Ok, guys, I've gotten great advice here so far and I need some more help. I've shared bits and pieces of my job hunt in other posts but here's where I'm at now.

In October, I made the decision to start looking for another position after 5 years as a reference librarian at one branch. This was mainly due to problems with my new supervisor. I applied for two jobs-one that was very similiar to what I was currently doing but in a different public library system-and a second one in a law firm. I knew the law firm one was a long shot but I figured I'd apply anyway. Weeks passed, and I never heard anything from the law firm, but since I lacked experience in legal research I didn't think much of it. I ended up accepting the first position I applied for and started it in Mid-December. Within a few weeks, I realized I had made a terrible mistake! (I explained this in detail in my post entitled "Need Advice-Struggling" in the General Job Hunting Thread).

In early January, I got a call from the library director at the law firm. Apparently, due to several things-staff on sick leave etc-the hiring had been postpponed. I interviewed with the director and then was asked back for a second interview with the staff. Last week, she called again and asked me to come back and interview a final time with the administration. I am very nervous. I've really enjoyed both of the interviews I've had so far and I really want this job. Does anyone have advice on how to handle my lack of experience in legal research in the interview? Also, what should I say if they question why I want to leave a job I just started?

It's also okay to say you like your current job but are very enthusiastic about moving into an area with some new challenges.

I run a retained executive search firm, so can give you a different view on this.

My best advice when it comes to interviewing is not to apologize for anything. If they say something about you not having enough experience in legal research, I would bounce that one back to them. “Do you think that is a lot different from the types of research that I’ve done in the past?” Don’t do this in an accusing way, but in a way that truly makes it sound like you want to know why it is different. You can then react to their statement. However, they’re much more likely to say, “Oh, I guess it’s really not significantly different.” Or, if they say, “I think you’ll find that it’s different in some key areas, such as blank, blank and blank,” you can give them examples of how you’ve researched areas that were completely new to you, or complex, or technical, or whatever.

The other key part about preparing for an interview is that you should anticipate all of the questions, and prepare answers for them. This is what the president does before a press conference. Your answers need to be brief, no more than 30 to 60 seconds, and can’t sound rehearsed (have a friend give you a mock interview for practice). The more examples you give, the better, because those prove you can do something.

There are a few articles on interviewing on my web site – www.jobmagician.com.

I wish you the best of luck.

Best wishes,


JobMagician