Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

2022, museum, 2021, july, february, sunday, the, posts, museums, from, do, wednesday, most, on, tiktok, we, people, are, six, things, learned, saturday, august, 27, friday, 22, 13, thursday, 24, monday, 21, 20, november, 07, october, 06, 18, tuesday, june, 01, meet, authors, receive, via, email, search, this, blog, popular, commented, past, by, month, right, nowish, downloadable, presentations, culture, blogs, that, excite, me, takeaways, for, beyond, walls, post, career, how, get, out, of, knowledge, is, power, really, want, to, visit, at, an, inflection, point, as, field, why, undervalue, education, cult, pandemic, about, work, our, three, months,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (340), and (227), you (154), that (114), #people (95), for (94), are (80), this (75), museum (73), but (69), they (66), museums (62), with (60), have (58), about (47), can (47), our (44), work (41), don (41), not (39), all (36), like (36), many (33), what (33), will (31), your (29), more (29), field (29), how (28), there (28), art (27), their (27), some (27), was (26), them (26), when (26), who (26), need (25), from (24), #things (23), get (23), just (23), one (22), then (22), has (21), these (21), know (21), help (20), good (20), out (20), than (20), often (20), february (19), july (19), change (19), most (18), those (18), november (17), want (17), make (17), been (17), really (17), new (17), see (17), may (16), june (16), because (16), time (16), december (15), march (15), august (15), october (15), power (15), had (15), think (15), knowledge (15), might (15), also (15), means (15), january (14), april (14), tiktok (14), great (14), same (14), even (14), few (14), skills (14), september (13), career (13), could (13), after (13), where (13), say (13), got (12), seema (12), were (12), much (12), way (12), person (12), share (12), why (12), find (12), other (11), rao (11), years (11), something (11), world (11), videos (11), year (11), different (11), now (11), feel (11), ideas (11), made (11), look (11), right (10), here (10), better (10), she (10), view (10), comments (10), posted (10), show (10), well (10), before (10), thing (10), visitors (9), done (9), content (9), needs (9), else (9), won (9), once (9), only (9), working (9), system (9), through (9), too (9), culture (8), 2022 (8), should (8), best (8), her (8), digital (8), ourselves (8), care (8), old (8), leaders (8), did (8), learn (8), cult (8), sure (8), first (8), thinking (7), questions (7), point (7), rather (7), example (7), would (7), keep (7), talk (7), isn (7), give (7), mean (7), around (7), doing (7), must (7), making (7), everything (7), less (7), sharing (7), friends (7), ask (7), hard (7), come (7), very (7), education (7), remember (7), 2020 (6), 2021 (6), open (6), two (6), three (6), meet (6), instead (6), bit (6), into (6), use (6), needed (6), wasn (6), norms (6), seen (6), others (6), last (6), visit (6), still (6), learned (6), months (6), does (6), real (6), job (6), every (6), didn (6), audiences (6), finding (6), life (6), someone (6), try (6), down (6), asked (6), educators (6), important (6), part (6), able (6), fun (6), sports (6), sector (6), twitter (5), posts (5), let (5), found (5), tell (5), team (5), values (5), ones (5), actually (5), over (5), each (5), organizations (5), used (5), decided (5), flexible (5), aren (5), research (5), pretty (5), galleries (5), control (5), focus (5), become (5), usually (5), doesn (5), long (5), ways (5), off (5), end (5), never (5), while (5), start (5), though (5), excited (5), idea (5), leaving (5), question (5), special (5), without (5), whole (5), enough (5), group (5), outside (5), thoughts (5), yes (5), maybe (5), post (5), meeting (5), another (5), family (5), rules (5), particularly (5), step (5), always (5), next (5), source (5), study (5), believe (5), pro (5), again (5), friend (5), purpose (5), worked (5), future (4), 2019 (4), month (4), experiences (4), authority (4), platform (4), popular (4), books (4), experience (4), both (4), self (4), labels (4), honestly (4), couldn (4), success (4), enjoy (4), truly (4), adapt (4), object (4), imagine (4), account (4), balancing (4), left (4), anyone (4), yourself (4), six (4), community (4), became (4), which (4), events (4), process (4), fast (4), easier (4), likely (4), everyone (4), product (4), looking (4), course (4), fact (4), lot (4), love (4), trust (4), going (4), cults (4), useful (4), thought (4), learning (4), put (4), numbers (4), recently (4), set (4), valuable (4), easy (4), enjoyable (4), super (4), brought (4), interesting (4), professional (4), spent (4), getting (4), history (4), information (4), any (4), version (4), apply (4), call (4), beyond (4), multiple (4), stuff (4), identity (4), complexity (4), audience (3), reach (3), paul (3), matters (3), follow (3), past (3), possible (3), privilege (3), letter (3), business (3), design (3), social (3), blog (3), email (3), nina (3), employee (3), wanted (3), continue (3), value (3), said (3), trying (3), stakes (3), started (3), music (3), explain (3), loss (3), common (3), collection (3), views (3), biggest (3), run (3), certainly (3), largely (3), lack (3), based (3), take (3), fear (3), departments (3), action (3), museumtok (3), since (3), million (3), completely (3), outcomes (3), built (3), decades (3), stay (3), across (3), basically (3), mind (3), allow (3), having (3), pick (3), sunday (3), money (3), answer (3), voice (3), scholarship (3), maintain (3), wondering (3), went (3), live (3), loved (3), true (3), felt (3), lost (3), told (3), second (3), asking (3), exhibitions (3), offer (3), staff (3), little (3), gave (3), suspect (3), stand (3), days (3), volunteers (3), adults (3), structure (3), sip (3), focused (3), closer (3), write (3), communicating (3), week (3), place (3), bowl (3), type (3), hold (3), arts (3), types (3), words (3), decide (3), goal (3), educate (3), four (3), project (3), hours (3), ago (3), gossips (3), hear (3), organization (3), move (3), huge (3), amazing (3), ever (3), narrative (3), dimensions (3), hire (3), feedback (3), feels (3), cultural (3), learnt (3), volunteer (3), ibarra (3), environment (3), skilled (3), boards (3), bring (3), interested (3), aam (2), insight (2), engaging (2), mostly (2), 2006 (2), 2007 (2), 2009 (2), takeaways (2), programs (2), white (2), stop (2), talking (2), visitor (2), participation (2), via (2), constraints (2), participatory (2), search (2), authored (2), founder (2), ceo (2), nearly (2), edge (2), home (2), older (2), access (2), desire (2), desires (2), joy (2), mediocre (2), forces (2), everywhere (2), blue (2), wouldn (2), mistakes (2), watching (2), parents (2), laughed (2), meetings (2), feelings (2), successes (2), match (2), catch (2), times (2), norm (2), definitely (2), shown (2), arthistorytiktok (2), curators (2), known (2), approach (2), guess (2), cares (2), institutional (2), weight (2), freeing (2), act (2), core (2), competency (2), manage (2), rewards (2), break (2), lessons (2), back (2), lesson (2), administrator (2), points (2), risk (2), resources (2), ignore (2), plenty (2), akronartmuseum (2), finally (2), weekend (2), likes (2), small (2), followers (2), watch (2), tiktoks (2), sound (2), language (2), professionals (2), connect (2), spaces (2), happen (2), matter (2), gets (2), human (2), labor (2), setting (2), systems (2), spin (2), figured (2), changes (2), thrilled (2), colleagues (2), drop (2), actions (2), away (2), order (2), itself (2), concerns (2), unlike (2), gained (2), okay (2), plan (2), deep (2), careful (2), allowing (2), short (2), current (2), moments (2), wide (2), problems (2), growth (2), nothing (2), fiscal (2), quite (2), suggest (2), land (2), dinosaurs (2), sitting (2), lifelong (2), pros (2), day (2), brand (2), shoes (2), planning (2), moving (2), voices (2), shared (2), deprogramming (2), singular (2), giving (2), whims (2), comes (2), donors (2), budgets (2), critically (2), aspect (2), final (2), studied (2), interpretation (2), understand (2), longer (2), worth (2), chance (2), requires (2), sacrifice (2), questioning (2), option (2), stepping (2), problematic (2), groups (2), status (2), quo (2), big (2), alone (2), given (2), surprised (2), ached (2), problem (2), requirements (2), truth (2), hand (2), gone (2), spend (2), begin (2), happens (2), feeling (2), strongly (2), network (2), wednesday (2), position (2), expected (2), teaching (2), curatorial (2), fairly (2), obvious (2), challenge (2), magic (2), society (2), projects (2), safety (2), paints (2), forget (2), paint (2), being (2), collections (2), engagement (2), later (2), expect (2), accept (2), moment (2), goers (2), impact (2), requirement (2), own (2), incredibly (2), surprising (2), age (2), percent (2), population (2), boomers (2), amount (2), near (2), educational (2), mission (2), track (2), stat (2), speaking (2), politicians (2), number (2), teams (2), sporting (2), reflect (2), structures (2), whom (2), book (2), investing (2), amenities (2), meal (2), benches (2), certain (2), intellectual (2), space (2), friendship (2), bank (2), however (2), full (2), despite (2), ultimately (2), behavior (2), hoarding (2), profit (2), concrete (2), horde (2), hoarders (2), middle (2), management (2), held (2), gossip (2), tier (2), role (2), trapped (2), options (2), linkedin (2), writing (2), anything (2), descriptions (2), resume (2), leave (2), listen (2), experiment (2), introductions (2), advice (2), unique (2), breaking (2), close (2), page (2), main (2), five (2), volunteering (2), simply (2), along (2), confront (2), external (2), hirers (2), marginalised (2), describe (2), regulatory (2), blah (2), straight (2), applying (2), unicorn (2), 100 (2), strong (2), support (2), convey (2), conservation (2), talent (2), story (2), building (2), plane (2), customer (2), service (2), peers (2), risotto (2), neighbour (2), strengths (2), prestige (2), partly (2), professor (2), date (2), pushed (2), coach (2), helpful (2), coaching (2), elements (2), fine (2), fabulous (2), manager (2), within (2), exercise (2), kitchen (2), challenging (2), lives (2), whether (2), personality (2), discovered (2), caveats (2), such (2), transport (2), familiar (2), cool (2), slow (2), complex (2), artworks (2), display (2), between (2), makes (2), walls (2), read (2), vast (2), basic (2), scores (2), skip (2), exhibits, rodley, jumper, diane, ragsdale, center, advisors, jasper, visser, exhibitricks, orselli, useum, beck, tench, doug, borwick, butts, seats, joe, patti, incluseum, various, museumland, createquity, ian, david, moss, blogs, excite, downloadable, presentations, nowish, 166, 106, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, warning, graduate, spawn, legions, zombies, photo, policies, arianna, huffington, edward, rothstein, critics, commented, deliberately, unsustainable, models, techniques, developing, thus, far, enter, address, receive, simon, author, selling, online, consultant, inclusion, technology, published, wellness, www, ninaksimon, com, relevance, authors, subscribe, atom, capacity, push, forward, increase, terrible, grown, puts, authenticity, polished, traction, rethink, polish, credentialed, historian, articulate, video, tests, letting, low, therefore, gains, high, teenagers, playing, upturned, bowls, acting, fools, cats, chasing, dogs, tried, pop, experts, killing, message, missteps, saw, plop, users, dueting, appreciation, link, objects, historically, increased, considerably, algorithms, joke, transformation, essential, watchers, market, accounts, perhaps, grad, students, showing, apoplexy, disgust, random, bound, hang, ups, creators, adding, platforms, controlling, variables, retain, facebook, opening, engage, lose, clubhouse, mar, dixon, mentioned, muck, stereotype, comment, perfect, putting, impetus, higher, fewer, lifetime, negative, possibilities, centered, bureaucracy, enemy, reflections, sugarcrash, elyotto, anouarchelabi_, learnontiktok, arttiktok, duet, launched, marked, anniversary, 112, thousand, seventh, eight, viewed, browser, download, app, tuesday, artlust, original, akron, museumtiktok, internationalmuseumday, museummoment, coded, racially, socio, economically, fraught, qualifiers, imperative, smoke, screen, vaccination, food, banks, tutoring, sites, claiming, foundation, buzzword, desk, greenland, moon, determine, expecting, historical, frameworks, born, industrial, revolution, innovation, occur, pivot, dizzy, spreading, limped, finish, line, shred, sanity, solve, chains, ensure, keeping, strategy, hands, draw, supplies, viable, country, survived, thrived, eschew, entice, wants, apart, plebian, model, amusingly, transactional, stores, placements, influencers, purchase, subsidiary, exhibition, lines, encourage, publication, timelines, respond, freed, catalog, create, web, approaches, bad, pieces, shall, exactly, confluence, caused, naught, previous, tiny, mammals, onto, destruction, proliferated, evidenced, typing, metaphor, smashed, denying, cataclysmic, honest, due, achy, exhausted, hopeful, nervous, jaded, rattling, brain, holds, promise, planners, trepidation, blank, pages, stages, pandemic, decision, decisions, honesty, centering, honoring, whose, interacting, standing, reassessing, critical, artwork, cleaner, eye, tale, science, journal, honor, fancy, europe, degree, shop, jewel, cvs, messaging, deprogram, together, supported, led, universal, declines, lauded, educating, masses, investment, sucks, gives, tax, breaks, reinforcing, scarcity, hierarchical, crisis, trained, premises, buoyed, excluding, echo, chambers, vet, plans, amongst, min, term, somewhat, context, tool, highly, adherents, minimized, maintained, avoided, squashing, dissent, vetted, considered, thoroughly, cataclysm, standoff, dramatic, jonestown, waco, combustions, reckoning, disillusionment, knew, somehow, idealism, blinded, side, disheartening, realized, preferences, capitalistic, matrix, shouldn, saddened, parameters, scathing, article, impotent, answered, harmful, ahead, finances, transparent, speak, dismissively, leadership, claim, corner, following, finger, starts, pre, test, corresponded, timer, ignite, improve, label, room, looked, sprouted, extra, head, talked, schedule, humane, wearing, hyped, missed, forest, trees, astray, forgotten, arguments, caught, 1010, roller, coaster, energy, exhausting, systematic, yesterday, notes, thread, listening, discuss, wall, color, subject, laugh, myself, drank, kool, aid, computer, solution, challenges, highlight, behind, scenes, reframe, membership, openings, equally, workers, goes, parcel, gold, hay, aspects, robust, respect, predominantly, staffed, women, general, major, outsourcing, housekeeping, competently, yearn, structured, school, mimic, single, safely, places, sense, prove, participants, simple, steps, handwriting, essentially, modern, contemporary, drawing, cow, coming, forms, communication, sunflower, appreciating, innovations, van, gogh, skipping, innovative, bringing, studio, marbling, workshop, reply, clarity, caffeinated, easily, rebut, undervalue, advocacy, busy, showed, revert, decrease, younger, generations, brings, halftime, performers, gen, millenials, backlash, remain, workforce, outsized, wealth, criticism, shows, upset, recent, statistic, americans, sample, rate, top, miss, altogether, dumbing, respondents, losing, noted, trot, false, rudimentary, shorter, seasons, wise, arenas, beat, sport, bigger, issue, underlying, wonder, omitted, trips, student, underlies, raisin, etre, child, childhood, under, duress, assure, habit, starbucks, deal, fanfare, ohio, lately, bengals, cleveland, hosted, basketball, star, game, truthfully, oddly, inflection, supersede, comfort, interests, trouble, eventually, scream, dare, pander, snacks, curation, deeply, committed, its, sake, timeless, wrong, force, invite, installations, soft, seating, clean, today, improvement, designers, designed, humans, notice, weak, sit, uncomfortable, damn, toxic, wow, corporations, deserve, fail, exclusion, concessions, incredible, bend, exist, theater, millennia, probably, existed, caves, prehistory, literature, phenomena, necessary, amenity, survival, couple, weeks, improving, suggested, funny, yelled, guards, trip, kid, worse, privileged, extroverts, ache, loneliness, fault, mine, monday, lean, avoid, powerful, proliferates, propagates, ephemeral, accomplishing, harder, paid, greediness, behaviors, rampant, complaints, margins, stock, proof, donations, activities, individuals, ultimate, gain, choose, exacting, upper, tiers, restructuring, parse, difference, revel, barely, highest, hierarchy, knows, locations, administrative, deets, happy, info, workplaces, office, settings, hoarder, thursday, updated, turned, light, remote, related, evaluation, thanks, interviews, receptive, nonprofit, tallying, against, public, wrangling, databases, organizing, editorial, schedules, came, handy, reading, matching, lonely, translatable, level, ridiculousness, half, metropolis, choices, luck, paulrbowers, thrive, cheerleading, uniquely, talented, journey, hardest, bubble, myths, truths, notebook, centre, aligning, organisations, microtweaks, experimenting, takeaway, ease, narrow, perception, foundational, door, brandishing, nonsense, exiting, entering, lie, summary, recruiters, imagination, transferable, potential, reject, garbage, lots, stone, rejections, remind, gently, attitudes, fall, beliefs, dusty, shelves, programmers, conservators, clearly, constructed, program, campaign, hundred, quote, international, loan, cross, negotiation, competence, confronting, recruiter, prejudice, lastly, sectors, countries, standards, expectations, criteria, man, typically, wait, until, tick, box, stale, male, applies, kinda, written, countless, exists, learns, training, proofread, please, proclaiming, successful, pubic, develop, consistently, grey, area, especially, form, acquisition, roles, mention, wider, sought, healthcare, government, insurance, continuous, mindset, director, threw, curveball, rapidly, flying, hiring, state, assumes, accessible, decolonise, qualitative, quantitative, data, achievements, ratings, percentage, staffs, resumés, qual, meaty, orgs, results, reassured, savvy, quant, jargon, acronyms, creep, publications, conferences, influencer, respected, chapters, conference, names, miscellaneous, interview, fails, shifters, chef, fifty, risottos, compelling, teenage, kids, invited, round, taste, glad, italian, nonna, evidence, biases, technical, boomer, resumé, taught, frame, merely, list, facts, gatekeeping, replicate, tough, practically, emotionally, shape, shapes, discover, dead, route, marriage, linear, imbibed, teachers, films, steadily, ladder, junior, senior, lecturer, assoc, bravery, disruption, experimentation, dating, tells, realise, rest, flirting, possibility, flirt, nice, helping, flattering, lovely, fortunate, kate, richardson, extremely, website, addition, included, progress, forced, consider, discrete, sequence, tackle, terrifying, blancmange, panic, considering, separate, importantly, insecurities, fears, normal, faze, doctor, looks, says, worry, medicine, holding, falls, shoulders, ally, circles, framing, methodology, coffee, johari, window, insights, closest, least, practical, further, coffees, describing, helps, relevant, café, kinds, cheerleaders, encouragement, qualities, memories, conversation, karaoke, bar, moved, image, rising, perfectly, scrubbing, floor, meant, provide, inner, strength, definition, title, employer, confidence, perceptions, weirdness, cheer, relegated, lower, rankings, suggests, craft, hobby, internal, secondment, unexpected, clues, beautiful, ballgown, double, denim, dress, jeans, forth, proudly, central, size, fit, reflection, mirror, recommends, buy, outfit, shirt, settle, shifts, towards, herminia, identities, invisibilia, podcast, commend, explored, simplify, stable, construct, myth, selves, professionally, personally, hadn, uprooted, confused, permanent, fixed, immutable, insecure, contract, impossible, cemetery, bodies, rights, internment, identical, governance, provenance, duck, waddled, suddenly, pond, jump, paddle, feet, somewhere, walk, heart, resist, urge, worker, specific, areas, limitations, difficult, demands, uncommon, horizons, opens, digitisation, achieved, miracles, artist, academic, designer, insufferable, legal, issues, politics, funders, changing, regulations, geniuses, egos, sheer, practice, preserving, mixed, media, underneath, practicalities, driven, shareholders, save, dolphins, preserve, distinct, sometimes, contradict, leads, fundraising, front, house, dealt, weird, fire, exit, routes, precious, upstairs, supervising, grasp, perspectives, range, careers, complicated, nowhere, functions, academia, retail, logistics, marketing, specialist, facilities, relationships, saying, contains, jobs, sustainability, organisation, consulted, library, mentored, interim, coo, large, cemeteries, destination, hope, leaping, tear, slowly, note, brit, living, australia, spells, bowers, his, staying, friday, non, visiting, inside, themselves, storage, theft, removing, varnish, jazzed, hearing, scaffolding, lovers, majority, commenters, thank, discussing, schools, teach, taken, chore, ours, analogies, duets, reshare, peoples, commentary, format, traditional, name, previously, authentic, gotten, positive, abstraction, decorative, willing

Text of the page (random words):
stop visiting each organization needs to decide what is the right call for them and after all of that some people still will not care that is okay do your best for the people who you want to come posted by seema rao view comments friday july 22 2022 beyond the walls a post museum career i asked my friend paul bowers to share some of his thoughts about leaving museums if you have thoughts about leaving museums or why you re staying reach out i d love to share your thoughts here this post is so good give it a slow read or if you re me tear through it and then read it slowly later also note paul is a brit living in australia he spells things that way allow for the s instead of z beyond the walls a post museum career there s a lot of talk about people leaving their museums jobs if you re thinking that way this might help i did 20 years in museums then left four years ago and since then i ve run a sustainability organisation consulted for a library mentored a for purpose founder and been the interim coo for a large cemeteries trust i ve learnt a few things along the way and while you might not want my destination s i hope you ll find this helpful as you look before leaping caveats of course that my experience is singular and contains some dimensions of privilege everything everywhere all at once museums are complicated nowhere else i ve seen has all the functions of academia retail logistics customer service volunteers digital marketing specialist facilities education and the complexity of external relationships that comes with all of these working in this environment makes you super skilled i m not saying you have to have worked in all these departments but getting anything done in a museum means you have to work with all these departments you ll have had days where you ve gone straight from a front of house meeting to a curatorial meeting you ll have dealt with some weird thing to do with fire exit routes then had to help transport a precious object oh and there s that volunteer upstairs you re supervising too all this means you re flexible you work well with others you can grasp multiple perspectives and be professional with this huge range of people very few careers give you that and underneath all the practicalities is the complexity of the mission outside museums the world is often driven by just one or two why questions money for shareholders save the dolphins and everything else is a how but museums preserve study display and educate each of those is a distinct purpose and they sometimes contradict the balancing act between conservation and display for example and that leads to many more complex how skills multiple dimensions of fundraising for example and you work within such complex constraints all the regulatory and legal issues the politics of boards and funders the ever changing building regulations the whims of the geniuses the egos of the politicians the sheer complexity of best practice eg preserving mixed media artworks you re flexible with time horizons you can work fast it opens next week and slow 5 year digitisation project anyone you ve achieved miracles with nearly no money and you re flexible with well challenging people that manager artist academic designer volunteer you ve all got stuff done despite that insufferable someone so again you re skilled in working with a complexity of purpose of professional areas of limitations of time of difficult people with balancing multiple demands that s uncommon now you can t just say all this and walk into a cool new job in a new sector but you need to hold close to your heart that you are skilled you are valuable you will be a fabulous employee for someone else you need to resist the urge to think that you re just a museum worker that your skills are so specific example i m working in a huge cemetery trust right now information control of bodies or rights of internment is pretty much identical to the governance of object provenance and transport i feel like a duck that s waddled lost across concrete and suddenly discovered a completely different pond this is so familiar i can just jump in paddle my feet and i m a useful employee somewhere else identity is all identity can feel permanent fixed and immutable and when it s been built around museums after investing decades of study volunteering and insecure contract work it can feel impossible to break i ve worked so hard for this so it s who i am after two decades in museums it had become such a strong part of my identity that when i left i didn t know who i was professionally and personally i hadn t known this would happen and i felt uprooted lost and confused then i learnt a good friend pushed me towards herminia ibarra s working identities and recently i discovered this invisibilia podcast i commend them both to you though some caveats over little explored privilege in the book to simplify the idea of personality as a stable construct is a myth we are what we do a product of actions and environment when we change that environment we change our selves ibarra s central idea is to experiment with new working lives try them on for size see how they fit do you like the reflection in the mirror ibarra recommends you don t buy the whole outfit at once just try the shoes or the shirt let it settle on you let the personality shifts catch up she suggests you volunteer on the weekend or spin out a craft hobby for a bit even getting an internal secondment to an unexpected part of the museum might give some clues remember one person s beautiful ballgown is another person s double denim but whether you like the dress or the jeans go forth proudly you ll also have to confront the perceptions of others their identity is partly built around having this version of you in their lives if you feel weirdness reflect on whether they re here for you or for their version of you those who truly care will cheer you on some others might need to get relegated lower down the friends and family rankings and your self image is important here how flexible are you allowing yourself to be a rising museum pro once told me she d be perfectly fine scrubbing a kitchen floor if it meant she could provide for her family and that inner strength no self definition by title or employer prestige gave her the confidence to risk challenging the career narrative and she made a change she s doing very well now six years on get help there s two kinds of help you need first those cheerleaders can give you more than encouragement ask them for advice ask them to describe you they ll see some things you don t qualities skills memories of a what if conversation at the karaoke bar if they ve moved sector all the better but remember beyond their insights those closest to you are the least practical help in actually moving on you need to reach people on the edge of your network simply because they re further away ask for introductions have coffees with people first off describing yourself to others helps you find your story second you never know who in a few month s time will need some help and will remember that person with relevant skills who was so interesting at that café months ago also get help from professionals who aren t in your friendship circles framing it within a methodology it s not a coffee it s a self coaching exercise very pro for example you can ask current peers to do a johari s window exercise with you this is a good how to i was fortunate enough to be able to work with a career coach kate richardson was extremely helpful for me and her website has great resources too as you d expect she brought all the career coaching skills but in addition she brought two things i didn t know i needed her process included structure it held me to account for making progress and also forced me to consider discrete elements in sequence rather than tackle everything at once in a terrifying blancmange of panic considering values separate from strengths for example but most importantly my questioning insecurities and fears were just normal to her it didn t faze her she just worked through them with me you know that feeling when a doctor looks at something and says oh that s nothing to worry about you just need this medicine and you ll be fine and a weight you didn t know you were holding falls off your shoulders well she made me feel like that you may be able to find a great coach but a fabulous manager friend or ally in the sector could do this for you too the last thing is that people really want to help if they can most people are nice most people remember when they needed a helping hand and it s flattering to be asked you won t believe it when you start asking but more people will offer their time to help you than will ignore you i didn t believe it i often still don t believe it but when i have pushed through and made the call people have been lovely at first you flirt think of this career experimentation like dating maybe the first date tells you this person isn t for you maybe you realise that after a few months or maybe they become a life love for the rest of your time all are possible outcomes but they all start with a first date and flirting with a possibility the cultural ideas around career route are just like the ideas around marriage incredibly linear we ve imbibed our parents and teachers and all the books and films that told us a career means going steadily up a ladder junior middle senior to ceo or lecturer assoc professor to professor breaking this needs bravery in disruption and finding the right thing is really tough practically and emotionally partly because as you shape your world the world shapes you i m still no closer to finding the right answer for me and maybe that s the point there isn t a right there s just different it s ok to try something discover it s a dead end then move on focus on values and outcomes not skills and history museum sector biases strongly to stuff i know technical skills and the boomer resumé structure taught us to frame ourselves as merely a career history list of facts this was prestige gatekeeping in action don t replicate it i learnt to talk about my strengths then what impact that had in the world then follow that with evidence like this i am great at making risotto and so my family enjoy a great meal my teenage kids have even invited friends round to taste it i m so glad i got to learn this from my neighbour an italian nonna is a completely different and more compelling narrative than 2007 studied risotto making from a neighbour 2009 13 made over fifty five risottos for friends and family which chef would you hire miscellaneous cv and interview fails for career shifters outside the museum sector few care about publications and conferences that you are an influencer in your field respected for your insight is valuable but say it like that don t write a page of chapters and conference names jargon and acronyms careful you might be so used to them that they creep through give qualitative and quantitative data to support your achievements customer service ratings went up by what percentage your peers say what about you i ve seen many museum staffs resumés full of qual information but with no meaty numbers other orgs want to see the results like that and they also want to be reassured you re savvy enough to know that quant matters people who don t state their values the museum sector largely assumes common values look after stuff be accessible decolonise but you have to say so outside the field what do you believe in what do you care about how do you want to change the world people who don t convey their continuous learning mindset it is amazing to be able to tell a story of when a director threw you a curveball and you had to learn rapidly while doing building a plane while flying the plane is something every museum person i know can do and it s a talent worth hiring for people who don t convey they can develop then apply rules consistently and fairly and know what to do when they find a grey area again especially for those in any form of conservation or acquisition roles this feels too obvious to mention but in the wider professional world this is a real talent and sought after healthcare government insurance and more proofread please do not be the person proclaiming they ve run successful pubic programs apply like a straight white man by that i mean research has shown marginalised people typically wait until they are certain they tick every box before applying the stale male applies when they ve kinda got most of the requirements i ve written countless position descriptions and i always ask for more than i know exists always try to hire the unicorn but no one ever has 100 on every requirement what i m always looking for is most and learns the person who can begin pretty strong on day one and with support and training will become the unicorn oh and anyone who has 100 on everything should be applying for the next job up lastly in making a good cv remember that sectors and countries have different standards and expectations some hirers like a resume some like a long how i meet the criteria letter find out the rules of engagement before engaging confronting recruiter prejudice you ll have to gently confront attitudes about museums external hirers fall for the cultural beliefs dusty shelves too and they won t know what programmers or conservators do so you must explain what you do clearly if you ve constructed a program and campaign that brought in a hundred marginalised people who d never been before that s amazing and you have to explain it describe how you did it and quote the feedback they gave you worked with an international object loan that s cross cultural competency negotiation skills regulatory competence say that don t just drop worked on blah with blah some recruiters simply won t have the imagination to see the transferable skills some hire for safety they ve done this before not for potential their skills mean they could be the best at this role in six months that s their loss take the feedback decide to accept it if it feels right reject it if it feels like garbage and move on you ll apply for lots before you find the next stepping stone and along the way you ll get rejections call a friend have them remind you how great you are then maintain your course in summary i found that museum work can narrow your perception of what s possible in the world of work and in yourself the foundational career narrative is that museums are unique and you can t get in the door without brandishing a museum ma and five years of volunteering the multiple dimensions of nonsense here is for another blog but exiting museums is made as hard as entering by this lie that museums are just so special where did i land i m still working it out i do know it ll centre on aligning organisations around purpose through microtweaks to their culture and process and it ll always be purpose beyond profit i m going to have to keep exper...