Below is a post I wrote in the Facebook group Library Think Tank (#ALATT) on April 1 and it is now joke. It is a post that I don't want to lose, so I'm placing it here. (Please note that it has been updated to fix wording in a couple of places.)
I'm currently on three search committees (and have been on many before this) and I know that we ask versions of this question when we are reviewing candidates. Does this person have the right skills, or can the person (quickly) develop the needed skills? Does the person's attitude mesh with ours? Is the person on the same trajectory as us? Is the person demonstrating that they want to fit in with us?
Yes, we review the person's resume/CV, interview the person, check references, etc., all with an eye towards whether the person is the correct person for this opportunity at this time. The person might not be ready.
Questions (for you to ponder) for those of you on the job hunt, how do you demonstrate to the search committee that you see yourself working in that environment? What is in your cover letter, which connects you to that environment and its needs? Do they see on your resume that you have the skills they are looking for? Through your interview (Skype, telephone, or on-site), can they see that you will fit in? Have you taken the time to learn something about that organization and do you use that information in your interview? If you have to give a presentation, have you inserted what you know about the organization?
When you ask about your piercings or hair color, what you are asking is whether the search committee and organization will see you as fitting in. When they look at everything about you (resume, etc.), will they see someone who belongs in their organization? Or do your materials, presentation, interview, etc. paint a picture of you such that the fact you have piercings or colored hair become the dominate piece of information about you?
Can the search committee see you working in their environment?
I'm currently on three search committees (and have been on many before this) and I know that we ask versions of this question when we are reviewing candidates. Does this person have the right skills, or can the person (quickly) develop the needed skills? Does the person's attitude mesh with ours? Is the person on the same trajectory as us? Is the person demonstrating that they want to fit in with us?
Yes, we review the person's resume/CV, interview the person, check references, etc., all with an eye towards whether the person is the correct person for this opportunity at this time. The person might not be ready.
Questions (for you to ponder) for those of you on the job hunt, how do you demonstrate to the search committee that you see yourself working in that environment? What is in your cover letter, which connects you to that environment and its needs? Do they see on your resume that you have the skills they are looking for? Through your interview (Skype, telephone, or on-site), can they see that you will fit in? Have you taken the time to learn something about that organization and do you use that information in your interview? If you have to give a presentation, have you inserted what you know about the organization?
When you ask about your piercings or hair color, what you are asking is whether the search committee and organization will see you as fitting in. When they look at everything about you (resume, etc.), will they see someone who belongs in their organization? Or do your materials, presentation, interview, etc. paint a picture of you such that the fact you have piercings or colored hair become the dominate piece of information about you?
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