em­ ployed, you do have professional contacts. Most ads request three professional refer­ ences; providing more depends on the job. For general reference or cataloging jobs, three references are enough, but if subject exper­ tise, research skills beyond normal expecta­ tions, or highly specialized experience is re­ quired, an extra reference or two can address that aspect of your abilities. Always adjust your list for the job. Some committees cold-call people who are not on your list. If Person A on the com­ mittee knows Person B, a former colleague of yours, Person B may get called. Really mde? No; consider the time and effort search com­ mittees put in. They want to find an accept­ able hire, so they need to gather as much (continued on page 732) 732 / C&RL News ■ July/August 2001 From n o w on, lib raries should refuse to accept d e liv e ry on a n e w a u to m a tio n system unless th e OPAC in terfa ce includes a b u tto n th a t says “ RANDOM IZE,” or m aybe “ POTLUCK.” to think in straight lines, but are often most productive w hen w e deal in analogy and meta­ phor. Creative leaps h ap p e n after w e have steeped ourselves in a problem and given up on horizontal thinking. O ur unconscious mind keeps o n working and sometimes finds a so­ lution in the patterns produced by something far rem oved from the original problem. Maybe a horticulturist will be mulling over an asparagus disease, and a b ook o n polkas will provide the insight she needs: “Let’s lay out the beds ONE-two-three-four, ONE-two- three-four.” Realms of discourse and thought interpenetrate, and ideas that arose in math­ ematics are applied to botany, physics, eco­ nomics, medicine, and French literature; even­ tually, a particularly knotty problem in topol­ ogy is called something like “Baudelaire’s co­ nundrum .” It is time w e give chance its due. From now on, libraries should refuse to accept delivery on a n ew automation system unless the OPAC interface includes a button that says “RANDOM­ IZE,” or maybe “POTLUCK.” Click on this bu t­ ton and you get ten titles from the database— any ten titles, chosen by a random num ber generator. You may look at these titles for di­ vine guidance. Or just for fresh ideas. Creative writing teachers may assign stu­ dents to write p apers that cite any seven of Morphology o f Vascular Plants, Lower Groups (Psilophytales to Filicales); N ational Party Platforms, 1840-1972; Great Riding Schools o f the World; Methods o f Interpreting Plato a n d his Dialogues; N u tritio n a n d D iet Therapy; Field Guide to the Butterflies o f A f­ rica; Emily Dickinson: an Interpretive Biog­ raphy; Lumbrosacral Spine: Em phasizing Conservative Management; Readings in Brit­ ish Monetary Economics; a n d Delineating Toxic Areas by Canine Olfaction. There’s a report guaranteed not to be avail­ able from any online term paper mill. What instructor w ouldn’t be willing to pay m oney to grade a paper like that? Or to see the movie based o n it? W hen an undergraduate comes in saying that he or she can’t think o f a g ood term paper topic, w e could give “POTLUCK” a spin and offer a real choice. W hen an undergraduate is making career decisions, he or she could RAN­ DOMIZE and ask “Which o f these ten books represents something I w ouldn’t mind spend­ ing the next four or five years learning about?” But the real benefit w ould be in broaden­ ing the boxes in w hich w e think. In times of change, w e look at things that seem to be b e ­ yond our control and understanding. By im­ posing our ow n order on them, w e create the new. We op en the Bible and stab our finger at a verse, o r toss yarrow stalks, o r deal from the devil’s deck, and the resulting pattern tells us w hat w e already knew, but d idn’t w ant to ad­ mit. A random w ord, a b o o k seen by chance, can b reak us o u t o f our mold. Little things can lead to far-reaching consequences. Some­ w here a butterfly, dream ing that it is Chuang Chou, flutters its wings an d starts a distant hurricane. ■ ( “.Personnel officer to Robin . . . ” cont. fro m page 729) legitimate inform ation as they can. This prac­ tice isn’t w idespread, but d o n ’t b e surprised if it happens. “Character references” d o n ’t exist. You’re not a Victorian housem aid o r footm an w ho needs a “character” to prove moral rectitude. Your references are professional, period. Conclusion W hen com posing a list o f references, use com m on sense. Choose professional or work- related contacts w h o b est present your quali­ fications for a job. Ask your references for their perm ission before sending out applica­ tion materials, an d inform them about the job an d the progress o f y o u r application. Many applicants neglect this aspect o f job­ hunting; paying attention to it can only help you. N ote 1. Mort Gerberg, Cartoon, The New Yorker, (July 1997). ■