Dr. Carr,

Once I figured out what I wanted to do with my history
major, I spent my college years doing internships and
volunteering with my sights set on graduate school for
museum studies.

I did an unpaid internship at my hometown historical
society, where I was able to research and write an
article that appeared in their quarterly journal.  It
became the first piece of my "portfolio."  The next
year I went to San Francisco and did a paid internship
at the Wells Fargo Bank Historical Services, where I
did my first little exhibit.  I spent my summers as a
costumed interpreter at the Erie Canal Village, in my
hometown of Rome, NY.

I spent the summer between my first and second year at
the Cooperstown Graduate Program as an intern at the
Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center,
where I was able to work on a larger exhibit and sit
in on meetings with the designer.

As graduation approached, I applied for jobs at small
museums, and I was hired before graduation as the
Curator of a small county historical society.  After
two years of "cutting my teeth" at a teeny museum, I
applied for my current position as Curator of the Wm.
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum.  Of course,
all of this was pre-9/11, when Aviso had a lot more to
pick from than it does now.

My advice for new grads is to apply at smaller places,
where the experience you gain as an intern or
volutneer, and at summer jobs, is good enough to get
you the job.  My first job was far from my dream job,
but it gave me a chance to learn as I worked, which
made me more marketable when I was looking to move up
to something bigger.

Also, another bit of advice -- I started an "online
portfolio" of pictures of my exhibitions.  This
allowed the interviewers to get a look at my work
before deciding to interview me.  All I did was set up
a simple photo album on Yahoo, and I'm sure students
now could set up their very own website without too
much trouble.  I put the website address on my resume.
 After I got my current job, I heard how much that
impressed my new Director.  It led directly to a phone
interview, which got me a "live" interview, and then I
landed the job.

It is a tough market out there, and I don't envy those
of you who are starting the job search.  I tell all of
my interns not to give up, because this really is a
fabulous field, and I enjoy getting up and coming to
work each and every day, because I love what I do!

Kim Kenney
Curator
Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
Canton, OH 


--- Christian Carr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> As a professor of arts management who trains and
> counsels future museum 
> professionals, this thread has been of great
> interest.  I generally have my 
> students subscribe to this list during the semester
> so that they get a good 
> feel for the issues of the field--the good, the bad
> and the ugly!
> 
> I just wanted to suggest a change of direction for
> this thread.  Would anyone 
> be willing to share the story of how they got their
> first job in the museum 
> field, or how they got their current job?  There's
> been lots of good discussion 
> on what you *should* do while job hunting; real-life
> stories might be a useful 
> and interesting addition.
> 
> All best,
> 
> Christian Carr
> Director, Sweet Briar Museum
> Assistant Professor, Arts Management
> Sweet Briar College
> Sweet Briar, VA 24595
> 
>
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=====
Kimberly A. Kenney, Curator 
Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
800 McKinley Monument Dr. NW 
Canton OH 44708 * 330-455-7043 
Visit the Ohio Memory Project at http://www.ohiomemory.org
"Let us ever remember that our interests are in concord, not conflict; and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war."  --25th United States President William McKinley




		
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