Making the Cross-Border Jump as an Academic Librarian

Moving to the United States, especially at this sociopolitical moment was not something I was expecting (re: see Violet’s most recent post here), however, a dream position came up that I couldn’t turn down! I wanted to take this first post as a regular contributor to ACRLog and mark this turn in my career in hopes to help anyone else who might be going through similar changes.  

Applying

Interviewing and applying to positions in other countries is straightforward, like other types of interviewing, but reading the fine print may be necessary. Some positions say visa sponsorship is not available but may be open to Canadian applicants through the TN visa process. Sending an inquiry to HR before applying just to ensure that the institution and search committee is aware that you are a Canadian applicant might be a good idea as well. The academic library interviews were more intense than the Canadian interviews I have had, where the process was sometimes one and a half or two full days. The long interviews were personally appreciated as I tend to warm up over time and enjoy getting to visit the different campuses, cities, and have more time to get to know everyone at the library.

Moving  

Moving away from home is definitely not easy but is unfortunately something that one needs to be open to in order to secure a job in academic librarianship. To make things easier for myself, I have adopted a sort of minimalist lifestyle (emphasis on sort of) and living away from home since high school has helped me become better at packing and moving (although it is cumbersome and physically draining). Many institutions already offer this, but during the in-person interview, taking advantage of all the opportunities to look around the city and neighbourhoods such as tours and lunches to ask questions, really opened my eyes in envisioning myself fitting into the city. The job is important, but a fit between the city’s lifestyle, food scene, cinemas, and bike/running trails were equally important for me.  

Mental hurdle 

I definitely think that the biggest obstacle to accepting a position in another country was in my head. Just the thought of working in another country was pretty daunting, but here are some strategies that helped me make the transition easier. First, identifying anyone at my current institution who has ever worked in the US, or moved from US to Canada, or other countries was really helpful. Getting to know their experiences and personal anecdotes really helped me prep myself and to know which questions to ask to which person. Second, asking if there were other Canadian librarians at the institution I was interviewing at was critical. This showed me that they had an HR team, an international office, and a department who knew how to support Canadian applicants as well as a network of librarians who had gone through the same or similar process that I could rely on in the future and during the transition period.  

Logistical Things  

This was/is still my least favourite part. From learning about the TN visa process, getting a new phone number, applying for a social security number, making a bank account, finding a place, thinking about taxes, and much more that I am probably forgetting, there are many steps that need to take place when you are moving countries! Surprisingly, there are a lot of other people who had also gone through a similar move (especially for tech, engineering, post-graduate degrees, etc.) that I could reach out to in my own life and read about online. Something that I had trouble doing was asking for help when I needed it, especially things like rides and their time, but I am actively working on it and trying to put myself in their shoes and thinking about how happy I would be if someone reached out asking to share my time and experiences.  

The main message that I wanted this post to show is the transparency of the process and encourage others who may be on the fence about it, especially early-career librarians! There really are no boundaries, and these paper processes can be annoying, but there are entire teams at the library from human resources to managers who can really make the whole move less stressful and burdening. I also wanted to take this post to thank everyone who helped me during this transition and to those who shared their experiences, knowledge, and time with me!