Laura Williams shares thoughts on applying for the Early Career Conference Awards. Laura is currently working in the library at the University of Huddersfield as Reading List and Collection Development Librarian for The Business School. Laura is the SLA Europe Early Careers and Awards Chair and won an ECCA in 2013 sponsored by the Business & Finance Division.
There is less than a week left to get your applications finished for the Early Career Conference Awards. The deadline is midnight on Friday 19th Feb 2016. Open to all early career professionals and LIS students in Europe, the award is an amazing career development opportunity.
Perhaps you have applied before and not been successful. Or maybe you are doubting your credentials and don’t think you are good enough. If that sounds familiar, then I strongly encourage you to spend the next few days putting together an application for this award. Se vores Applications Guidelines for further details of how to apply for one of these awards and then submit your application using our application form.
I won an ECCA in 2013 after two unsuccessful applications so don’t be put off if you’ve applied before and not won. I didn’t hold much hope for my third attempt either. I was unemployed at the time and had previously been working in a very niche role so didn’t think I would be what the judges were looking for. However my perseverance clearly paid off. I wasn’t working in Business & Finance but I very much wanted to break into the sector so I applied in the hope it would give me experience to focus my career direction. I’m glad I kept on trying as the experience was fantastic.
My advice is to think about how much you have grown as an information professional since your last application, and show us what you have to offer. Consider any feedback you were given last time (yes you can ask us for feedback!) and learn from your past experiences. If you’ve not applied before and are having doubts, then all I can say is you won’t get anywhere if you don’t try.
Check out a selections of blog posts written by past ECCA winners: http://www.sla-europe.org/tag/ecca/
If reading about past winner’s experiences doesn’t give you enough encouragement, then past winners have written about the reasons for applying on others blogs too:
- 10 reasons why YOU specifically should apply for the SLA ECCA prize by Ned Potter – http://www.ned-potter.com/blog/2457
- Applying for the SLA Europe ECCA by Penny Andrews – https://manchesternlpn.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/applying-for-the-sla-europe-ecca/
- Early Career Conference Award by Lauren Lawler – https://npdireland.wordpress.com/early-career-conference-award/
- SLA Europe Early Career Conference Award by Neasa McHale – http://www.libfocus.com/2016/01/sla-europe-early-career-conference-award.html
- Apply for an SLA Europe Early Career Conference Award and Do It Now – https://theatregrad.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/apply-for-an-sla-europe-early-career-conference-award-and-do-it-now/
More information is on our Applications Guidelines side. Please submit your application before midnight on Friday 19th February 2016 using our application form.