Whenever I come across really good advice for library school students, I like to post it on here, so today I want to share something I came across (thanks, Amy!) from One Big Library: Advice to a library school student.
The best advice anybody ever gave me when I was finishing library school and looking for a job was “look at all your options and choose the most challenging one. If it scares you, like you think maybe you won’t be up to the challenge, you’re on the right track and should go for it.” If you don’t feel challenged now, you’re right to be looking elsewhere (especially if you’re young or don’t otherwise have lots of obligations to other people and can freely look around).
When I was in school I found there was a lot of handwringing amongst my classmates about whether they would be up to the challenge of professional positions. When I started at the Howard Ross Library of Management, I was a bit concerned (read: terrified) by my lack of knowledge about anything business-related. But I saw the position as a challenge, and guess what – I’ve learned a whole lot, both in terms of business information and in terms of librarian skills that will be applicable to any job I may have in the future. So what do I think about scary challenges? I say bring them on!
As always, click through for the rest of the article – you’ll be glad you did.
GrahamLavender.com 
Hey Graham, I ran across this post just now and thought it fit into the “really good advice for library school students” too – albeit some of it is a little UK-centric.
http://thewikiman.org/blog/?p=1029
Cheers from rainy Washington,
Ahniwa
Words of cheer recently from Maya Angelou: “God put the rainbow in the clouds…so the viwer can see the possibility of hope. That’s what a library is.”
Well said! Hear, hear! (Other forms of enthusiastic agreement, etc.) I recently accepted a once-a-week “gig” in the Collections Department of my library. It was very scary and full of knowledgeable librarians. I had no idea about anything to do with Collections, so intimidated would be a good word to describe me on my first day. Fast forward into my third week and I had learned so much I felt as transformed as Scrooge did on Christmas morning.
Accept those challenging, seemingly impossible positions! They are always, always worth it! :D
The main thing you learn from a failure is that it is entirely possible you will have another failure.