I turned down a job this week. It sounds ridiculous: An unemployed librarian is offered a job in a library, and she says “no.” Unfortunately, it happened.

Without getting into specifics, I turned down the job because it wasn’t right for me. Yes, I’ve been unemployed since August, and yes, I often lament about not having work to keep me busy, but should I take any job instead of waiting for the right job?  It’s not a question everyone can afford to ask, but thankfully I can (at least for a few more months).

As a new academic librarian, I quickly learned that there are times when you can and should say no.  Jumping on every bandwagon can easily lead to burn-out, and it’s more important to do what you truly value than to do something simply out of fear for saying no.  I remain hopeful that my decision to say no this time wasn’t the wrong one.