Micki,
 
You made my day and similarly thank  everyone who had chimed in (or didn't, 
but knows and understands)> I'm  finding a lot of inspiration and, though I'd 
like to think I already  regained my focus....I still have a way to go.
 
You brought to my attention the importance of the need for introspection  and 
how to put the results into action. Having mentors can make all the  
difference! And they know when to hold your hand and guide you, and when to let  you 
stray. I still find I need that sometimes!
 
Museum professional are obviously a resourceful (among many others things)  
lot. And I see that many of you haven't sat idle for a moment, if at all and  
swing into action to get whatever it is, done!
 
Pam
In a message dated 8/23/2005 5:06:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Thanks to Pamela's "lament" and her  buoyant personality, we have all been 
reading some very informative and  encouraging responses from the field. Hang in 
there, Pam and others, and  don't be afraid to supplement your museum work 
with something in a better paid  field while you stay in touch with museums 
through reading, visits,  volunteering and conferences. It seems pretty clear that 
a glut of graduates  on the market has impacted the job search process, and 
when you can't be as  flexible as a footloose younger single person you will 
feel that impact much  more heavily.But the opportunities do seem to be out 
there.  Pam, you are  just about the most unsinkable person I have heard of since 
Molly Brown! I am  in awe of your perseverance and ability to bounce back from 
some pretty  negative experiences, and the thoroughness of your search for 
information. It  sounds like you are building an impressive resume with a 
variety of museum  work. Not only that-- but you have learned to say "No"! I think 
it took 25  years for me to smile and say "sorry, no"-- and doesn't it lighten 
your  step!
 
The best job-seeking,  resume-preparing advice I ever received was to start a 
"life experiences"  resume as your own personal private document-- not a 
scholarly C.V. but a true  life list, for your own perusal. When you have listed 
everything you have ever  accomplished, whether as employment or because you 
had to do it and did it  successfully, you will be pretty impressed with the 
person on that  paper.  Then pick up your resume again, and look at how you can 
translate  job titles into accomplishments. Rewrite your resume from the 
viewpoint of  what you are proven capable of doing. A waitress doesn't just hand out 
food--  that job requires incredible skill in perceiving and satisfying 
customer  needs, in multi-tasking, in stamina. An assistant registrar doesn't just 
sit  in a cubie and record objects, she sifts and matches information, learns  
research skills, evaluates condition, understands donor relationships, 
handles  objects, manages a database, confers with peers, networks with registrars  
across the state and through this list across the world!  As a person  gains 
experiences, she can rewrite her resume for every single job  application, 
because accumulated skills will range so broadly from  collections management to 
grantwriting to education to public relations to  volunteer management, on and 
on. Whatever the job needs,  reach into  this sack of skills and polish them 
up. Job titles are misleading, what is  important is your level of comfort and 
control of information learned in that  job. Each job title should be followed 
by a well written, clear line about  your responsibilities and 
accomplishments. Think of the application in terms  of what you bring to the table, and what 
your potential employer wants to  have at hand.  Those of us spread along the 
baby-boomer timeline  accumulate too much experience, and we have to select 
the most appropriate and  group it under a required or useful type of 
experience, and establish a  cut-off date (old news is no news to that fatigued person 
reading your  accomplishments). I do keep a full project list going back to 
ancient history,  but any job I am interested in gets a one-page, concise and 
pertinent resume  with a note that the full project list is available upon 
asking.
 
In closing, I sensed some misunderstanding  about volunteers that may have 
been in response to something I wrote. Let me  state here and now that I believe 
there is a special room in heaven for  volunteers, who add enormous value to 
every task they take on, without  exception are generous, sociable and caring 
people, and in return  ask only that their time be respected and to hear an 
occasional thank  you. I believe I said that volunteering is an excellent way to 
acquire  training and skills, but it doesn't put dinner on the table. I 
didn't say  volunteering has no value-- without volunteers, this country would 
grind to a  halt at every level.  This is a unique aspect of our democratic 
society--  when working on a citizen diplomacy project in the Soviet Union in the 
1980s,  I learned that Soviet volunteers are people who are assigned to a job 
that is  not listed on their internal visa.  They were not unpaid by any  means, 
they were simply assigned to otherwise unauthorized work by an  authority. 
Woe be to the citizen who showed up to add their skills after work  or while on 
assigned holiday-- they were escorted outside and interrogated.  Imagine a 
life where a schoolteacher would be intimidated if they tried to  carve a duck or 
play a guitar or arrange museum objects for the love of it in  their free 
time.  I treasure museum (and all) volunteers. I am also very  fortunate to now 
be in a "mentor" position to a recent museum studies  graduate, who is 
volunteering temporarily for hands-on experience  while we raise funds for her salary. 
So rather than being jealous of  new graduates, I value the opportunity to be 
of use and to pass the knowledge  on, and besides that she's a lot of fun.
 
Hey Pam, I never had to work tobacco  either, but when my family moved to the 
west coast I sure had to cut  'cots in the Central Valley. I lasted one week, 
and before my hands were  damaged beyond repair I picked up my toolbox of 
brushes and poster paints and  walked the downtown sidewalks, offered to paint 
ads on store windows for $10  each window. All it took was one merchant willing 
to take the risk (I didn't  even have samples, all I had ever painted were 
Christmas scenes on our home  windows!) and by the end of summer I had my tuition 
in hand (and was getting  $25 per window). Sometimes you have to guide 
opportunity when it can't quite  seem to find its way to you!
 
Micki Ryan
Museum & Archival  Services




 
Pamela Silvestri, Museum Assistant
Northeast States Civilian  Conservation Corps Museum
Shenipsit State Forest
166 Chestnut Hill  Road
Stafford Springs, Connecticut 06076
(860)  684-3430

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