I have been following this thread as well.  When I was
looking for a job just out of grad school, the only
museum experience I had was unpaid internships.  I was
having a hard time finding a job and so I decided to
volunteer at the Art Institute of Chicago while I was
looking, hoping to make contacts and gain some more
experience.  By the end of the first day on the job
volunteering, my supervisor told me the department was
hiring and sent me over to human resources.  Within
days I had an interview and a job.  It was visitor
services and not my dream job, but at least I was
getting paid to come to the museum!  Within six
months, someone I went to school with who worked in
the archives was getting promoted and her job was
opening up.  She encouraged me to send my resume over
to HR again, told her boss about me and I got an
interview.  I did get the job, but you are
right...contacts can get you an interview, but you
have to do the rest.  My current boss liked my
experience, it did not matter whether I got paid or
not.  I had valuable skills from my internships that
helped me land my current job.  I am always honest on
my resume about whether the postion was volunteer,
internship, or on staff.  I think what matters is what
you gained from the experience, not how much you got
paid.  A good employer should recognize that.
Especially just out of school.  I don't think people
expect years of paid positions on your resume.  But,
the moral to this story, as like many others, is
volunteering is a great way to network.  It is also a
great way to find out exactly where you want to be and
what you want to do.  And any experience is valuable
experience!  Good or bad, paid or unpaid...it all
counts.  It may or may not get you your dream job
right out of the gate, but it is good starting place.
You never know who you may meet!  Amy

--- Kristen Harbeson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I've been following this thread with great
> interest...not less because it is
> a thread that has come up before.
>
> When I was first getting out of graduate school, a
> friend (who introduced me
> to the person who would later hire me) in The
> Profession reviewed my resume.
> I had on it my Grad School experience and my years
> as a historic interpreter,
> a year long library volunteer internship and a year
> long paid collections
> management and research internship. One of the first
> things my friend told me
> was that experience is experience is experience.  It
> doesn't matter, really,
> if the job was volunteer or paid, internship or
> otherwise. The really
> important thing is that you have had that experience
> and have the
> qualifications that come from spending the time
> doing those things. There is
> no real reason not to specify that career related
> work you've done was
> volunteer.
>
> Before I changed my resume, I got hired for a job
> that everyone knew was
> going to be temporary. At my interview, the person
> hiring me told me that he
> knew that I wanted to get into museums. He knew that
> this was not a good job.
> But he also knew that it was the kind of job that
> could propel me into a
> better job.  Which, in fact, it did. I am now on my
> third job after graduate
> school (in less than two years). The second job came
> only two months after
> the first, and there was only a week between the
> time that I heard the job
> was open and the time I was hired.  This job came
> about through my
> friend/mentor who, when an educator position opened
> up, mentioned me to the
> director. My friend didn't get me the job...but he
> did get me the interview.
> My current job was no less serendipitous. And again,
> connections didn't get
> me the job, but they got me the interview.
>
> My points:
>
> 1) Volunteering is a way to get into the field both
> because they introduce
> you to people through whom you may hear about jobs
> and who can recommend you,
> but also because they provide diversity of
> experience...which is the common
> thread in all the posts on this thread.  Experience
> is experience. I still
> haven't decided whether I agree with my friend that
> you shouldn't say that a
> position was 'volunteer,' but I agree with his
> premise that All Experience
> Counts.
>
> 2) Connections are great, but they are not enough.
> The only thing they can do
> is get you an interview...at which time you have to
> shine and prove through
> intelligent questions and answers that you are the
> right one for the job.
> Half the time, chemistry between the interviewer and
> the interviewee is the
> deciding factor -- if they don't like you as a
> person they are less likely to
> want to have you as part of the staff.
>
> Nuff from me. I would be interested in other
> thoughts about the resume
> question: do you think that you need to mention that
> relevant work is an
> internship or volunteer or paid? For those of you
> who are employers: Does it
> make a difference to you?
>
> Cheers!
> Kristen
>
>
=========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may
> obtain detailed information about the listserv
> commands by sending a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one
> line e-mail message to [log in to unmask]
> . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send FREE Valentine eCards with Yahoo! Greetings!
http://greetings.yahoo.com

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).