Manage Your Brand as a Librarian

Quite by accident, I have had a couple of interesting conversations with newly minted and experienced library people. Of course job prospects as well as actively managing a library career are on everyone's mind especially given trying economic times and changes in our profession. Putting the discussion of the future of the profession aside for a minute, everyone is concerned about career development and distinguishing themselves in this hyper-competitive environment.  Regardless of where you are in this career mix, all of us really do need to be aware of our "brand" as a librarian.  Do you have a brand?  You do have one, even if you think you don't.

A brand is really your reputation.  What are you "known" for?  What are you saying in public (and I am including all social media here)?  What have you said in a meeting or a conference?  Back in the day, most librarians were probably just about the paper resume.  Now your brand is a sum total of everything about you from  your activity in social media, listservs, blogs all the way to what you say in meetings, conferences, publications, etc.  The line of your personal and professional reputation is blurry and if you aren't actively aware of your "brand" or image out in library land, you could be out of luck in jobs and interviews.

This idea of a brand is almost anything from the inane to the topic of the day.  I have library friends that I know are "into" certain topics, events, activities so much so that I instantly think of them as "go to" people.  It isn't just the topic they are into, it is also the enthusiasm, hot button issues, and personal work habits that make the total package or brand. This also works in reverse.  I have heard way too many times about some librarians that are difficult, excessively weird (in the world of libraries I realize that is a relative concept) or so passive or shy you wonder if they have anything at all to say.

This is also true with electronic and social media.  You are what you say.  Being snippy on a Facebook post or a Twitter can be ruinous for your reputation and job prospects.  Just remember library world is small and I have yet to meet anyone in library world that doesn't know someone who knows someone, etc.  On top of that, I also have yet to meet someone who doesn't want to hear details of a library drama, even if they don't know the players personally. When someone in my library circle changes jobs, I know emails and tweets fly around the network wanting an inside scoop.

I think being part of the library discussion is essential. Think about this every time you tweet, blog, or update your status.  If you are job hunting you better REALLY think about this. Let the real you out, just remember that a little lipstick and running comb through your proverbial brand wouldn't hurt.

Mary

More articles to make you think about your career and your reputation:

Social Media and Employment Law From Monster

Do yourself a GIANT favor and read  Bobbi Newman at Librarian by Day regularly!  I already linked to this article in a previous post, but it is worth mentioning this article again:  In the End I want to be Able to Say I Contributed More than I Criticized. Public service does take a toll on people and keeping good humor is essential, but also a positive outlook on the nature of the job can do wonders for an attitude.

Bobbi also pointed me to this article on "How to Ruin (or Build) Your Personal Brand" 

Holly Hibner also wrote about Integrety and Intent and that also should keep you in good frame of mind as we continue this discussion.

Teaching Excel to Beginners - Less is MORE!

One of my favorite library instruction sessions is teaching beginning students the glories of Excel.  In my former life, I did accounting and of course, I am also old enough to remember a time of green ledger paper and hand cranked adding machines.  Excel is absolutely a life changing piece of software for those of us who remember those bygone days.  If you are one of the lucky folks introducing the wonders of Excel to a group of beginners, I urge you to take a step back from screen shots and "how-to" instruction for a moment.

Limit your instructional goals.
I am teaching usually in a public library setting in a one or two session introduction class.  My job is not to teach the entire body of knowledge but basics and working knowledge of vocabulary and potential of Excel. As with all computer instruction we all know 50 ways to do the one task at hand.  Beginners don't need to forget 50 ways to do the one thing.  They do need to learn how to do a task so well that they can recall it after they leave. Teach one way and repeat the instruction.  Make sure your handout details the ONE way. Don't share shortcuts and alternatives at this point.

Do projects rather than explain a procedure. 
Use Excel to demonstrate things that are familiar, even if you are not a bookkeeper.  Everyone makes a list, everyone keeps a checkbook.  Use concrete, familiar examples to illustrate concepts. One of my favorite projects was a guest list my family had created for a wedding.  Of course I felt compelled to add an additional column indicating how much I liked said relatives on a scale of 1 through 5.  We also added a column detailing social problems such as career failures, drinking issues, propensity to borrow money, etc.  Without fail, my family tree has been a complete hit with students and has wonderfully illustrated the database attributes to beginners without mathematics and intimidating data.  (Family honor prevents me from sharing this publicly, but suffice to say everyone can identify with a chart like that.)

Most people "inherit" spreadsheets than create complicated ones from scratch.
I have found that so many folks end up in my classes because they have started a new job and have inherited someone's complete mess of a spreadsheet.  This is where it is important to do a reference type interview for your student. Ask the student to verbally describe the process or objective of the spreadsheet.  Review without necessarily typing anything into a spreadsheet and "sketch" out the process visually or verbally.  Often this less about working with Excel and more about someone understanding a workflow situation. Make sure the student is appropriately skeptical about anyone else's creative use of Excel.

Give students options for learning more.
Go back to your computer collection and talk about the library's available materials on Excel.  Clarify the various versions.  Share the wonders of You Tube and other web resources for Excel instruction.  Reiterate specific search strategies rather than just typing "excel" into a search box.  Be specific.  "Inserting a column in Excel 2007".

Lather, rinse, repeat.
Repetition is your friend!  Have students re-create the projects in class over and over until they can do it almost by rote.

Mary

My cohort in library crime, Holly Hibner, also has great things to say about computer instruction.  Read her stuff here.