Students as Partners in Recruitment

Students are rarely involved in the recruitment of professional library staff, despite being a key group that such staff interact with. This article outlines a new approach at Library Services at The Hive at the University of Worcester; students are now routinely invited to join work related exercise panels as part of the recruitment process. This collaborative approach means that students not only get a say in their library staff and feel more of a sense of ownership of library services, but also have a valuable experience to use on their CVs and to inform their own job applications and interviews. This article details the role of students in these activities, the response from staff, and plans to improve the process further.