1. CAREER AGILITY
Leadership & Management Division
Special Libraries Association
Cindy Hill, Manager, Research Library
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
22 September 2011 (recorded 9 October 2011)

2. TODAY'S TOPICS
 Why this topic
 Agility
 Your life – Your brand
 Portfolios & social media
 Stay current – stay connected
 Next steps?

4. Should I stay or
should I go now?
The Clash

5. FACING YOUR DRAGON

6. CINDY
 Solo librarian, corporate library manager
 VP, Information industry research firm
 Consultant
 Past president, SLA and current Chair,
2012 SLA Conference Planning Council
 SLA Fellow and Past-President
 Library Commissioner
 7 professional positions & counting!

7. THE “OTHER” CINDY
 “Read anywhere” kid-hood
 Jr High Book jacket queen
 “Atlas Shrugged” = first incident of “banned
book” potential
 So shy willing to accept a lower grade rather
than speak “in public”
 Collector of alphabet books
 Been to NASA’s Space Camp twice!
 Burning Man, cyclist, backpacker, remodeler,
Aunt, wanna-be gardener

8. 21 st Century Work Environment
Creative
Initiatives
Routine Work -
Done by People
Routine Work - Done by
Machines

9. FUTURE READY -> AGILE INFO PRO
Cindy Romaine Brent Mai
SLA President 2011 SLA President 2012

11. WHAT IS AN INFO PRO?
Librarian – Knowledge Manager – Information
Manager – Information Specialist – Content
Strategist – Project Manager – Program
Manager – Researcher – Competitive
Intelligence Exert – Publisher - Information
Expert – Data Manager - ????
During SLA’s Alignment Project, over 5000 different
titles identified

12. AN INFO PRO’S ENVIRONMENT:
As varied as the individual
 Info Center - Telecommuting
 Independent
 Local and/or Global
 Integrated - Embedded
 Key Initiatives / Key Stakeholders
 Pace - Speed - Culture

13. ESSENTIAL SKILLS
AND CHARACTERISTICS
 Critical thinking / problem solving
 Communications
 Collaboration / teamwork
 Information technology applications
 Leadership
 Lifelong learning & self direction
 Ethics / social responsibility

14. THE PERSONALITY OF AN INFO PRO
 Flexible, adaptable Continual learner
 Risk-taker Humor
 Entrepreneurial Thoroughness
 Tenacious ???
 Inquisitive

15. FINDING YOUR BALANCE

16. LADDER TO LATTICE

17. TRENDS AND FUNCTIONS
INFLUENCING INFO PROs
 Digital information  Competitive
management intelligence
 Mobile devices  Event management
 Knowledge services  Content integration
 Social media  New technologies
 Immersive worlds enabling information
 Tools: Apps, QRs, ARs discovery and delivery
 Publishing  Contract negotiation
 Connecting!  Archives
 Data management

18. SLA: FIRST FIVE YEARS
ADVISORY COUNCIL
1.Develop learning and networking opportunities…
2.Interface with SLA units …
3.Identify emerging leaders in the profession…
4.Oversee the funding for the Early Career Awards …
5.Develop content in social media forums …
Six association members appointed for overlapping terms of 2 years each. The
majority of members of the council should represent members in the first 5 years of
their professional career as well as diverse geographic backgrounds with at least one

19. SLA: FIRST FIVE YEARS
ADVISORY COUNCIL

20. SLA: LEADERSHIP
& MANAGEMENT DIVISION

21. SLA: ENCORE CAUCUS

22. FIND A MENTOR(S)
BE A MENTOR
• Actual mentors
– Identified and acknowledged
– Planned discussions
– Look to your association – chapters, divisions,
caucuses
• Model mentors
– Who do you admire? Why? What can you learn
from them through observation?

23. Flickr: freefotouk

24. YOU OWN YOUR EXPERIENCES
My job ≠
Me

25. YOUR PERSONAL
TOOL KIT
•Education and Lifelong
Learning
•Work experiences –
beyond your work title
•Professional
contributions
•Volunteer
opportunities
•Life experiences
•Personal brand
•???

26. PERSONAL BRAND:
A DEFINITION
Total perceived value
As compared to other choices or competitors
In the eyes of your target market
– Valerie Gonyea, Career Encouragement Officer
– 2009 Right Management presentation

27. “The thing that’s important
to know is that you never
know. You’re always sort
of feeling your way.”
-- Diane Arbus

28. BRAND YOU
Regardless of age, regardless of position,
regardless of the business we happen to be in,
all of us need to understand the importance of
branding. We are CEOs of our own
companies: Me Inc. To be in business today,
our most important job is to be head marketer
for the brand called You.
-- Tom Peters 2007

29. “…create information that
people want. Create an online
presence that people are eager
to consume. Establish a virtual
front door that people will
happily link to…”
David Meerman Scott

30. • “…And one that employers
will find.”
• David Meerman Scott, www.webinknow.com Nov 11, 2008

31. YOUR ONLINE PROFILE
Digital footprint
Vanity searches
Take charge

32. Vanity Search Example

33. ONLINE IDENTITY: THE
INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
PC Magazine Encyclopedia
• 45% of employers reported (June 2009) that they use
social networking sites to research job candidates.
• 35% of employers reported they have found content on
social networking sites that caused them not to hire the
candidate.
 53% Person posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
 44% Person posted content about them drinking or using drugs
 35% Person bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or customers
 29% Person showed poor communication skills
 26% Person made discriminatory comments
 24% Person lied about qualifications
 20% Person shared confidential information from previous employer
http://www.careerbuilder.com/

34. ONLINE IDENTITY,
continued
• 18% of employers reported they have found content on social
networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate.
50% Profile provided a good feel for the
candidate’s personality and fit within the
organization
 39% Profile supported candidate’s professional qualifications
 38% Candidate was creative
 35% Candidate showed solid communication skills
 33% Candidate was well-rounded
 19% Other people posted good references about the candidate
 15% Candidate received awards and accolades
• http://www.careerbuilder.com/

35. USE WEB 2.0 TOOLS
TO BUILD
Visibility
Portfolio
Community of Colleagues

36. WHO ARE YOU, REALLY?
Use your e-portfolio to create a
professional and distinct persona

37. WHY HAVE A PORTFOLIO?
“Think of your career as a portfolio of work. Think of yourself in
terms of a portable skill-set rather than a specific job title.”
Mark Kimeldorf
“The only job security you can count on is the transportability of
your own skills.”
Joyce Lain Kennedy
“Job Talk” Columnist, Los Angeles Times
 Proof of skills and learning
 Opportunity for creative self-expression
 A marketing and self-promotional tool for job seekers
 A performance appraisal and promotional tool for employees

38. TRADITIONAL PORTFOLIOS
•Resume •Professional
•Work samples development
•Papers, articles •Works in progress
•Presentations •Research
•Letters of •Web projects
recognition •Achievements &
•References awards

39. IT’S TIME TO CREATE YOUR
E-PORTFOLIO - NOW!
• Accessible
• Storage
• Easy to create, easy to maintain
• Easy to share
• Sociability – harness the power of social media
• Boost of professionalism
• Allows for more freedom, creativity, information
than the traditional cover letter, resume &
references

40. E-PORTFOLIO TIPS
• Simple and clean, avoid “cutesy”
• Organized and think about how others are
going to view and use it
• Highlight your skills & experience
• Convert to PDF (security)
• Keep it professional
• only include materials that you would show a
current or prospective employer

41. E-PORTFOLIO TIPS,
continued
• Be cognizant of naming files, sections
and pages
• Make yourself easy to find
• contact information visible and very easy to
use
• Keep contact information to a minimum
• Use tags & keywords
• Keep it current
• Use it to promote yourself

42. PLACES FOR YOUR
E-PORTFOLIO
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Slideshare
• Your alumni association(s)
• Google +
• Blogs, microblogs
• Your own blog
• Guest blogger

43. WHO ARE YOU, REALLY?
•

44. STAYING CONNECTED
& CURRENT
 Value of LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter etc.
 Professional associations
 Free and almost free webinars, face-to-face
meetings
 Inside & outside the profession

45. THE AGILE CAREER IS
Resilient
Opportunistic
Sustainable

46. NEXT STEPS
 Write up a one-page portfolio plan
 Build and improve your profile
 Request endorsements, write endorsements
 Search “just for fun” & some serious surfing
 Add some apps – go beyond the basic
LinkedIn, facebook, etc. profile
 Invite friends to join – experience the
network effect
 Submit a blog post to Future Ready 365

47. RESOURCES: LEARN MORE
 Future Ready 365 blog: http://futureready365.sla.org/
SLA First 5 Years blog
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/SLA-First-Five-
Years-3031109?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
LinkedIn: LIS Career Options – Kim Dority
The Virtual Handshake by David Teten & Scott Allen
www.thevirtualhandshake.com

48. RESOURCES: LEARN MORE
www.careerbuilder.com
 Guy Kawasaki, http://blog.guykawasaki.com
 Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One
Relationship at a Time, Keith Ferrazzi
Your Alumni career center

49. “Pressure Makes Diamonds”
- Sun IT support guy

50. THANK YOU!
Cindy Hill
cindyvhill@yahoo.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/cindyvhill
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyvhill
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindyhill

51. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS
 21st Century Skills: How can you prepare students for the
New Global Economy, presented by Charles Fadel, Cisco,
January 2010 Second Life presentation
 SLA Alignment Project
 http://wiki.sla.org/display/align/SLA+Alignment+Wiki
 www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/index.cfm

52. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CREDITS
 The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the
Changing World of Work, Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman
Deloitte LLP
 Work the Pond, Darcy Rezac, Judy Thomson & Gayle
Hallgren-Rezac
 Thank you to Betsy Hill for her illustrations