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Re: Another Archive recruiters/Job hunting
When I worked in San Antonio, TX and was on the hiring end of several
archivist searches, I often felt that our geography and the stereotypes
people hold about Texas and the South were barriers to us receiving a
lot of applicants. On more than one occasion our searches were long and
drawn out, or reopened because of a dearth of candidates (and the
salaries were reasonable for the cost of living in South Texas). And
what seemed particularly odd to me was how few of our applicants for
entry level positions were graduates of UT Austin's archives program. I
would suggest that new grads (especially those with mobile families, or
no dependents) not rule out huge segments of the country as possible
places to start a career. Get an onsite interview and find out about
the place before you limit your options. I gained a lot of experience
working in San Antonio and had opportunities there that I doubt I would
have gained in a larger archives shop.
About 18 months ago I began a geographically bounded job search myself.
This decision was several years in the making and my partner and I
specifically waited for a few years while I gained work experience which
would make relocating to where we really wanted to live easier. We
wanted to move to Portland, OR, to be close to family, but being
realistic we defined the target area as states bordering the Pacific,
with a preference for San Francisco and north, up to the Canadian
border-with a strong leaning to urban or university communities. As I
recall, during the six months in which I was sending out resumes there
were less than a dozen archives jobs advertised in that region and I
applied to four which matched my level of experience and salary needs.
I was lucky to obtain a job with a private archives in Seattle.
For me the professional compromise my geographic inflexibility demanded
was that I had to leave an educational environment. I now work in an
environment that is governed by confidentiality and privacy concerns. I
miss working with faculty, students and donors and talking about my
collections. But I like the access to technology and commitment to
preserving the company's and family's history. It is refreshing to be
in an environment where they have the foresight to save materials now.
For my family, this move has meant some economic uncertainty; I landed a
job and she did not, so she continues to look for a new job in a tight
economy. But I was fortunate to land with a company that paid to
relocate me, and has domestic partner health benefits.
The upshot is I feel lucky to have the job I do, in the region where I
wanted to live. But I don't think it would have been possible if I
didn't first just get a job and get busy getting some experience.
Jill
<<The views reflected in this message do not necessarily reflect the
views of Vulcan Inc. and should not be in any way construed as company
policy.>>
________________________________________
Jill U. Jackson
Archivist
Vulcan Inc.
www.vulcan.com
Office Tel. 206-652-5170
Mobile Tel. 206-295-9270
Fax. 206-652-5184
Note new E-mail address: JillJ@vulcan.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Julia Bazar [mailto:julia@GLBTHISTORY.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 10:43 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Another Archive recruiters/Job hunting
I had to deal with the location issue when I decided to pursue a
library/archives education. Having grown-up and spent most of my life
in
Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area, I always assumed I'd go to UC
Berkeley for library school. However, that program shut down just when
I
was finally ready to go. I made up a short list of other places in the
country I thought I could stand to spend a few years and ended up at
Simmons
College in Boston, which was an excellent choice for me since I wanted
to
get a history degree as well as a MLS.
Upon graduation I started a Nation-wide job search, applying to any job
that
was interesting, basically without regard to location. While I
ultimately
hoped to make it home, I was resigned to putting in time elsewhere until
I
had enough experience or something good arose in Northern California.
As it turned out, through connections I'd made during a Summer
internship/job search during a break from Simmons, I ended up with a
series
of short-term (3-6 month) assignments in San Francisco, while I also
interviewed at several sites around the country. The one job out of
state
that I was offered I turned down because other issues, not because of
location -- even though that was what the institution insisted on
believing.
As it turned out. I have managed to remain in California, primarily
moving
from 1 year grant position to 1 year grant position and spending last
year
in Los Angeles (if you are familiar with Californian prejudices -- this
might be considered worse than being anywhere else in the country),
before
getting an offer (another 1 year grant -- but with hopes of
continuation)
back in San Francisco. I will admit my current 10 year goal is not to
move
more than twice -- but that's because I'm getting old and wanting to be
a
little more rooted. If this job doesn't continue I would try to find
something local, but would probably move again if I couldn't.
Julia Bazar
Special Projects Librarian (Archivist)
GLBT Historical Society of Northern Ca.
973 Market Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-777-5455
julia@glbthistory.org
http://glbthistory.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Amy Cooper
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 8:19 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Another Archive recruiters/Job hunting
Hello, list -- I think that this is a key question. I *almost* posted
something about this when the question first came out, because it seems
so
basic to me. I went to school in Michigan, where I'd lived for 18
years. When it came time for me to seek my first archives job, I was
offered one position in Michigan that wasn't really related to archives.
I
didn't take it, but found no other archives positions in the state. I'd
been sending out resumes for a while, and I knew I would have to move
from
my long time home in order to practice in my profession. I wound up
with a
great job in South Dakota. Fortunately, it was fairly easy for me to
relocate -- there were not children and spouses in the mix, just a deep
attachment to Ann Arbor..... But I can certainly see that being wedded
to
location would have prevented me from practicing in my field. I'd have
found a position, I'm sure, in some other field of librarianship. But
not
in the profession that was -- and remains -- my first choice....
Amy Cooper
Special Collections Librarian
University of Iowa
At 10:54 AM 12/20/2001 -0500, Alan Harris Stein, online wrote:
>More to the point of this discussion and these questions: who is
willing to
>move to work as an archivist? For example, would Katy work in the
Pacific
>Northwest to do archives work? How many of you are that committed to
the
>profession to move/relocate? I would like to hear your thoughts on
that,
>since I'm also working on an article.
>
>Al Stein, C.A./M.L.S.
>Northwest Oral History Assoc.
>
> > Howdy all!
> >
> > Just some more two cents--
> > I have an MLIS (with 15 hours in Archives)and a BS in Historic
Preservation
> > (emp museums and archives). I am working as a reference librarian
as I
> could
> > find no archival positions in the St. Louis area (still looking!)
> >
> > I wonder what the archival climate is of these areas where
> nonarchivists are
> > filling archival positions?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Katy
> >
> > Katy Smith
> > Reference Librarian
> > Headquarters
> > St. Louis County Library
> > ksmith@slcl.lib.mo.us
> >
>
>A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
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>
>Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
Amy Cooper
Special Collections Librarian
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-6433
e-mail: amy-l-cooper@uiowa.edu
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
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To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
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To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
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To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>