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Reflections on the CILIP North West Member Network Library Careers Panel Event 23.04.21 by Nurunnahar Sultana





I am currently a second-year university student at the University of Central Lancashire studying English Language and Linguistics. 

As part of an employability project, I decided to research librarianship because I am interested in becoming an academic subject librarian. After interviewing the academic librarians at my university to learn more about their roles and employment history, I was directed to the CILIP North West Library Careers Virtual webinar that was held on the 23rd of April. This was a great opportunity to learn about librarianship within different sectors. 

Many of the discussions reflected notes I had made when interviewing the academic librarians. What I found most interesting was that there is such a wide variety of library roles available. It was advised that when looking for jobs, we should not restrict the search terms to "libraries" but also include words such as "knowledge/information/learning". This made sense to me as I was analysing a job role as part of my project called "Learning Zone Assistant". It was a job advertised by a college to support students with their learning, which is a library related role.

The advice given on how to apply for jobs and interview preparation was particularly useful.

It was inspiring to hear about the panellists' career journeys and I was impressed by their varied employment backgrounds. Listening to what they had to say broadened my horizons in terms of job searching. Sinead's talk was most pertinent, as her linear career progression is something that appealed to me. I have a background in teaching, and although I do not intend to return to teaching in schools, I am eager to learn more about student support roles within universities where I can combine my love for libraries and teaching to support students on their academic journey.

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