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School Librarian Interview Questions

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Interviews can be daunting and hard to prepare for but we’re here to help. We’ve compiled a list of common questions that you might be asked in yours and how you might go about answering them, as well as some questions you could ask your interviewer to help show your interest in the position!

Questions your interviewer might ask

Your motivations

The interviewer is looking for you to give genuine reasons why you want to be a school librarian, this could be passion for the role itself and it’s duties or part of a greater goal to impact leaners. Though the most important thing when answering this question is that you are genuine and tell the truth.

This is a commonly asked interview question and can be answered in many different ways. One reason this question is asked to test if you have researched the school and it’s values. Mention the schools ethos and explain how you fit well with it’s ideals. Also talking about your personal ties to the school are also good to mention, such as going to this school as a child. Mentioning that you are local to the school could also be a good idea. Not only does it suggest that you will be able to arrive more reliably at work but it also suggests you might be more invested in the local community.

Your personal approach to the role

In this question you could mention your methods of gathering feedback from learners or researchers, whether this be talking to them directly or anonymous method such as suggestion boxes. This is to ensure the resources you suggest learners use are of an appropriate level. If there are times when you have had to handle this situation personally make sure to use the star method to recall what you did.

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This question could not only be used to find out how you use technology to support learning but could also be used to feel out how comfortable you are in general with IT systems. The answer to this question may also vary depending on the technology available so you could include mention of that in your answer. When answering questions that require recollection using the star method is always advised. 

Qualifications and experience

As a school librarian you will need to have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially but not limited to interacting with children and young people. Referencing times you have shown this in previous employment would be an ideal way to answer this question. 

Being very organised is also a crucial skill for a school librarian to possess because if the school library is poorly organised it will be hard to use. Having good IT skills can also be very important as you may be expected to work with a variety of different types of software or even instruct learners to use programs or software.

To answer this question you primarily want to talk about any qualifications you have in information management or librarianship. These qualifications or certifications being recognised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is what most organisations are looking for so mentioning it is ideal. 

Supporting qualifications such as those in safeguarding and prevent or understanding autism are also great things to mention as they fill out your profile as a well rounded librarian. Mentioning other relevant qualifications such as bachelors degrees is also a good idea, especially if the institution you are applying for teaches that subject.

Questions for you to ask your interviewer

Final note

Reading through some of our common questions should help get you in the right headspace for your interview, but don’t stop here–have a think about what kind of questions you could be facing, as well as how you might answer them on your own!

Make sure you have everything else you’ll need to land that dream job by returning to our school librarian career advice, or find out how to revamp your school librarian cv or cover letter. Have you got a job in mind but don’t have the right qualifications? If so, check out our courses page and take a look at some of our valuable qualifications.

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