Recovery, Reframing, and Renewal

This book examines the difficulties confronting information professionals who, due to financial downturns, technological change, or personal crises, are forced to re-evaluate their career options. It is divided between a case study (based on the author's own experiences) of career dislocation and eventual career renewal, and several sections that offer pragmatic advice on how to recover from job loss, conduct a skills assessment and develop a practical job search strategy. The author, with honesty, confronts the serious and sometimes troubling psychological and professional consequences of layoffs and job burnout. This book presents an overall positive outlook on personal growth and the opportunities our new information environment holds.

• Provides the tools and resources that will help the reader decide on the best approach to re-start their career
• Presents first-hand experience about the anxiety, hard work, and excitement that go into career renewal
• Shines a light on the understanding of the various challenges that come with working in multiple library environments

Auteur

Oliver Cutshaw has over 30 years experience as both a para-professional technician and professional librarian; having worked at world-renowned universities, including Harvard University, and small graduate schools he brings a broad and established perspective to the question of career change. The author holds both MA and MLIS degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park. He served as a middle manager and preservation librarian for over a decade at Harvard University and is now the Librarian for Southern California at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, California.

Contenu

Acknowledgements About the author Chapter 1: Introduction to the parameters of career renewal

• Abstract: Chapter 2: Career recovery: a case study of my personal job search

• Abstract:
• Off to California
• First you fail and then, guess what, you fail again
• Why not try something new? Re-envisioning the problem
• New approach, but the road is still bumpy and long
• Your social network is not always a source of support
• At last, I found a job
• Dos and don'ts: some lessons to be learned from my experience

• Observations to be drawn from my case: or some of the deadly sins of modern- day employment and job searching Chapter 3: No job, no way: librarians are often unprepared for voluntary and involuntary career changes

• Abstract:
• The dodo effect: too much specialization and too much complacency
• It comes like a thief in the night and sometimes it doesn't
• The job market: there is a big world outside these hallowed halls

• We have it within our power: self-assessment and reframing Chapter 4: First you grieve: job loss, job stagnation, and job burnout in an age of transition

• Abstract:
• We are handling it, but are we really?
• You got a right to sing the blues!
• You are more than just a job title

• Rethinking your skill set and reframing your career goals Chapter 5: Re-envisioning your career: a new look at yourself and your skills

• Abstract:
• Who are you and what do you want to do with your career?
• The really big change
• Skills analysis: don't sell yourself short
• The generalist, the hybrid, and the specialist: know yourself and consider how others may know you
• You are a person not just a category
• Outside work is not outside of the box

• Getting another perspective Chapter 6: Reframing your skills and search strategies: preparing for the job search and looking at your professional goals with a fresh and realistic approach

• Abstract:
• You cannot find what you want unless you know what you need
• How do I know what I want and need in a job?
• Job searching: it's better than you think
• Searching may be easier but applying for a job can be confusing
• The essentials: résumé, cover letter, references

• Now set sail Chapter 7: New résumé, new interview skills, but the road can still be bumpy: preparing for the job search and practicing the survival skills needed for success

• Abstract:
• Trends in twenty-first century job interviews: forewarned is forearmed

• The three Ps for surviving the job hunt: patience, persistence, and perspective Chapter 8: You got your job! Hurray! But now what?

• Abstract:
• Sometimes a bargain is not a bargain

• Stay prepared, stay alert Chapter 9: How can our professional organizations and graduate schools build a better professional support system?

• Abstract:
• A roomful of worry and hope: the ALA-Allied Professional Association meeting
• Our graduate school programs: part of the answer and part of the problem

• What kinds of support can our professional organizations provide? Chapter 10: Conclusions: recovery, reframing, and renewal are a matter of interpretation

• Abstract:
• What do we mean by recovery?
• What do we mean by reframing?
• What do we mean by renewal? Bibliography Index