People Interact

Blog about people-centered design by Lisa Chow and Sandra Sajonas.

Leadership and Career Development

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Events and Projects

  1. Library Workers’ Skill Share
    We organized an event in response to threats of layoffs in the library. More information.
  2. Conference Proposal Review
    We provided an individualized review session with tips and advice on a proposal that was later accepted for a national conference.

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Presentations and Workshops

  1. “Getting Started in Project Management: A Workshop for Librarians”
    Metropolitan New York Library Council
  2. “Librarians in the 21st Century: Designing a Career Strategy for Evolving Roles and Opportunities” 
    Kentucky Library Association (KLA) and Kentucky Association of School Librarians (KASL) Joint Conference
  3. “Librarians in the 21st Century: Designing a Career Strategy for Evolving Roles and Opportunities” 
    Library 2.013 Worldwide Virtual Conference
  4. “Leadership and Career Development for the 21st Century Information Professional”
    Rocky Mountain Chapter of Special Libraries Association (SLA) and SLA First Five Years Council Virtual Breakfast Webinar
  5. “Using E-Portfolios to Showcase Your Work, Experience and Skills”
    NY Librarians Meetup
  6. “Using E-Portfolios to Showcase Your Work, Experience and Skills”
    Special Libraries Association (SLA) Hudson Valley Annual Meeting
  7. “Showcase Your Work, Experience and Skills: Using Google Sites to Create An E-Portfolio”
    Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click University Webinar
  8. “Leadership and Career Success for the 21st Century Information Professional”
    Library 2.012 Worldwide Virtual Conference
  9. “Using E-Portfolios to Showcase Your Work, Experience and Skills”
    Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click University Webinar 
  10. “Professional and Career Development: Tips, Tricks and Tools for the Information Professional”
    New York Chapter of Special Libraries Association (SLA-NY) @ Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) 
  11. “Using Free Web Tools to Build Your Library Career”
    NY Librarians Meetup 
  12. E-Portfolio Presentation at Brooklyn Public Library
  13. “Leadership and Career Development for the New Information Professional”
    Annual SLA@Pratt Skill Share Fair. We’ve presented at Pratt Institute for 4 consecutive years (2010-2013) to share our tips and advice with library school students. Something we look forward to doing every year.

Interested in leadership and career development? Contact us for more info.

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Publications

  1. Career Q&A: A Librarian’s Real-Life, Practical Guide to Managing a Successful Career
    InfoToday. By Susanne Markgren and Tiffany Eatman Allen
  2. Using E-Portfolios to Showcase Your Work, Skills and Experience in Three Simple Steps
    SLA 2012 Salary Survey: Career Strategies for Librarians
  3. In Library School or Job Hunting? Tips to Build Up Your Professional Career
    LIScareer.com – Career Strategies for Librarians

organizer

Testimonials

“The enthusiasm of the presenters, Lisa Chow and Sandra Sajonas, was infectious. Their knowledge was impressive.”
– Event attendee at NY Librarians Meetup Group presentation

“You inspired me to start working on my online portfolio.”
– Event attendee at SLA-NY @ METRO presentation

“The event was well organized and presented in such a professional way right now to have library interns strategically located. The variety of the programs were well chosen. Excellent group of vendors not very often seen at career events.”
– Event attendee at Library Workers’ Skill Share

“[Our proposal] was accepted for the 2012 PLA National Conference. [We] want to share this wonderful news and thank you for the excellent advise that we received when we were just thinking in applying.”
– Library staff from a conference proposal review session

“I had just recently signed up on LinkedIn when I attended your workshop. Your advice about personalizing invites (maybe mentioning how you’ve met, etc.), instead of using the standard/generic introduction has been extremely useful and more effective. I’ve since stopped sending generic messages.”
– Attendee from SLA-NY @ METRO presentation

“Thanks for your SLA@Pratt presentation. I appreciated your positive energy and your resourceful approach to the job hunting process. The tips and tools that you shared have enabled me to significantly improve my job-hunting skills. I have especially benefited from learning about the ‘I need a library job’ resource, which has been a vital source of information and inspiration in my search.”
– Attendee at SLA@Pratt presentation

“Lisa and Sandra’s webinar presented me with a clear overview of e-portfolios. Within an hour, I knew how to create, host and promote an e-portfolio and even how to gauge its impact. They provided great examples of e-portfolios, the pros and cons of different hosting tools and useful tips and advice. For someone with limited knowledge of e-portfolios, this webinar has been an invaluable resource that I will keep turning back to as I try to shape my online presence. A great career booster.”
– SLA webinar attendee on e-portfolios

“Sandra Sajonas and Lisa Chow’s Leadership & Career Development for the New Information Professional: Tips, Tricks, and Tools helped inspire me as an emerging information professional just finishing my MSLIS. Sajonas and Chow’s simple and effective personalized tips and in-workshop exercises helped me move through some of the daunting professional anxieties I experienced in my last semester of grad school. The dynamic team has a infectious enthusiasm for the profession; they are able to inject attendees like myself with energetic hope grounded in practical, actionable goals. I would highly recommend this program to any emerging information professional.”
– Attendee at SLA@Pratt presentation