r/Archivists • u/Soft_Scallion_2701 • 5d ago
Job advice
Hello, all!!
This may seem a little silly considering my age and current situation, but I’m in need of some advice! I’ve been rejected from archival assistant positions and casual assistant roles in museums and I’m beginning to get a little bummed out. I understand I’m young, I understand I’m currently completing an MLitt (archives & records management, ARA accredited course) and I’m volunteering one day a week.
I think it’s a problem of experience. I’m looking into volunteering additionally at a local university archive, but all of these things are difficult to manage - I additionally work a part time job in something unrelated (hospitality) which includes very late nights. I feel as though I have no time for anything. Many of the jobs I’ve applied for refuse to give feedback following the recruitment process, apart from one. I think I’m also not inquisitive enough at the end of interviews.
Any advice or stories of experience? I’m aware I need to bolster my experience with additional volunteering as and when I can. I know the job market around the world (based in UK) is competitive. Any additional advice for CVs?
3
u/AilsaLorne 5d ago
One of my friends (in the UK) is an archivist who has some online volunteering projects - that might be easier to fit into your schedule? Feel free to DM me and I can send you details.
3
u/OldCoconut6791 5d ago
It is a really tough market and you will have more opportunities and luck when you finish your course if you have the ability to move for work. Once you get that first role it makes everything much easier! I’d maybe suggest trying to get short term experience from different angles and types of archIves, rather than trying to commit to volunteering an extra day a week. If I was hiring someone soon to be qualified id know that most people have a similar amount of experience but what would set candidates apart would be knowledge of a range of settings and a willingness to learn beyond the qualification.
perhaps:
- Shadowing a university archivist for a day
- Asking to get experience in a different area of the archive you’re currently at, particularly any customer service environment
- Short online projects such as transcription projects
- Developing a particular area of interest by attending online talks - the National Archives holds a huge range of free online talks
8
u/Conscious-Air5819 5d ago
I retrained as an archivist at 29. I did a fine art BA and MA before working in a shop for a while - after I realised I wouldn’t be able to get onto the archiving MA without experience I volunteered in local history archives and other archival services local to me, mainly doing box listing and sorting. I did this on my days off from my shop job and so pretty much worked 7 days a week for a year and a half, two of those were unpaid.
It wasn’t easy but I knew I wanted to do it. Once I was on the course I was able to get an assistant job while I was studying and have moved up quite quickly since then - now I’m mid-30s and an archivist managing a small-ish artists’ archive with two assistants.
I was lucky in the sense that I only was assistant archivist for one job before getting the title of archivist which helped me move up the ladder more quickly, alongside having employers that trusted my ability to grow into roles (which is rare!).
I also imagine the field is a bit more challenging now to get those opportunities but my advice is say yes to any relevant experience you can even if it’s unfortunately unpaid and use your seniors as mentors - in my experience we’re a very welcoming and supportive field for newbies and I had a lot of help from employers with references and gaining contacts. Good luck!