Which job is right for me?

When you are reviewing jobs from agencies, job boards or industry magazine adverts, how do you decide which opportunities to apply for? It is tempting to look for impressive job titles, well known organisation and good salaries – but are those the best indicators of a job you’ll enjoy?

To be able to effectively sift through all the jobs available, first of all you need to spend a bit of time on yourself. If you spend some time reflecting on your own values, what motivates you, and what gives you satisfaction at work, then you will be able to look beyond the flashy headlines to assess the job itself more effectively.

If you are to fit comfortably into an organisation and feel energised and motivated to work there and give your best, then you need to be sure that their organisational values are a good match to yours. If they operate on the ‘make the most profit at any cost’ principle, while you gain satisfaction from going the extra mile to give great service, you are likely to find your natural inclinations at odds with their operating policy much of the time. Likewise, if you are driven to earn the highest bonus while they place most emphasis on customer care, you are likely to feel impatient with their slower pace of life quite frequently.

Perhaps you are motivated by receiving praise and recognition in front of your peers for a job well done? Check whether a prospective firm offers internal award schemes. Perhaps getting a promotion is important to you? Find out what their internal career development and appraisal process is like.

Think about what aspects of your current and past jobs have given you greatest satisfaction – that ‘wow’ factor of a job really well done. Was it hearing from a user about positive effects of the information you’ve found for them, completing a library reorganisation or move, or learning new skills so you’re ready to tackle something more challenging? How many of these satisfying activities would a new job involve?

Having thought through all the aspects of a job and an organisation that will make it right for you allows you to frame the right questions to ask of your recruiter, to look for in adverts and job descriptions, and to ask at job interviews. Always remember that these interactions should be two way conversations! Armed with this more in-depth information you will be able to make a better decision when it comes to which job to apply for – and which offer to accept.

Event - NetIKX 'Social Media - What Next and What Can We Do With It?''

Yesterday's NetIKX half-day seminar, with Stephen Dale and Geoff Mccaleb was a fascinating look at where the world of social media is heading.

Stephen kicked off proceedings with a YouTube video which asked a simple question:

Is Google the #1 most visited website?

The answer, of course, is 'no'!  The most visited website is Facebook - which has 30m users in the UK alone; that is almost 50% of the population.  The statistics in the video came fast and furious, but as Steve summarised it all the numbers are "big and getting bigger!"

Key themes for 2012 are collaboration, gamification and networking.  While all the social networks are growing in membership and usage, Google+ has had by far the highest rate of growth, reaching 25m users much more quickly than any of its forerunners.

Importantly for businesses is the fact that we are now in a situation where content and information is in abundance while resources are constrained, two way business, communities and value in relationships rule the day rather than 'top down' one way marketing.

Steve contended that the focus now is all about sharing - sharing user generated content, sharing recommendations, sharing bookmarks, sharing interests, sharing ideas.

He pointed out that curation of all this content and working as community facilitators, was an important role going forward for people with information management skills.  Social media sites exist dedicated to gathering information relevant to a community and sharing it already exist (eg; paper.li, storify, scoop.it, etc).

Other key trends Steve highlighted included big data (where data sets grow so large they cannot be analysed using conventional database management tools), mobile internet  (which will be outselling desktop platforms by 2013), and location based services (including augmented reality where your mobile combines GPS, visual and internet data sources into one display).

Steve summarised by saying that social media is most definitely not a fad, it's ubiquitous, growing rapidly and creating new and interesting ways to share information.  People need help with content overload and knowledge curation - and we are best placed to meet this need.

Geoffrey echoed this theme, starting off his presentation by saying that social is taking over the web.  He gave some interesting examples of this in relation to recruitment, including that 89% of US companies used social media tools in recruitment in 2011, either to source candidates or to screen them.

He illustrated the power of social media not only by referring to the Arab Spring and Occupy protests, but also by highlighting that the SOPA protests were covered by only 1 mainstream media outlet (CNN), so Congress changed its mind based almost solely on pressure from a social media campaign.

Dispelling any lingering feeling that social media somehow 'isn't real' or 'is just virtual' or 'just for kids', he also gave examples of companies whose sales and stock prices have been massively affected by social media (positively or negatively), including Southwestern Airlines, Dominos Pizza and Comcast.  Reputation management has moved far beyond a press release in the newspaper, and time to address customer complaints raised on Twitter or Facebook is down to 48hours or less.

After a break for coffee we reconvened into breakout groups to discuss a range of questions:

• what is the information risk of using social media?
• what role could/should information intermediaries play?
• which social media tools to use, when
• are social media tools appropriate to use within organisations?
• how can social media help engagement with communities?

During the feedback session after this, the main theme to come up was a discussion of the sustainability of social media - both speakers felt it was here to stay, and that while technologies will undoubtedly keep improving (eg, to enable more sharing via audio/video), the sharing itself will continue, with value coming from the leveraging of connections and relationships.

Information professionals will have a key role to play in this development, curating content, analysing big data, creating visualisations and infographics, evaluating information, validating it and being a trusted facilitator.  To achieve this, traditional skills of information organisation and retrieval will need the addition of more ICT skills, for data analysis, mobile apps, and social media network engagement.    

How do people see you?

One of the free seminar sessions I attended at Online this year was about online reputation management, although that session focused on companies and how brand reputation can get damaged so easily now with mass peer-to-peer communication made so easy with social media.

I have been thinking more about individual reputation and personal brands.  In the past, your reputation depended upon your personal appearance, actions and achievements and was known only to that limited circle of people you had met, or perhaps those who had read articles you may have published.

Today, however, many more people may have 'heard of you', lots of whom you will not have met (and may never get a chance to).  Whether you put lots of effort into creating a certain image or perception (a 'personal brand') or never give it a thought, those people who see your Tweets, read your blog, friend you on Facebook, read your comments on others' blogs, etc, will all have formed their own ideas about who you are, what your views are, what your personality it like.

I came across this infographic the other day, which gives lots of good ideas on how to find out what your online reputation might be like, and some ways to go about influencing perceptions about you.   This got me thinking - why does it matter what people, many of whom you will never meet, think about you?

From my perspective as a recruiter, it matters because you never know who will be on the other end of the next job application you make!  Chances are, even if they haven't come across you online before receiving your application, they will run a Google search of your name as part of their selection process.  

Would you be happy with what they would find?  It can be very illuminating to check it out for yourself - preferably from a PC you haven't used much, and when you are NOT signed into your Google account.

One quite sneaky, but I thought very useful, tip from the Online session I went to was how to 'bury' less-than-ideal search results about you.  Some of the social media sites rank very highly on Google, so if you make sure you have a well filled-out LinkedIn profile, a Slideshare account with some good library-related presentations loaded onto it, and a Flickr account with shots of your workplace or other libraries, then those could 'drown out' any less-than-flattering mentions of you at the office party...

Having a positive online reputation alone will not win you that dream job, but a negative one might just be the deciding factor in preventing you getting invited for an interview.  It is therefore worth investing a little time making sure that you put your best foot forward online, as you do 'in real life'.

Career goals - a good time for change?

It's the start of a brand spanking New Year (and it's my guess that you've already broken any new year resolutions you half-seriously made the week before!).  

Earlier today I was reading James Mullan's excellent blog post about setting New Year goals and finding your focus, and I was struck by the difference between a resolution (generally along the lines of 'I won't do so much of xxx this year' - eating, smoking, etc)  and a goal (much more centred around a positive, can-do idea, something you want to strive for and achieve this year).

A resolution is hard to keep.  We are generally good at convincing ourselves that 'just one' (sweet, cake, gin!) isn't really breaking the rules, after all, it's only one... isn't it? On the other hand, it's harder to 'fall off the wagon' with a goal.

A goal is something you have to actively do things in order to achieve, rather than avoid doing (generally pleasurable) things.  Indeed, the steps along the way to achieving your target can in themselves be pleasurable.  If your goal is career related, then some of these steps might be about learning new skills or gaining new experiences, to enable you to apply for that promotion or that new job, for example.  

Learning new things, that feeling of having mastered a new skill, gives a great feeling of satisfaction and achievement.  Add together a range of these, plus the increasing realisation that you're now equipped to get that new job or move to that new sector you've had your eye on, and the journey can be as pleasurable as the destination.

Maybe 2012 is your year for looking around at the library & information profession, deciding whereabouts in it you'd like to be working, what kind of role and what sort of organisation, and setting about to collect the skills and experiences that will get you there?  Now that's a goal to get your teeth into for the New Year!  Good luck!

Data Protection Act - Barrier to Good Customer Service?

The Data Protection Act is designed to protect individuals’ personal data from mis-use by organisations.  There are eight Data Protection Principles, covering such issues as fair and lawful processing of data, collection of data for specified purpose(s), keeping data held accurate and up to date, and not keeping data for longer than needed under its defined purpose.

Problems can arise, however, when organisations misunderstand their duties under the act or, in some cases, wilfully ‘hide behind’ the DP Act to excuse their actions, or justify their lack of action.

There are many examples of this in the press, some of which have gone to court.  For example:

A franchise operation, where the franchisee’s contract said they had to send customer details to the franchise owner, and they said they couldn’t under the DP Act - Court of Appeal ruled this was wrong as they would have had ample time & opportunity to seek the customer’s consent to do so.   Grow With Us Ltd v Green Thumb (UK) Ltd,  2006 (1)

A Panorama programme in Februrary 2011 showed the British Legion complaining that MoD were using DP Act as ‘an excuse’ to not give departing soldiers contact details to them, so they could offer them support.  Surely it would be easy for them to get soldiers to sign a consent form allowing this? (2)

Some equality researchers from the Open University were given DP Act as an excuse for not sharing information about women engineers by Microsoft.  The software giant claimed privacy laws prevented it from saying how many Microsoft-certified engineers were women. The OU got a note from the Information Commissioner to show the defence was nonsense - the researchers were asking for statistics, not names and addresses. (3)

Because of this uncertainty on the behalf of organisations about what the DP Act does, and doesn’t, say they can’t do, the Information Commissioner has issued various guidelines and examples to clarify the situation:

“You should explain why you want to use an individual’s personal data at the outset, based on your intentions at the time you collect it. If over time you devise new ways of using that information, perhaps because of changes in technology, you will be able to use their personal data for the new purpose if it is fair to do so.”

“The Data Protection Act does not impose a blanket ban on the release of personal information. It requires a common sense approach, and should not be used as an excuse by those reluctant to take a balanced decision.” (4)

Another recent example has arisen recently rather closer to home, with CILIP.  A newly joined member of CILIP posted a link to her blog on Twitter.

@bumsonseats Carolin Schneider

What is a new CILIP member to do? wp.me/p1IjjA-en

19 Nov via WordPress.com Favorite Retweet Reply

In her blog post Carolin made a point about new members experiences with Branches & Groups:

“I think for a new joiner going to a branch meeting is daunting. It would be nice to have a buddy, someone to help you take those first baby steps. This could be something you can opt in once your membership pack arrives in the post. With social media it should be easy enough to coordinate, no?”

In a comment responding to this, Jo Alcock said:

“My problem (as a branch committee member) is that I don’t know who our members are or when new members join. I appreciate that there are data protection legalities but I’m sure there must be a way to opt-in so that your branch and groups know that you have joined and can contact you to see if there’s anything you’d like to know or what you would like them to do for you.”

This generated some discussion on Twitter about why CILIP might feel that it shouldn’t share members details internally to allow branch or group committee members to contact new members.

Charles Oppenheim (retired Professor at Loughborough University and now independent copyright and DP consultant) was one of those contributing to the conversation:

@CharlesOppenh Charles Oppenheim

@joeyanne @NicolaFranklin I am aware of CILIP's approach to DP. There is absolutely no reason for it. No idea what its problem is.

21 Nov via web Favorite Retweet Reply

Charles later expanded on his Tweet by saying:

“There is an obligation under the DPA that a data controller shall ensure that all necessary technical and administrative measures are taken to ensure unauthorised disclosure, etc.  does not occur.  So yes indeed, [their Data Controller] would be liable if something went wrong, but the law requires them to take such steps as are necessary to ensure no problem arises. Stopping people with a bona fide need from accessing the data is a quite inappropriate response to the problem.  Ensuring B & G officials are properly trained is the correct response.

Equally, the centre is obliged to keep info accurate and up to date.  Again, the onus is on CILIP to put into place procedures to ensure this is the case.”

Carolin has also sent in an expanded statement explaining the service she would hope to receive, as a newly joining member of CILIP:

“I recently re-joined CILIP as an associate member. Having shared on twitter and my blog that I am once again a CILIP member I received a warm welcome from several people on twitter, which was good and showed that these individuals care about new members and how to get them involved. So whilst waiting for my membership pack to arrive in the post, I hoped that my regional branch and my chosen interest groups would get in touch to share what they do and how I can get involved.

After blogging about these expectations I was informed by a colleague on twitter that my regional CILIP branch and special interest groups would not be able to send me a welcome letter as they are not notified when a new member joins their group. She was under the impression that it was due to data protection.

From looking at my online profile I know what my entry in the CILIP Yearbook says. I am able to edit the entry, and therefore have control over the details CILIP stores in their database. This would make it possible for me to not share my home address, for example, or opt out of sharing my phone number. Every member of CILIP is listed in the CILIP Yearbook, with their name, job title and workplace. Through this entry (and with the help of the internet and other resources) it would probably be quite easy to find more details about me, e.g. the address my workplace. Any details I don't want to be shared I could delete from my profile, so why can't my details be shared with a different part of the organisation that I signed up with?

Whatever you do these days, from shopping online to signing up to a newsletter, organisations ask you to opt in or out of sharing your details. If CILIP is worried about sharing something they shouldn't: I suggest that CILIP enables their members to opt-in to sharing personal data with their regional branches/special interest groups/third parties when they first sign up. It just takes a few tick boxes on the membership application form.”

When asked to comment on this situation and CILIP’s approach to sharing member’s data, CILIP’s Head of Customer Services, Francis Muzzu, made the following statement:

“Members’ information and the database are extremely important to us, and we are committed to reviewing how we can share data more effectively with Branches and Groups.”

Perhaps including a simple tick box on the application form along the lines of ‘tick here if you agree to your contact details being shared with the branch and group(s) you have elected to join’, as Carolin suggests, would help enable this process.  Also, if members data were being provided from the centre, then branches and groups would not need to collect their members’ details separately.  This would make keeping the data accurate and up to date easier and more effective and reduce the risks of holding two or more separate data sets.

I understand that CILIP is planning to review its policy over sharing members details internally next year, and sincerely hope that they can adjust their policy, processes and procedures, and have the IT infrastructure, to enable them to manage member’s data more effectively in the future.

As the membership body for librarians and information managers, members and prospective members expect the organisation to embody best practice in its own information management practices.  In this case, where doing so would help new members feel more welcome and possibly also attract more members to join, at a time where CILIP needs to not only reverse its declining membership numbers but also widen its membership base, demonstrating good internal information management practices should surely be a key tactic to achieving its goals.

Footnotes
(1)  http://update.legal500.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1247 viewed November 2011
(2)  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12386376   Feb 2011, viewed November 2011
(3)  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/18/medical_academy_privacy_complaint/  viewed November 2011
(4) http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection/the_guide/principle_1.aspx viewed November 2011

**Wednesday 30th November - Charles Oppenheim has since submitted an additional statement, outlining which data protection principles are involved and his opinion of CILIP's argument:

CILIP’s Head of Customer services had written to say that, if they distributed members’ data, they couldn’t guarantee that it would be treated confidentially.  Charles’ reply to this contention is “The seventh data protection principle (schedule 1 of the data protection act 1998) requires that appropriate organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction to personal data.  In other words, CILIP already has legal obligations to ensure everyone who handles personal data does so properly.  This principle requires CILIP to educate and train anyone handling personal data.  It is not an excuse to refuse to pass such data to people when they have a bona fide need to use it.”

CILIP’s Head of Customer services had written to say that a second consideration was that, if the Branches & Groups had member’s data they might overload them with information, which could be counterproductive.  Charles’ response to this argument is “This is again a matter of education and training.  CILIP should be training all who handle personal data in good information management practice, including avoiding information overload on members.  This is not a good reason for refusing to pass to branches and groups information they are entitled to.”

CILIP’s Head of Customer services had written to say that, if Branches & Groups had copies of the data as well as the central office, it would be harder to ensure it was kept accurate and up to date.  Charles’ reply to this is “The fourth data protection principle requires CILIP and its branches and groups to keep accurate and up to date personal information.  Francis notes that some branches and groups fail to pass on revised details to cilip centrally.  By definition, CILIP and the branch/group is then in breach of the fourth principle and could be sued/prosecuted as a result. What the data protection act requires is that cilip educates and trains. The act is no reason to refuse to pass information to branches and groups, and vice versa.”

Charles concluded by saying “In short, the legal obligation is on CILIP to ensure that its branches and groups both receive, and handle personal data appropriately.  Branches and groups cannot function properly without master lists of members. At the moment, in my view CILIP is in breach of the DPA.  Best to sort the matter out by releasing the data, and ensuring good information management practices, rather than burying its head in the sand hoping the problem will go away - because it won't!”

CILIP Councillor Election Hustings - a virtual experience

As I was unable to get into London yesterday evening, I decided to follow the CILIP 2012 hustings online.  This was possible since CILIP was helpfully livestreaming the event (which has been recorded and can be viewed here) and there was also a twitter hashtag allocated (#CILIP2012).

John Kirriemuir has already posted an excellent review of the evening, from an attendees point of view, so I will try and avoid duplicating any of the points he's already made.

So what was the experience like as a virtual participant?  The video worked really well (although from the twitter stream I believe there were one or two people who had difficulty getting it to run).  The only real problem I experienced was with the sound quality.  There were two table-microphones in view, but Sue Cook on the end of the row (and to a lesser extent Maria Cotera next to her) were virtually inaudible at times. 

The twitter stream displayed alongside the video on the CILIP page didn't seem to be updating without refreshing the screen, so rather than risk disrupting the video stram, I ran my own HootSuite stream in the background and checked it regularly as a substitute, which worked out fine.

Some of the key quotes that I picked up on, and tweeted about last night, included:

Q. How should CILIP increase membership?

Liz Mcgettigan we tell each other how wonderful we are - we should have a conference & invite people from other disciplines

Maria Cotera Start by bringing back those that have left - show them a reason to rejoin

Liz Mcgettigan Create a website or tools for people to use to sell the benefits of having librarians to employers

Mike Hosking Make CILIP seem less 'top down' and more belonging to, and owned by, members

Mike Hosking (Provide) better information career development guidance, less focused on traditional (physical?) library based careers

Sue Westcott Widen Chartership so it's more available (perceived as more available) to non-traditional LIS workers, take more care about the language used so it's more inclusive

Sue Westcott Talking publically about issues of wider public interest (Wikileaks for eg), would make more people want to join CILIP

Sue Westcott It's up to us to go out and find other communities who could be part of our profession and take a positive messasge to them

Maria Cotera The key thing is to listen, to what people's requirements are, not just partner for the sake of it, not just listen to friends but to 'enemies' too so we expand our circle

Q. Should CILIP increase its partnerships?

Sue Westcott We should think of partnerships in two ways; to partner with other information groups & to partner with commercial or other organisations to deliver services

Liz Mcgettigan CILIP needs to be selective about who they partner with

Sue Cook We need to be aware partnerships don't last forever, be flexible, and go for strategic partnerships

Mike Hosking CILIP needs to be in a partnership with organisations in the education sector

Q. How would you make members not in London feel more a part of CILIP?

Sue Westcott CILIP needs to think about having an internal dialogue about how people in the regions want to be included and catered for

Mike Hosking Branches & groups are key but we need to look at them with fresh eye, use new tech to bridge distances & get people to band together

Maria Cotera In other organisation I've been involved with, we used to hold a conference & other meetings at different locations around the country; CILIP needs to establish new models of working

Q. Where are borders of LIS profession, which skill sets are in or out?

Sue Cook There is a core set (of skills), but each job I've had has needed new things as well - so it's varied

Maria Cotera The most important skills are the softer ones like communication or advocacy

Sue Westcott Anyone who puts the right people together with the right information = an LIS professional, wherever they work

Liz Mcgettigan The basic skills (I believe she meant the core technical LIS skills) are important, plus the ability to engage, network and advocate are key

*sorry to any of the candidates if your comments are underrepresented, but as I mentioned above I had difficulty hearing some of the replies, some of the time.

Overall it was great to be able to participate remotely, and to see the candidates reactions in real time, which of course isn't possible with the ehustings. In fact, I believe there were more virtual participants (someone tweeted there were 28 viewing the live stream at one point) than physical attendees. 

Even so, that only makes a total of 38 people taking part, which seems a woefully low proportion of CILIP's 16,000 or so members.  Being somewhat controversial here, is it fair to say that, if people don't take part in the democratic process, then they have less right to complain about how things are run?  Of course some of those members had other engagements last night, or no access to an internet computer, but even so surely a couple of hundred could have shown an interest, at this critical juncture in the organisations life? 

Event - NetIKX: Where Next for the Web - Linked Data and Semantic Search

Yesterday saw me at The Energy Institute for a joint event run by NetIKX and the Information for Energy Group.  It was certainly a good workout for the brain, trying to get our head around how linked data is transforming the web from a group of linked text documents into a web of linked objects.

A full report of everything I learned during the afternoons events can be found on the NetIKX blog.