|
|
Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 11/10/2008
Posts: 2
Points: 6
Location: Sydney, Australia
|
Hello,
I'm an Australian librarian with ALA recognised qualifications and have an interest in finding work opportunities abroad. While Australia has reciprocal visa programs with other commonwealth countries, the US seems like a much harder market to crack.
With employers expected to fork out $500 to sponsor an international candidate, do foreign librarians have any chance at all of finding employment in the States?
I'd be interested to hear if anyone works with a non-native librarian (or technician/assistant)!
Thank you for your thoughts :)
Elissa
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Job Hunting Tips - Moderator
, Member
Joined: 1/4/2008
Posts: 73
Points: 219
Location: Cairo, Egypt
|
Elissa, my understanding is that it's pretty complicated for any organization in the US to hire a non-US employee. They have to prove you have some qualification not held by a US librarian. I do know some non-US citizens who work in libraries, often in collection development, working on collections somehow related to their country of citizenship.
With tough economic times in the US, and some libraries slowing down on hiring, this might be a tough time to do this.
This would be in the longer run, but I wonder if you might consider working in Australia and doing a year-long exchange with someone in the US. I know there are tons of American libraries who would love to swap jobs for a year.
Good luck!
|
|
Rank: Newbie
Groups: Member
Joined: 11/10/2008
Posts: 2
Points: 6
Location: Sydney, Australia
|
That's a great idea! I might talk to my employer about something like this, thank you for the advice :)
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Management - Moderator
, Member
Joined: 1/2/2008
Posts: 236
Points: 641
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
|
I have heard of people in this position, but they started off in a U.S. library school with a related part-time job. They just stayed around afterwards and were hired by U.S. libraries. I think all the ones I know of were in academic or corporate settings as the foreign diversity is often pushed hard in those arenas.
Brian C. Gray Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian Kelvin Smith Library Case Western Reserve University http://blog.case.edu/bcg8bcg8@case.edu
|
|
Rank: Administration
Groups: Administration
Joined: 11/5/2007
Posts: 95
Points: -417
|
bee_elissa wrote:That's a great idea! I might talk to my employer about something like this, thank you for the advice :) Check here: http://www.lisjobs.com/jobseekers/non-us.asp for information on job exchanges (first subheading) -- hope it helps!
Rachel Singer Gordon / rachel@lisjobs.comFind a library job: http://www.lisjobs.comThe Liminal Librarian: http://www.lisjobs.com/blog
|
|
|
Guest |
