|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In this era of constant change, the thought and planning we put into our career development as information professionals has become more important than ever. With this change can come confusion about which skills to develop, what experience to cultivate, how to market ourselves, and what types of positions to target. Five of our colleagues that have taken on unique and challenging roles share their experiences in how they came to be in their present roles, what challenges they encountered, and what advice they can give to those of us considering a similar career development. Sandra Allan, Searle Canada, Unit of Monsanto Canada 1. How would you describe your current role? I am a Director of a department that includes Information Services
and other 2. Describe the circumstances which led you to this role? I entered the company as an Information Specialist and built a small
team of 2, as the Manager of the information service. I identified the Sales
department as a focus for information service, and recognized their need for information
and also technical training. I also worked on a cross functional team that gave me
an opportunity to learn the business. These exposures and learning lead to a
position with increased responsibilities. Database searching and all computer
experience in the traditional role were key factors as was early experience on the
Internet. 3. What 'traditional' library skills do you find most useful in your present role? Traditional skills are transferable. Skills like customer focus, teamwork, problem solving, innovation, continuous learning are valued organization wide. Interviewing skills are useful in dealing with all interrelationships in business and transferable to any roles that need to understand business needs. The basic skills in database design and searching give me an opening to synergize with other technical roles. The combination of communication and technical skills are key in developing Intranet solutions. The combination of skills from the traditional role are building blocks for a role as a manager of people in analytical and communication roles. 4. When you took on this role, did you find you needed to supplement
your skills Yes. Some of the training I did formally, other training by jumping in. I needed to learn at one level other technical jobs that I was managing and sharpen management skills. 5. What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? I enjoy learning about the business, building the team, seeing others and the organization succeed when the team works well. 6. What did you find were the biggest challenges to the switch to
your present The responsibilities that come with an increased managerial role. 7. What advice would you give to others who are comtemplating either
a move into Do management training early on. Find an employer where opportunities to cross train exist. Even in a traditional role, you can evolve new roles if you identify business needs, act into it and partner with other departments so that you share the success. A cross team success has more visibility and impact than an individual. In selling yourself outside the profession, learn and use the knowledge and language of the business. Translate your skills and experience into their language and they will see how you can contribute.
Brenda Brooks, Principal, with Caroline Werle, in Bizware Software Solutions; Principal, Access Information Services in Oakville
Many of these projects have been for more "traditional"
library and records management clients but developing a database is really just a form of
cataloguing and there's more to cataloguing these days than just books. Organizations may
be "cataloguing" special library collections or they may be cataloguing
geological rock samples, corporate policies, drawings, drugs, etc. I have always been interested in the role of computers in information management. In fact, after graduating with a BSc in Chemistry and Mathematics, I decided to become a librarian because I believed that computers were about to revolutionize the management of information. After a few years in more or less "traditional" libraries,
I took some time off from the work-force while my children were very young. During that
time, I also enrolled in several university level courses and learned computer
programming. When I returned to the work-force on a part-time basis, it was as a
consultant. Many of my "librarian" skills have proven to be very
useful in my present role. When working with librarians as clients, I understand their
needs. I can put myself in their shoes and understand the issues from their point of
view. I have also found many librarian skills useful with non-librarian clients -
the reference interview as a means of identifying the clients' real needs; the
reference librarian's information gathering and analysis skills, the principles of
cataloguing as a guide to how other databases This role requires life-long learning and the learning curve is steep. I rely very heavily on my "librarian" skills to help me identify what I need to know, to find information, and to quickly sift through a "sea" of information for the important facts which I need. I have taken many courses over the years but I have found that there is no substitute for self-directed study and learning. There is too much information out there. It has become increasingly important to target specific topics for learning based on one's professional needs. You might say that I am my own research librarian. 5. What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? I most enjoy the problem solving and the opportunity to interact with a broad range of people and a broad spectrum of organizations. I don't think I could ever go back to working in a traditional role in a traditional library. 6. What did you find were the biggest challenges to the switch to your present role? The biggest challenge for me was to learn to manage my time and to
learn to say no to projects which I don't have time for. I'm still trying to learn this
lesson. 7. What advice would you give to others who are comtemplating either a move into this type of work, or making a similar move to another 'non-traditional' role? Librarians have a broad understanding of information management issues and strong research skills. They should not find it difficult to switch to an "alternate" or "non-traditional" career. The job market is changing so fast today that it is unrealistic for most people to expect to be able to work in jobs for which they were trained. And it is equally unrealistic for employers to expect to hire employees who are already trained and knowledgeable about the new emerging careers. Most of the people in those "hot" new emerging jobs are learning as they go. And librarians are (or should be) highly skilled researchers and learners who are ideally suited to this demanding environment. One option for a librarian who wants to move into a non-traditional
role would be to identify a possible job based on his/her interests and then
take a couple of courses to confirm that interest and determine whether he/she has an
appitude for the work. But for some jobs, courses are obsolete almost as soon as they are
developed. For those jobs, an option would be to just "jump in" and learn on the
job as fast as you can. And then keep on learning. 1. How would you describe your current role? I am responsible for the development and implementation of a Knowledge Management Program for the Toronto Office, in conjunction with our national and international firm. The objective of the program is to maximize intellectual and information assets to provide business advantage to Deloitte & Touche practitioners and clients. My situation has been a combination of natural progression based on business trends as well as a series of ‘selling’ sessions with the powers that be. I had enrolled in the records management course during library school and have been employed in both library and records management disciplines from the time I graduated. I evolved out of the traditional library setting and migrated to the Technology Department as an Information Manager. My responsibilities were to manage content and organization of electronic information throughout the organization. Also, I reviewed business needs and issues with the available technologies in mind, in order to recommend application strategies. I was still responsible for the Library and Records Departments, but at least we hired managers for each unit. As knowledge management became more important in industry, and to our firm in particular, I assumed my current role. (Aside: For eight months I worked on our MIS project to the exclusion of all information and knowledge management. In hindsight, I recognize that this was a career-limiting move as far as information management goes - I would not recommend such wholesale concentration away from the discipline. I did, however, learn a lot about change management and project management.
Other people in the organization may not fully understand the fact that you have certain specialized skills and perspectives. You may even downplay or recognize the wealth of skills and professional characteristics which you have developed as a ‘traditional librarian’. These probably include:
It doesn’t hurt to try and understand various technologies implemented or planned for your organization and to keep an eye out for industry trends. 5. What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? Getting ‘out’ of the library and integrating more closely with people responsible for all aspects of the business, not just the main group who uses the library. A bit of a change is always a positive thing for me. 6. What did you find were the biggest challenges to the switch to your present role?
7. What advice would you give to others who are comtemplating either a move into this type of work, or making a similar move to another 'non-traditional' role? I think knowledge management is much more than a fad, it will slowly become the way we do business and hopefully it won’t even have a specific name. It is an extension and re-working of ‘traditional’ library work , records management, information resource management and business product development with a large mixture of user input. Even as a ‘traditional’ librarian, there is a lot of commercially available material to be brought in to the knowledge management program – you should be involved with this kind of initiative. Of course it always comes down to your particular situation – your aspirations, organizational culture or other factors. If you are interested in knowledge management, don’t necessarily sit back and wait for someone to identify you as the key person to work on this initiative. Be proactive, build a business case, form alliances with other Departments, talk up your skills, go to some KM workshops and then go and talk to management.
Lynne Freeman, Mackenzie Financial
Corp. 1. How would you describe your current role? I work as part of the Internet development team in the IT department of Mackenzie Financial Corp. as an "Internet Technical Analyst". I analyze the requirements for new Internet projects, design the web site's structure and navigation and coordinate projects. My role is to try to bring the user's point of view into the development process. 2. Describe the circumstances which led you to this role? I worked as a librarian for many years, but when I was in library school, I found I had a technical bent and set myself a goal of working in a technical area. I based my career choices on the opportunity to do technical work and somehow managed to convince various people to let me try this. For instance, when I was an Information Specialist, I did all of the traditional reference work and also managed the computers for the Information Center. I worked at GEAC as part of the development team for a library application where I gradually moved into a more technical role. From there, I had enough experience to get an IT job that wasn't connected with libraries. I found my current position by sending my resume to acquaintances who worked at the company. They forwarded it to HR who saw that my background was a good fit for an internal position that wasn't advertised. I've always concentrated on areas that capitalized on my information background: e-mail, databases, document management and office systems. The Internet was a natural step. I was interested in SGML early on and I worked at developing HTML and design skills on my own. 3. What 'traditional' library skills do you find most useful in your present role? I use my information skills every day and have a growing
appreciation for how valuable a librarian's training and perspective is, especially for
Internet work. Librarians are trained to organize information and act as mediators between
end-users and information systems. I try to bring this background to the design of web
sites. I think librarians are uniquely positioned to fill any role that provides a link
between end I also find my research skills invaluable, not only to find relevant information, but also to evaluate and synthesize information from many different sources. I think that working as a reference librarian instilled some persistence and ingenuity in getting to the bottom of an issue and also to look at a subject from more than one perspective. 4. When you took on this role, did you find you needed to supplement your skills with further library or non-library training? Being in a technical job, I find I always have to supplement my skills and keep abreast of current developments. This can be exhausting! I've taken some programming courses and try to develop expertise in topics such as the inner workings of HTML and JavaScript on my own. 5. What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? I love to design and have specialized in developing a web site's information architecture, the navigation systems, labeling and organization of content. Graphic design plays a part in this, but it is designing the structure of a web-site that really interests me. I also enjoy coordinating projects, interacting with many different people and juggling different priorities. 7. What advice would you give to others who are contemplating either
a move into Most opportunities that have come my way have been through
networking and luck. I don't feel particularly qualified to give advice, but I would say learn as much as you can about whatever interests you and let the people you work with or network with know what you want to do. I've met a lot of wonderful people who have given me chances despite
my lack of a Computer Science degree. However, if I had to do it again, I would take more
formal courses and get that degree if possible! Maryanne B. Gedeon, Glaxo Wellcome
Inc. 1. How would you describe your current role? 2. Describe the circumstances which led you to this role? After a fifteen year information management career that has included librarianship, records management, consulting and sales, I had reached a point where it was difficult to find anything new to do in this field. Always looking for a nice learning curve to keep me on my toes, I began considering the opportunities in knowledge management, since KM is on the cutting edge of the information management field. Just as I was beginning to explore my KM options, I received a call from Caroline Werle at RIM, telling me about the opportunity at Glaxo Wellcome. The position seemed to offer the right balance of learning with building on my existing expertise. Luckily for me, the people at Glaxo agreed and I was hired in December 1998. 3. What 'traditional' library skills do you find most useful in your
present role? The only additional training I've required for this position up to now is on the Livelink software. 5. What aspects of your role do you most enjoy? We've just launched a Livelink application called the "Knowledge Exchange" which enables knowledge sharing across the division. It's enjoying tremendous success, and I'm now receiving calls from people all over the organization asking for help in developing knowledge sharing applications. People are seeing what we've done and are catching on to the value and opportunities that KM can provide. That's extremely rewarding. I also enjoy the fact that, because knowledge management is so new,
almost anything we do is something of an adventure. 6. What did you find were the biggest challenges to the switch to your present role? Because knowledge management builds so nicely on my past experience, the transition has been smooth for me. My biggest challenge continues to be adapting to a very different type of organization from those I've worked for in the past. Most of my previous experience was with professional services firms and government. I'm finding that pharmaceuticals companies operate very differently, so I'm having to learn how to work in a fundamentally different way.
The foundation of knowledge management in most organizations is
culture change -- the move from a knowledge-hoarding to a knowledge-sharing
environment. While a librarian typically has the technical skills required to manage
certain aspects of a knowledge management program, these may take a back seat to the
demonstrated ability to effectively "sell" KM to the organization. In a
knowledge management position, you'll most likely be expected to work closely with a wide
variety of people to My other key piece of advice is to network. You've heard it all before, but it's critical that you get out there and make sure that the people who know about the jobs know you. The ideal is for people to call you when interesting positions (which are often never advertised) open up. This has happened to me on several occasions, most recently with my current position at Glaxo Wellcome. It's a lot more rewarding than pounding the pavement! Our thanks to Sandra, Lilian, Brenda,
Maryann and Lynne for sharing their thoughts and experiences with us. - LH
Copyright © 1999 SLA. All rights reserved. |