Friday, July 17, 2015

I Need a Library Job (no, really)

Tuesday: I apply for a job at a private college in Pennsylvania.
Wednesday: I receive an email from that college saying they received the requisite number of recommendations.
Thursday: I receive an email from that college saying the search has been completed.

I am asking, out loud,

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE???

What's this life supposed to hold for me? I can't seem to get it right.

I'm good at what I do. Does no one value what I have to offer? Someone tell me. Please.

I'm a former career music educator who also worked in retail sales and management, and spent the last four years working in various library positions. I'm an expert multitasker--but when you're a family man and free-lance musician, you HAVE to be.

If you'd like to see my CV, email me at djdekok@yahoo.com. I'll be happy to talk to you at length about my life and work. Chaim Potok had it right: "It is nice to be rich and terrible to be poor--but the most terrible thing of all is to be useless (In The Beginning)".

Onward.


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Alfie Part II*

So much has happened in the last week, it's probably going to take several blogs to get thru it.
1) I'm finished at Rowan. My last day was Friday June 5. The library tekkie came over to unplug my terminal and return it to the main library.
2) Welcome Japan! You're country #35 to visit the blog. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave comments, good bad, indifferent...
3) UPDATE: It's six weeks out tomorrow, and I'm still looking for my next library job. Barely a nibble, but lots of rejections, including an interesting one from a school in Pittsburgh, who politely informed me that they were in the midst of interviewing finalists, and that a decision would be made soon. At least it wasn't the usual "you have an impressive profile but we decided to go with candidates who more closely fit our needs".

I was sitting at the computer last night struggling to fill out yet another application. I finally gave up and went to bed. I needed a night's sleep more than I needed to finish the application.

What's it all about, Alfie?
What's it going to take?