career and mentoring forces at OLA Super Conference 2008

To tell you the truth, it took me a while; I had to ask at least six people to locate Mentoring services: Speakers in Residence (OLA Super Conference guide, p. 12). Incidentaly, the Web link to this MentorShip [see: CAREER MOVES AND MENTORING] doesn't give a clue about the location. Will the mappers and pathfinders wakeup NOW?

Nevertheless, I did find the invisible counter, at last. I liked this session. I received personal and professional guidance while talking with the montors: Marian, Jim, Caitlin, Patricia and Yvonne.

During the discussions, I found there was a deep felt need for OLA / Education Institute / etc., to intitate a mock-interview (or practice Interview) for librarians.

Ps. Are you reading this Hon. Sam Coghlan (OLA 2008 President). Please consider this when you meet with the new Board of Directors.

NB. To get the momentum, here is a short reading list from a disseminator, which will help both, i.e., in-service librarians and those who are looking for an ice-breaker:

Practice Interview Questions: [Source: LIS WIKI ]
During the phone and in-person interviews you are usually presented with a standard set of questions asked to all candidates. Good reads in preparing for such questions include:

List of Tested Questions from Indiana University Bloomington Libraries

101+ Commonly Asked Interview Questions from an Illinois Library Association conference session

Having a Successful Job Interview from from SLA CapLits

Frequently Asked Interview Questions University of South Carolina School of Library & Information Science

Quiddle Blog featuring interview questions

The people you talk to can have varying interviewing styles, and some questions may be deliberately designed to rattle you. See The 10 Toughest Job Interview Questions for some tricky examples.

See also on the same shelf and aisle:

What is a mock interviews:

Mock Interviews for a Children's Librarian Medical Librarian and

mock reference interview @ YouTube