Earlier this week, my friend Tom Nielsen and I presented a session, You and Your Career, at the Special Libraries Association annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona. In the workshop, we discussed the myriad of ways in which LIS students and early career professionals can take their careers to the next level. The goal of the class is to  prepare current and future information professionals by:

• increasing self-awareness and understanding of their preferences
• improving their knowledge of professional workplace skills
• developing an understanding of the many ways to engage professionally within the field

During your job search, a well-crafted resume is vital. As a representation of yourself, it is the first impression you make on potential employers. Like any piece of writing that has been reviewed multiple times, you tend not to read it after awhile. If you’ve been job seeking without success, looking at your resume with new eyes many land you an interview—and your next library job.

I want to raise the profile of archivists and ensure that they are supported by their organizations and by an informed public that appreciates the value of their service. The vitality and growth of the field depends upon positioning professionals to be confident voices in a dynamic information environment.

Feedback provides information and advice. It’s offered in a variety of settings, such as part of your supervision, during presentations at conferences, while teaching, or when working as part of a team. Whatever the environment, feedback is a highly productive way of developing yourself and your skills.

If you’re looking for a new job or happily employed, there are moments in your professional life when you feel immobile, despite your best efforts. Here are a few pointers for getting unstuck.

Rudy Ray Moore has been called “the Godfather of Rap,” and is best known as Dolemite, the lead character of the 1975 film Dolemite, and its sequels, The Human Tornado and The Return of Dolemite. He was one of the greatest blaxploitation stars, highly influencing comedians such as Red Foxx and Richard Pryor and rappers like Snoop Dogg.

The best career guidance I’ve encountered derives from an unlikely source, a record I purchased at Extreme Noise in Minneapolis when I was 16:

You must learn to live with your own conscience, your own morality, your own decision, your own self. You alone can do it. There is no authority but yourself.

The conclusion to the fifth studio album by seminal British anarchist punk band Crass urges listeners to take up the challenge of personal responsibility. The exhaustion of vocalist Eve Libertine’s delivery emphasizes the message’s sincerity. I’ve often thought about this mantra as it pertains to the LIS field.

Sheryl Sandberg’s advice that we should “lean in” is garbage. All leaning in does is make you perform more work which most likely will not be recognized.

My favorite movie is Goodfellas. It’s brilliant, and I feel compelled to watch it anytime it's on TV, even though I've watched it many times. The film is filled with great scenes, but one has been surprisingly the most helpful in my personal and professional life.