Job hunting is hard and here is my near-sighted leading the blind advice. The following are notes from a seminar at the 1999 SAA Conference in Pittsburgh for new archivists and archive students who are venturing into job market. I attended with a friend who was soon to leave his first post graduate position and we both followed some of the advice, more or less, so it seems workable. Please keep in mind that what I'm writing is from notes quickly jotted down and expanded upon many many months after attending the conference. I also included some useful links for job seekers and the tricks I have picked up in my hunt. Later, (once I get settled) I hope to add data (length of time hunting, how long it took for them to contact me, etc.) about my job hunting.
| Applying | When you start out it is you looking
for a position. YOU chose the positions that you apply for and with that in mind, don't
pass over project positions and other less desirable posts. Your first archive job
will not be the one that you will have forever. Think of project positions as experience
builders where you pick up skills that you didn't get in the classroom or from
internships. Face it, several job announcements ask for a year or more of real-world
experience and what better way to get some experience you can be proud of. Many of
these project posts last 1 to 2 years, depending on funding, which is just enough time to
pick up some of the necessary skills and experience for the more desired jobs. Go where the jobs are. Well, that's what they say. Personally I have a need to apply to places on the coast, so I can't tell others to apply to a position regardless of its location. But the smart advice is to go where ever a job takes you. This is easier to do if you are not in a long term relationship (married or have a partner) or have kids in tow. It is easier to stay in your geographic confines, if those confines include areas with a heavy concentration of academic, corporate or government organizations like Washington-Baltimore metro area, New York, New England, California and so forth. Don't apply for positions where you are clearly not qualified. If they ask for year of experience and you have a 6 or more months, go ahead and see if if they bite. But if they want five years, don't bother. Some places do ask for more experience than what they are willing to hire (so I have been told by my advisors), but only apply if the margin is small. |
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| Key Points *Your 1st job won't be your only job *Go for the 1-2 year posts *Go where the jobs are *Apply where you're qualified |
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| The Application/ Resume | When you apply for a job you are not simply throwing your resume in the mail, but other items as well. Depending on the institution and what they ask for in their advertisement. | ||
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One of the first lessons I learned
was, proof-read your application materials. I know its easier said than done,
especially when you're rushed and the deadline is close at hand. When you're not rushed is
a good time to look at pre-printed resumes for typos, outdated information, changes in
duties and experience, and other 'little' things you might have overlooked. For
these things its a good idea to pair up with another job seeker. They work as a good
sounding board, editor, and when needed, emotional support. Make your cover letter easy to understand and read. No itsy bitsy teensy weensy type. No convoluted sentences or hard to follow ideas. What you want to do is show in your letter how your skills or interests fit their needs. (example, "I meet all the requirements....") I typically pick out the items in the advertisement that I excel at and write a few sentences about that skill or interest. For example if they want someone who is a team-player, I talk about the teaming philosophy at my workplace and what I do as a team player, even of those duties are mundane. Nothing too deep, just enough to seem interesting. Don't repeat what is in your resume, but highlight areas in the resume that relate to the job. From this you can tell you can't have a one-size fits all cover letter. Employers are interested in how you can help them so your cover letter has to be tailored to that employer. To customize each cover letter there are a few things that will be different for each position. First tell them why you are interested in working for them. For a software company that was looking for a data archivist, I told them in the first paragraph that one of their computer games was so addictive that I nearly didn't finish grad school. I got a phone interview with them and in the interview we talked (and laughed) about this point. This first point is a good opportunity to tell them how your interests relate to the position, if you don't have any great interest in the institution. This point will come up interview, so you might as well have an answer. The next paragraph you'll want to go address how your experience relates to the advertised position. I personally repeat the sentences used in the ad to clearly show the relationship. I have something in my notes that everything doesn't have to be positive. I have no idea of what that means. To finish it up, you want to say what is included in the mailing, extra requested forms and what not. Make sure it is one page. And lastly, proof-read. |
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| The Cover Letter | |||
| Key Points *Check typos *Customize cover letters *Provide details, not a list *Have references who can talk about your work |
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| The resume | First, with a resume, the paper
doesn't matter. A decent cotton type bond will do. These things get photocopied and sent
to other board/ committee members so the paper your original was on won't make or break
you. Save the money you spend on fancy paper for travel
expenses to interviews. When you describe your work experience try to be as detailed as possible. Say how many feet (100? 30?) or items you processed during your summer internship or how many people you helped a day/ week as a reference librarian, give numbers. When listing skills, remember to be specific. Don't put down a long list of computer programs you work/ed with, but rather describe how you used these programs for work (ex. Used MS Word for drafting correspondence to researchers."). If you can, list related courses. If not, you might want to allude to related coursework in your cover letter. |
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| List of references | Some places will ask for a list of
references. Be careful in who you pick as a reference. Employers do
call these people, sometimes before or after an interview. From talking with some of the
people who were my references, they ask about more than your character, they ask about
your knowledge and skills as it applies to the position. So even though the director
of your archive knows your name and says hi to you in the hall, you probably don't want to
list him/her as your reference if he/she is not familiar with your work. In other words
list people who know you and like you, not just the big names. Have more than three in mind because some places will not let you list former supervisors as a reference. Personally, I would not list friends or relatives unless I worked with them in a related field. Friends will be positive but unless they know what it is that you do and how well of a job you do their answers will not be substantive enough to help you. |
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| The Interview | The notes I have for interviews, tell of the
common sense stuff we've all heard about interviews and then some. Dress nicely, but dress in a way that does reflect your personality. This goes with the idea that you should be truthful in your presentation. Go tweedy if you're tweedy but not IBM blue. Don't lie. The truth has a way of coming out. Besides, you should be hired based on your education, career and professional development. If you lie about either one, they will find out after you're hired and you can be fired because of a lie. Some interviews are phone interviews. So, be aware of the tone of your voice. If you take notes tell them so they know what those long silent pauses are. Try to avoid rambling on and on. Get comfy. Have all the necessary information close at hand (or a cordless phone) or near by. In person interviews are best. The experience allows you to review the working conditions, see potential co-workers, and get a tour of the place. Personally, I think one on on interviews are good. You may encounter panel interviews, where 2 to 4 people ask you a series of questions. The panel participants most likely understand that this type of interview is tiring, so take your time, try to relax. Make sure you've answered their questions, ask to make sure. Interview them. Ask them if they know what an archivist is if you are their first. Ask what exactly they see the person for this job doing, what are the duties. This will help with problems that may occur later because they're not sure why they have an archivist in the first place your job will be harder. Ask about training opportunities.Will they pay for continuing education? Professional development? |
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| Other stuff | Always develop yourself. Get grant writing experience. Attend professional meetings, both national and local. Get involved in the profession. Promote yourself. Hand out your resume to friends in the field and tell them you're looking. | ||
| Links |
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| Created by M M Maxwell on 1/23/00. Last edited 01/23/00 | |||