Beth,
You are getting a lot of good suggestions for where to look for openings. When I was looking for work awhile back I checked all of those places and more. Check them early and often. Get to know when they post new jobs. Subscribe to their RSS feeds when they are available.
But while keeping abreast of openings when they occur is important, it is quite literally the least you can do. You need to be more proactive. When you send a resume in response to an advertised opening, your application will join a stack of a hundred or more. And given the number of layoffs in this latest downturn it is likely you will be competing with experienced professionals for what look like entry level jobs. Your competition will not only have more experience, but they will have a body of work and accomplishments they can show to the hiring committee and they already have a network of contacts to work for help finding and getting work. You need to build that network and use it to help you find, or even create, a job for you. Just some suggestions:
1. Work your college professors. If your school has a museum studies program, and it sounds like they do, it is not only part of the job of the faculty to help you find work, it is in their interest to do so. If they are worth their salary at all they should know people locally, regionally who may not have jobs now, but could meet with you to discuss your qualifications, give you advice on resume writing, interviews, etc. Get a couple of names from them of others you might have an information gathering meeting with.
2. Think hard about what kind of museum, or other institution, you want to work for. Think in terms of specific types, sizes, locations, subject matters, etc. Find some examples. Try to work through your contacts to meet the people who hire at these types of institutions. Get to know what they look for in hires and let them know you are interested in working for them or a museum like them.
3. Widen your search geographically. I won't say forget Washington D.C., but bear in mind hundreds of other museum professionals also want to work there. For every opening they must get a hundred applications or more. And since DC means Federal government, this also means arcane bureaucracies. There are tricks to getting hired there. I am a 20 year professional who tried several times for a Smithsonian job. It wasn't until I had friends on the inside that I ever stood a chance. I am not saying anyone showed favoritism or anyone pulled strings, but they told me how to push the metaphorical buttons the federal HR people need pushed. They read over my application package and gave me advice on structure, phrasing, and all sorts of other tips and tricks. I got THAT job.
4. Don't be afraid to work in the wilderness. Moving outside the major metropolitan centers not only lessens competition, but you are more highly valued. Early in my career I found myself in Northern New England which had, at the time, few or no museum studies or related programs in the area. Even with my limited experience I found myself getting great jobs and valued more highly then in regions where museum studies graduates were a dime a dozen. Who knows you may even find you like living in a small town in the White Mountains or similar rural location.
5. Look in other areas besides museums. If you go to NCPH website right now and look at their jobs, you might be surprised how many different types of institutions are hiring people with your skill set. Government agencies, private contractors, even the military are hiring public historians. You might find yourself in a job that isn't your first choice for a couple of years, but suck it up and get experience and broaden your network of contacts for that next job. I have also seen art curator jobs at casinos, zoo education jobs at amusement parks, and science educator jobs at private corporations.
6. Bear in mind that you are never finished working on your resume. Not only should you rewrite it for every job opening for which you apply to press their buttons (and you should always research every institutions to which you apply. With the internet, there is no excuse not to. 5-10 years ago things were different. It was harder to research a small historical society half a continent away.) but also to keep abreast of developments in the HR field. Applications are not processed the same way now as they were five years ago or five years before that. Stay informed and adapt. You should never send out the exact same resume twice.
I have a bunch of other lesser ideas and suggestions, but they all riff on this same theme. Do not just sit back and passively answer ads when they appear. Go out there an network and schmooze. Schmooze like you have never schmoozed before. Take classes, or at least get a book or two, on branding yourself and how to get your resume to the top layer of important people's desks. Unfortunately AAM meeting is over. This is a great place to work the network. (It is a sad irony that the best place to network and look for a job costs so bloody much to attend. One of the many reasons why the best way to find a job is to have a job) But smaller, regional and state meetings work too. Find them in your area. Also look into content specific meetings like AASLH, ASTC, AHLFAM, NCPH, VSA, and others. If you don't know what those letters stand for, find out now. Each one of those websites has job openings for a specific content area in museums.
You could find a decent job by just sitting back and answering want ads. You could also win the lottery.
Good luck,
Matthew White
On Jun 11, 2010, at 4:30 PM, Chad Landsman wrote:
> Beth,
> There are numerous websites devoted to openings/postings in the museum field:
> Museum Employment Resource Center <http://www.museum-employment.com/>
> AAM Career Search <http://www.aam-us.org/aviso/index.cfm>
> Museumprofessionals.org <http://www.museumprofessionals.org/forum/search.php?searchid=110585>
> Museum Market <http://www.museummarket.com/Jobs.htm>
>
> Algonquin College <http://www.algonquincollege.com/museum/jobres/jobs.html> also has a fairly extensive list of links for hunting down museum job openings. And, as always, you can check specific museums' web sites and see what positions they have available; at least many larger museums have some sort of job announcements page.
> Good Luck
> chad
>
>
>
> Monta Lee Dakin wrote:
>> Beth:
>> If you want to move out west where the weather and scenery are the best, then check MPMA's Online Jobbank. It is updated regularly with jobs from all 10 of MPMA's states (Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming).
>> Click here: MPMA :: The Mountain-Plains Museums Association :: Job Announcements <http://www.mpma.net/jobs.php>
>> /Monta Lee/
>> Monta Lee Dakin
>> Executive Director
>> *
>> MPMA: A Ten-state museum network*
>> Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming*
>>
>>
>> Mark your calendar:*
>> 2010 Conference: September 13-17 Rapid City*
>>
>> Mountain-Plains Museums Association*
>> 7110 West David Drive
>> Littleton, Colorado 80128-5404
>> 303-979-9358 www.mpma.net
>> In a message dated 6/11/2010 11:52:10 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes:
>>
>> My name Beth Orton and I recently graduated from Penn State
>> Harrisburg with my M.A. in American Studies emphasis in Museum work.
>> Currently I work part time as a tour guide at the Hershey Story
>> Museum on Chocolate Ave (Hershey, PA). I am looking for something
>> more permanent and full time in the museum field. I have
>> experience in local history and research and archival work. I am
>> looking for a job in the D.C. area right now but in anywhere in
>> the U.S. would be Ok.
>> Does anyone have any ideas of where to apply and who I can talk to?
>>
>> Thanks
>> Beth Orton
>> Hummelstown, PA
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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>
> --
> Chad W Landsman
> Lab & Collections Manager
> Anthropology Laboratory
>
> Luther College 700 College Drive
> Decorah, IA 52101
> (563)387-2156
>
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