A friend told me that my second installment in this series was a woeful little tale which made me laugh but hey, it was all true! I will admit that I do actually miss my days at the elementary school. I was planning to go in this week to accomplish some work on my own time until a fellow co-worker told me I should just wait till September comes before going in. I have to agree with her that the work isn't going to go anywhere and I should just enjoy this time off.
With the very likely possibility of not having a position here at the circulation desk at PCC come this fall, I've been looking around some. I am not keen on job hunting once again. It seems it was just yesterday I was doing that. But alas, one must do what one must do. A co-worker/friend informed me of a full-time position at a high school library yesterday with the deadline to apply for earlier this afternoon. I decided to go ahead and apply. Who knows what will happen? So far, the last two applications I sent out, I got the "Thank you but no thank you response." Earlier this year, I interviewed for two positions and got the "Thank you but you're over-qualified." response. Can't win, can you sometimes?
That brings me pondering if I do find another job and have to quit the elementary school job. Yes, I will miss it in spite of the cons. Even though it's a very demanding job with minimal hours and pay, the rewards have been immense. It's been wonderful getting the experience of running this library primarily on my own and being able to make the majority of the decisions. I have loved the opportunity getting to know this collection well as it's not huge. I enjoy working with the wonderful teachers and staff as well as trying to encourage kids to enjoy reading different subjects. The smiles on those kids make my day as well. I have gotten reacquainted with old favorites and discovered new favorites. If you'd told me years ago, I'd be now always on the look-out for cool kids' books when I am out shopping, I'd never have believed it unless I had become a grandmother. Granted, if I were to get a full-time school library postion, there will be still a lot of the same advantages and similarities without the overwhelming demands of being the singular person there.
I'm still deciding what kind of library I want to work at once I become a librarian. Luckily for me, that won't be for another couple of years. Part of me is still debating becoming a school librarian as I'm already working in the system. But I have to come to love working in an academic library as well. I also wonder if special libraries are the way to go perhaps since there may not be the same funding problems as with public, school and community college libraries.
It may seem I'm off-track here but one of the things about volunteering and working in a school district that I experienced these past couple of years was seeing first- hand the reality of librarians and library technicians either being laid off or having their hours cut. For example, this last school year, a good friend went from being a 12 month to a 10 month position. I'm sure a lot of people didn't like this but he figured it was better than losing his position completely. I'd have to agree. In a time when people have been losing their jobs, I actually got an increase in my hours for the following school year. Whether that will still be the case come September remains to be seen and I'm prepared for anything. As they always say, it usually gets worse before getting better. And that's exactly what I'm seeing now.
No matter what happens though, I can say that going through the application and interview process (if I get to that point), is good practice for when I'm applying for a to-die-for position in the future.
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