reflection

Getting a Job Also Means Not Always Taking a Job

So recently, many people I know (including myself) have been applying for jobs. Although it may be tempting as a new graduate to take any job that comes along (especially a permanent one), over the course of a couple of co-ops and student jobs, I began to realize that one of the most important aspects of a job is the work environment. This may seem obvious, but again, as a new graduate, most of us would be happy to even get an interview, let alone a hopes at a job.

Red Flags

Even as new graduates, I think we should have certain expectations and if something throws up a red flag, we should be careful. If something throws up two or three, remember to reconsider whether you would take the job.

Say you get an interview. Great, right? Well, yes… but then what if some worrisome things started popping up? If say it was a permanent position, I would expect a lot of libraries to fly someone in for a second stage in-person interview. If they’re not willing, you might look into why. Budget might be a reason in the current economic environment, but then you might also consider whether the job is worth paying hundreds of dollars for the interview.

How was the first interview? Did you get a good sense of how people were like? Did you like the way that they did it? Did you feel like you were wasting your time? If you get negative ‘vibe’, research more about the library, ask colleagues and friends if they know anything. Think about whether you would want to work there for a year, for five, for ten.

Prepare Your Own Questions

I think the easiest way to get a better feel is to ask your own questions at the end of the interview. Again, this sounds obvious, but some people do not seem to be willing to ask questions such as:

How would you describe your management style?
How would you describe the team dynamics?
What do you like most about working for your organization?
Is there anything that stands out as a benefit to working for your organization?
etc.

I’ve asked these questions before myself and have gotten some pretty good answers from some and some vague ones from others. Vague isn’t always bad since it depends who your interviewers are, but on a panel, there should be at least one person who can properly answer each question.

Programming & Software Design Research Guide – LIBR 530

So for LIBR 530, we were to make a mini-subject guide and write up services that we would propose for the use of a specific type of person. To explain, the persona I chose is a computer science faculty member working on the more ‘theoretical’ side of things.

Lack of Literature

It was actually very difficult to find any research done on information behaviours for computer science faculty, especially anything recent and in the library context. I had to extrapolate from other research on scientists or computer science professionals and much of it I actually got from asking people I knew who had either done research or current faculty members.

The Resources

Interestingly, on the flip side, it was not hard at all to find out which resources were the most important ones. As conferences and its proceedings/reports are so important in the field, the big associations have their own publications and digital libraries. Google Scholar is frequently used because it indexes proceedings, reports (including technical reports), and online writings (vs. formal publications) from academic and research sites.

The Services

I don’t feel as if the services are original in any way, but I thought they were the most useful regardless. The hardest part of putting them into place, especially the first two, is the licensing and copyright involved. I wonder if lecture notes database already exist in an academic institution, in which case, it should be fairly easy to simply replicate.

Honestly, not my best work. I didn’t spend as much time on it as I would have liked, because I just didn’t have the time to. If I could do it over again, I would have taken more time to research and interview people, possibly even do a mini-study. I probably would have focused on the more application and technology side of computer science as well since that’s where my interest lie or do a completely different subject that I know nothing about.

Learning PHP LIBR 559P @ SLAIS

So this term, I decided to take the 1-credit Introductory PHP course, LIBR 599P.

Topics Covered

What is PHP?
PHP language basics – print, comments
Variables (pre-defined, defining, manipulating) and arrays – create, print
Passing Data – POST & GET
If/else and For Loop
Functions – basic building, using
PHP & HTML

Short Reflection

It’s so hard to digest such complex information in two full day classes though the first day especially was done well. I really do think it’d be nice to have instead a more advanced HTML/CSS plus introduction to JavaScript, PHP/MySQL or something similar. Full day classes just don’t work with programming of any sort. It takes a lot of time to digest especially when the topic is new and you may have not so tech-savvy students taking the class. I’m really thankful that I have enough of a background to easily grasp what she taught plus everything that Mike also taught in addition when I posed questions on the methodology used in completing my assignments.

Assignments

I admit right up front that I could have put more effort into the content and making it look pretty, but I had so many other assignments due around the same time that I focused more on writing good code while following assignment and instructor specifications.

Assignment 1: Show your knowledge of working with variables.
Assignment 2: Create a feedback form, e-mailing the results to a specific recipient. (Note: This form will always fail because SLAIS servers do not have the mail function enabled.)
Assignment 3: Create a mini-quiz and feedback form for a first year library workshop, e-mailing the results to the student and librarian.

One specific improvement I made in this one is a full error listing instead of listing only the first error encountered as we were taught in class. Also, in the real world, I would naturally never make people use the back button at all!

Please note that the e-mail function is blocked on the SLAIS servers, but I did test it on an e-mail enabled PHP server and both work.

Final Notes & Thoughts @ Access 2011

So I didn’t do a full post for all the sessions, but the live notes that were taken and presumably, video recordings will later be posted on the Access 2011 website.

Data Visualization

Jer Thorp gave a great talk on the data visualization work he’s done and has been working on at the New York Times. I couldn’t really take notes since so much of it was visual, but he blew a lot of minds with his work, so check out his blog.

My Lightning Talk

What really excited me beyond the work itself was the fact that he mentioned he was doing it all through Processing, so I decided to do a lightning talk to introduce everyone to Processing and more importantly Processing.js.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, Processing is an open source programming language primarily used for dynamic and interactive graphing and data visualization. Processing.js is the sister project which brings processing to the web. What’s the greatest part of processing.js is that a developer can start doing the same sort of thing but from the JavaScript side.

Check out the demos to see what kind of things you can possible do. I am particularly interested in the educational applications, such as giving students interactive graphs to see how mathematical functions work (see the Bezier Curves tutorial).

Added value: web accessible, Drupal plug-in, WordPress plug-in, fun games like a remake of Asteroids on the exhibition page.

See Access Live Notes for Lightning Talks and talks about other tools.

Digital Preservation

what does digital preservation mean? preserving more than objects and items
think on scalability
preserve what matters
start with policy and practice, not a platform
library can’t do it alone, partner with IT, Archives, etc.
need to think strategically
no one answer
some good tools
get started
think about what we can do with partnership

Fail Panel

The fail panel was great, because there were a lot of great stories by the panelists and others. Here are some of the lessons learned from the fail stories.

bleeding edge is not always great
good escape clauses to get out of bad situations
make sure company is stable
don’t make thematic websites – not scalable
don’t be working on original records or have a backup
never trust a tech
if you think it’s a bad idea, speak up
don’t have a project driven by one person
sometimes there isn’t a tech solution
make sure you press the right button
need to make sure

Share your own stories at failbrary.org

Thoughts

This was actually my first conference, but I think (and I’m clearly not the only one) it’s been really well put together and the food has especially been awesome, many within great socials. There’s been some tech fail, but that’s expected at every place I think.

I have particularly liked this conference because rather than simply having speakers talk, everyone has been highly encouraged to participate in some way (i.e. hackfest + presentations, lightning talks). I never though I’d be speaker at a conference, especially my first, but with the nature of the talks and encouragement of people got me to do a lightning talk. I think that alone speaks loads to the community.

It’s been an awesome experience, I’ve learnt a lot, and met a lot of great people. I really hope to be able to attend the next one.

Access 2012

Sad to see Access 2011 end, but for next year, a site will be set up to see who will host it, and the planning of the conference will be continued code4lib style.

Taking Advantage of Your Co-op Work Term

Whether it’s an internship or co-op, students should take advantage of the opportunities available to them during their work term. Recently, @otowncoho wrote a blog post on strategies for those who hire students in government. Being near the end of my own co-op term, I thought I would reflect on advice I would give to students coming into a similar situation.

Before the Term

Be Prepared

Might sound like common sense, but students should remember to ask about procedures for the first day and if they need to bring in anything (typically finance/pay or security related information).

Consider Not Taking Classes

I know students want to finish as soon as they can, but I have heard from a lot of students (and hearsay of supervisor comments) that taking one or more classes while on a full-time co-op term can be very stressful. If tired and/or stressed, you might be likely to underperform, be less enthusiastic, or seem less “present”. Although you might do your work well, it might be hard to leave a really good impression on the employer.

At the Beginning

Orientation

If one isn’t provided, ask your supervisor or a coworker about an orientation guide, which might include student employment policy (including stat pay and hours/overtime), how to set up phone and/or e-mail, use policies, contacting support services (such as IT), facilities, and useful links (like where to eat). I would expect an employer to (have someone) show you around the office and introduce you to coworkers, but if some are absent, remember to introduce yourself when they return.

Paper work

You may not like paper work, but it is a necessity. Make sure that HR/pay forms, tax forms, etc. are all completed on your first day or as soon as possible. Ask to see if direct deposit is available. Most of the time it’s not a problem, but I have heard too many stories about paycheques being lost or missing, which can be a big problem for students trying to meet rent and what not.

Work Plan / Objectives

Many schools and programs require the work or learning objectives are written and discussed with a supervisor. If not, it’s still a great platform to discuss with your supervisor what you want to get out of your co-op term. Topics you might want to cover:

Technical skills to acquire/work on
Interpersonal skills to learn more about/improve on
Weak Skills/Traits to work on
Knowledge Areas to learn about
Career Areas to learn about
Strategy on how to meet your objectives (applies to you and your supervisor)
Strengths/Areas where you can contribute
Communication frequency and style: set a method of to regularly update your supervisor and discuss your progress

Typically, steps to achieve these objectives might be written for each objective or an overall strategy might be determined, depending on how interrelated they are. Objectives should also be specific and measurable in order to measure your progress and completion of your objectives. For example, “Learn more about information management” is a great goal, but very vague. Many advise using the SMART method, and though not all the questions always apply, it helps to turn a vague goal, into something more specific, such as:

Learn more about information management by reading about one methodology and the policies it puts into practice within the first month of the term.

Regardless, I believe the most important part is discussing objectives with a supervisor so that they might accommodate or at least share information and resources that are of interest.

Work Term Project

Many co-op positions (common in government) allow for an individual project to be completed during the term. You might discuss with your supervisor about the possibilities and set a work plan including how much time you can set aside, working this into your objectives. If you know beforehand that you will have this option available, consider thinking of possible projects ahead of time as not all employers will prepare one for you. If you don’t have any ideas, ask your supervisor if there is anything they have been wanting to do, but just haven’t had time to do. Ideally, the project would be something that you are interested in or an area that you want to explore, and contribute to the team or organization.

Want to convince your supervisor of the benefits? Start with these reasons from the student strategies blog post I mentioned earlier.

By having such a project exists, it serves a number of functions:

Something to Show – It gives the student a finished product to add to their portfolio. It’s an actual accomplishment, rather than simply conducting routine functions on a daily basis.

Time Management – Depending on your office, sometimes things can get very busy, very fast. It can often be easy to forget about students that you may have working in your office. This project ensures that they always have something to work on.

Contribution to the Group – In a busy office, sometimes you lose sight of the bigger picture. The capstone project ideally will fulfil some sort of need in your unit that is a “nice-to-have”, and will contribute to your unit in a positive way.

During and Throughout

Building a Portfolio

If you haven’t started already, begin building a portfolio. You might consider school work that you have done as well as work that you do during your co-op term. Depending on what you want to showcase, this might be digital or in a paper format. The work term project if you have one is a great addition. Remember that it’s not just about the products, but the process or methodology in creating the products that you may want to capture. You will also want to discuss with your supervisor how much can be made public and if not, if it can be used for interviews at the least.

Keep Current and Learn

If for whatever reason you have some “free” time, use the time to learn more about the organization or read more on topics related to your work. You might:

Attend workshops or information sessions at your organization. For example, library students in the National Capital Region (NCR) should make sure to take part in library tours and socials organized by the CLA Government Section.
Ask coworkers about their sources of information.
Subscribe to relevant news, blogs, twitter, etc. feeds or mailing lists.

Essentially, keep up to date on the field and organization you’re working in.

Take Part and Get Involved

I wrote about my experiences in this last week, Reflecting on Communities through Collaborative Tools in the Government of Canada. I didn’t join in on communities with networking in mind, but of course it helped. More than anything, I met a lot of great people and had fun doing it.

Find out whether there are any initiatives going on either inside or outside your organization. In large organizations, such as government or universities, there may be interesting interdepartmental initiatives, groups, community of practices, etc. that are not only interesting, but relevant to your work (if perhaps indirectly). If you don’t get work time to participate, find ones that allow you to participate outside of work time. Just one or two can help you meet others, find out what else is happening, and network! Take part in socials too.

Network and Get Bridged

I am sure every student has heard a million times by now that networking is very important. Particularly in more ‘closed’ systems, jobs are rarely externally or publicly posted. People are hired through recommendations, or just good timing. Consider getting business cards to give people (even just your name and contact info with a line or two about yourself), or asking people for theirs. Alternatively, ask if they are on a social media platform like LinkedIn and for their e-mail address to find them.

In particular, the federal government has a student bridging program which expedites hiring of recent graduates who have done a co-op or FSWEP term during the time of their studies. If you do a co-op term in the federal government, find out more about bridging and add yourself to the National Inventory of Bridgeable Students [internal link].

At the End and Afterwards

Thank People

Again, this may seem like common sense, but I’m surprised to hear how many people don’t think of it. Find a way to thank the people who helped you during your co-op term. This might be as simple as a thank you card addressed to everyone on the team you worked with.

Keep in Touch

When networking, you need to continue to network and keep in touch, especially with your supervisor who will be providing your references and possibly recommendations for positions (again, this applies particularly in more ‘closed’ hiring systems). I will admit myself that I haven’t necessarily been the best at this, but I plan to work on it!

Hopefully this post isn’t too much of a rehash of what others have said, but if it’s been heard before, I think it just reemphasizes how important some of these things are.