1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Serials Assistant do? |
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 What field is your job in?
Library
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What is your job title?
Serials Assistant
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Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I work for Harvard Law School Library, which is part of Harvard University. Harvard University is one of the largest employers in Cambridge, MA. I don't know how many employees it has but the library I work in has about 200 employees.
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How long have you been employed in this position?
Four years and four months
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How many hours do you work a week on average?
35
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Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
I work in the Serials Department. I am responsible for paying invoices, contacting publishers and vendors to request missing issues of journals or magazines, checking issues of journals or magazines into the computer. I also check in microfiche and microfilms. My job mostly entails sitting in front of a computer. I have my own cubicle.
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What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
32,130
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What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
34135
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Please
list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation,
sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
Health and dental insurance, life insurance, retirement plan, disability insurance, subsidized subway passes, tuition assistance for schools outside Harvard; varying degrees of tuition forgiveness within Harvard, library borrowing privileges
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Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
I feel I am well compensated. Though I can barely make ends meet with the salary (cost of living is very high here), I do get a lot of benefits and my job is very secure.
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2. Work environment! |
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Does
your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this
something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
I work with my colleagues on an almost daily basis. They ask me questions or I ask them questions. It's not often collaborative. I never deal with library patrons at all.
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Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
No
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Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
No
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Describe
your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what
you like/dislike about working in it
The location is in the basement of the library. It is a large room divided up into cubicles. Supervisors/professional librarians mostly have offices around the edges; these have windows. The rest of us have fluorescent lights. The cubicles are a soothing color. I wish I got to see outside more, though.
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Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
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5 Income
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1 Work Environment - co-workers
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2 Work Environment - supervisors
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3 Benefits
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6 Hours
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7 Level of responsibility
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4 The actual "work" you do at your job
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8 Job Title
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3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours? |
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If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Apply. I got my job by applying through the Harvard Web site. Sometimes it helps to have a friend on the inside, but I didn't.
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What
skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a
position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social
skills, organization skills, technical skills)
My position is entry-level for someone with a college education. Organization skills are important for any job, but libraries prize them very highly. Some social skills are important for working in my department, but there is no customer service so that skill isn't necessary. A big plus for my particular job is knowledge of one or more foreign language, and non-Western European languages such as Chinese or Arabic are especially useful.
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Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
I think that someone needs to be at least literate and know something about the world. Having traveled and lived abroad I have a good grasp of geography and that has been useful.
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What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
It's important to find a rhythm. The work can be tedious but it helps to listen to music or NPR when doing the most tedious things. Vary the day by getting up and moving or doing work in the stacks (we have to check books on the shelves on a regular basis). Try not to do the same thing for too long.
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