When I hire someone, I look for experience and skills that tell me about
that person's work ethic and work style, their ability to learn new
things and the ability to take on varied responsibilities.  Has the
person excelled in previous work environments (no matter what they are)?
Is the person organized, energetic, flexible?  Will they be a team
player?  Most bright, educated, enthusiastic people can learn to do
ANYTHING.  (Take it from someone who has taught pre-school, been a real
estate settlement specialist, a credit analyst and now a museum
professional.)

I know that my perspective on hiring is rather unique and has been
informed by frustrating job-hunting experiences that were similar to Ms.
Watkins'.  I used to wonder (and still do) how people who do the hiring
ever got THEIR start.  Wasn't there a day when they, too, lacked
experience?  I think we all too often forget to look at a candidate's
intangible qualities -- sense of humor, enthusiasm, even-temperedness...
These are just as important as having the "right" job under one's belt.

That's my 2 cents.

Tricia Edwards, Education Manager
Delaware Museum of Natural History
[log in to unmask]
(302)658-9111 x 324
(302)658-2610 fax

PS -- We should also remember that the #1 reason employees are
terminated has NOTHING to do with their skill and ability level --
termination is usually a result of personality conflicts or differences
in opinion.

-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth Watkins [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 1999 1:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: the recurring question of jobs and experience


As someone who has been on the job hunt for over a year (while finishing
a Master's,
moving, and taking another full-time job completely out of the field to
pay the
bills), I feel that  this issue needs to be brought up in relation to
Mr. Koos's
point: how are you supposed to get enough experience to get a job if no
one will give
you a chance to get the experience? Please don't remind me again to
volunteer or do
interenships; I have done plenty of both and found them all very
rewarding. What I
silently wonder about is, when are employers going to find my non-paid
experience
valuable?

It is completely understandable that those who do the hiring want people
with
experience, and also that not all academic training is as useful
day-to-day as is
hands-on experience -- but somewhere, somebody has to take a chance on
those of us
who have less hands-on experience but do have years of "minds-on"
experience gained
through relevant courses, research, discussions, projects, etc. I
realize I may not
be exaclty what the employer wants, but please consider giving me a
chance to show
that I can learn to be what you want by building off of the variety of
experience I
have.

Just a note from the frustrated folks
E. Watkins
Master of Museum Studies, University of Toronto

> I do a bit of hiring for my museum and teh thing I am most interested
in does
> not relate to course work or name schools - it relates to experience.
Does the
> candidate demonstrate interset in the subject beyond the classroom
Internships
> are really important.  Distant Leaning folk  are more likely to be
hands-on in
> hteir learning.  That because their schools are not based on the
creation of new
> academic programs which are developed to keep tenured faculty
employed.
>
> High quality distant learning programs like The Union Institute or
University of
> Victoria are learner centered - not faculty centered.
>
> Greg Koos
> Exec. Dir.
> McLean Co. Museum of History
>
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