I was very pleased when fellow information professional, Jessie, accepted my invitation to write a blog about her personal experience of returning to work after having a career break. From connecting with Jessie on Twitter (@jessbiblioteca), I knew that the piece would have direct relevance to libraryreturners.com readers, building as it does on previous blog discussions of part-time professional roles for librarians (see Rejection Hurts, for example). Jessie reflects openly and honestly about the way she chose to respond to circumstances. While a lack of opportunities at the right level has placed restrictions or obstacles in the path of her own career progression in librarianship, Jessie’s reaction is positive. I think that this guest post certainly resonates with current career development thinking about portfolio careers, non linear career paths and the most recent addition, the squiggly career (see @Amazing_If). Enjoy!

 

Letting Go: realising the limitations of a linear library career path and finding opportunities in the new world of work.

I left my long-term, part-time paraprofessional post in a Further Education college library when my son was two and a half. My aim was to try to find employment closer to home (I had been commuting 30 miles each way), in order to help ease some of the strain of long days and sleepless nights, and to be able to spend more unhurried time with my little one.

Of course, I realise that I am fortunate to have been able to make this kind of decision, as I had accrued some savings and have a husband who works full-time in a job he enjoys, and earns enough for us to make ends meet.

 

The frustration of job-hunting

I knew that finding quality part-time work in my area would be challenging, but I think I was extremely naïve about just how difficult it would be. I wasn’t opposed to working in a paraprofessional role again, especially since there was, and still is, a dearth of professional-level opportunities in my region.

I was turned down for a couple of low- and zero-hours posts at the local public libraries, which really dented my confidence. A few interesting-sounding full-time posts came up elsewhere, so I enquired about the possibility of job shares or part-time working arrangements, but got nowhere. It just ended up fuelling my frustration with a work culture that routinely fails to acknowledge a life outside of the workplace.

My total lack of control over the situation left me feeling increasingly frustrated, and this merged with the rising stress that I was beginning to feel from having a toddler run circles around me all day!

 

Regaining some control through volunteering

Eventually, I started looking into volunteering. It seemed like a sensible compromise, as volunteer roles are generally flexible and there are genuine opportunities to contribute to the community and develop new skills.

Over the course of the two years that I was out of work, I volunteered as a breastfeeding peer supporter (which I still do occasionally), an adult literacies and ESOL tutor/assistant for the local council, a web content administrator for a small non-profit organisation, and a ‘librarian’ for a small charity (which I still help out with remotely sometimes). I did most of this while my son was at nursery, using his 15 funded hours.

Volunteering and interacting with other adults in a professional capacity again helped me to feel purposeful within the community and increased my confidence immeasurably. I feel like I developed both personally and professionally, in ways that probably wouldn’t have been possible had I remained in my previous job or had I gone straight on to another library position.

As great as volunteering was, I still really needed to find paid work, especially since my savings were dwindling. In order to get myself back into the swing of things, I re-joined CILIP at their concessionary rate and started taking advantage of free training and events, as well as applying for CPD bursaries (and winning one for a small conference!). I also reactivated my Twitter account to keep up-to-date and reconnect with colleagues. I started to feel, even if tangentially, I was part of the library and information community again, and that my skills and knowledge were valuable.

 

Rethinking career development

Almost exactly two years after leaving my post at the college, I managed to find work as a casual library assistant at the public library service in a neighbouring region. It was a great reintroduction to library work, and the flexibility of the hours and getting to experience public libraries from the other side of the desk made it worthwhile. Much of what I had learned whilst volunteering was also very relevant, given the extensive remit of public library work in supporting individuals and communities.

Although I enjoyed many aspects of the casual library assistant role overall, opportunities for progression were non-existent and it always felt very temporary anyway. At this point, I began to realise that I might have to approach career development in a different way – it was unlikely that any progression would be straightforward or linear if I wanted to continue working part-time.

The first step to this has been trying to be conscious of what my, and my family’s, current priorities are. These influence decisions and actions, so having them half-baked, floating around aimlessly in the back of my mind was not useful at all. For example, it’s important to me to be able to take my son to and from school at least a couple of times a week, and to be able to get involved with the school and the local community – these are non-negotiable and I would argue that they can only realistically be accommodated by working part-time. Making priorities clearer has definitely helped to focus my attention and make peace with the fact that career progression for me is going to follow a long and winding path. It’s not always easy though, as I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others, which often leaves me feeling deflated.

 

Slow but steady progress

My son started school last August, which allowed me to apply for positions with slightly more hours. Within a few weeks, I was surprised and ecstatic to be offered a part-time post (very part-time – 10 hours a month) as a supervisor in a university library, and a temporary three-day-per-week post in the health sector, doing ‘behind-the-scenes’ type work for their digital library service. I am learning a huge amount in both roles and feel more confident in my abilities than I ever did before, possibly due in part to the experiences I had whilst out of work.

As one role is temporary and one is very part-time, it is still difficult for me to feel settled work-wise, so I’m still on the lookout for other opportunities. However, I am finally in a position where I feel like I am making progress, even if it’s at tortoise-speed.

 

About Guest Blogger

I live on the windy west coast of Scotland with my husband and five-year-old son, and have been working in libraries since 2010.

Over the years, I’ve tried a couple of other career paths, namely language teaching and translation, but they were never the right fit for me. I actually revisited both of these options out of desperation while I was out of work!

I am very glad that I came across the Library Returners blog – it’s reassuring to know that there are others out there who are facing the same issues, and that we can share experiences and offer one another encouragement and advice.

You can follow Jessie on Twitter @jessbiblioteca