Professional Development: Job Searches

About a month ago, there was a question on the EMP LinkedIn page that got a lot of responses. “Where can I find good museum job boards?” It makes the rounds every once in a while, but this time it made me realize that we haven’t addressed the topic here yet. Today’s post will be short and simple, with a list of as many job boards as we know of. Links will take you directly to the job board of the organization listed. You’re of course welcome to post additional ones in the comments, and we’ll add them to the official list so everyone can see them!

 

International

• University of Leicester Museum Studies Program
• Museum Jobs Online
• Canadian Heritage Information Network
• The Platform of Swiss Museums

 

United States  (primarily)

• American Association of Museums
• Association of Zoos and Aquariums
• American Association for State and Local History
• Global Museum
• HistPres.com
• Museum Employment Resource Center
• National Association of Interpretation (members only)
• American Public Gardens Association
• Association of Children’s Museums

 

US Regional

• New England Museum Association
• Association of Midwest Museums
• Mountain Plains Museum Association
• Southeastern Museums Conference
• Western Museums Association

 

Note: we are not listing the State boards for now. But we encourage people to look up the job boards associated with each State museum association.

Museum Moonlighters: Making it Work #5

Believe it or not, this is our fifth and final post in our “Museum Moonlighters” series. Today we have a profile from Stacey Fraser-deHaan, who currently works three museum jobs spanning two states, impressively managing to balance it all. As we conclude this series, I want to say a big thank you to all five of our EMPs that volunteered to share their stories and offer encouragement to others in the field. And a huge thank you again to our Guest Editor for the series, Mariko Chang, for the fantastic work she put into developing these posts. 

If you have ideas for additional professional profile series, please feel free to get in touch through the comments or at emuse.blog@gmail.com. 

Name: Stacey Fraser-deHaan
Place of birth: Lexington, Massachusetts
Favorite museum: Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle
Favorite food: I could never pick a favorite food – enjoy too many!

1) Where are you currently working, and what does your average week look like?
I currently maintain three positions: Program Coordinator at the Haverhill Historical Society/Buttonwoods Museum (Haverhill, MA), House Manager at the Wentworth Lear Historic Houses (Portsmouth, NH), and Museum Educator at the Ipswich Museum (Ipswich, MA).

On Monday & Wednesday, I work at Ipswich; Tuesday & Thursday at Haverhill; and Fridays (plus nights/weekends in the open season) for the Wentworth Lear Historic Houses. All three jobs share similarities and differences, so I really do not have an “average” week. However, my responsibilities tend to include some historical research and program development. For instance at Haverhill, we just received a foundation grant to conduct outreach programming at a senior center. This particular program includes having a local educator work with seniors on art projects such as collages.

2) How do you make it work, and is there ever any conflict in balancing multiple positions/responsibilities?
Most of the time, it is not too difficult balancing multiple positions. Occasionally, two museums will have an event on the same day and I will have to coordinate with staff or Board members as to which can spare me. Also, I try not to worry about the little things, like checking one museum’s email while working at another. The situation will likely be reversed the following day, so it all evens out in the end.

3) Why is it worth it to you to “moonlight?” Do you think it helps your museum career to do so?
Since I actually work 39-46 hours per week on museum work, I do not really consider what I do “moonlighting;” all of my work time is devoted to museums, even if it is not in a single institution. In terms of helping my career, I have found one aspect of moonlighting particularly beneficial—being a link among the three museums. The fact that I work in three organizations creates opportunities to communicate and collaborate.

4) What is your ideal job? What are your future plans and goals?
Eventually, I would like to transition to one full-time position in a small or medium-sized museum in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. I have a background in both education and collections, so I would be happy to work in either department. For the moment, I feel fortunate to be working in my current positions, so that I can keep an eye out for the “perfect” career move.

5) What advice do you have for fellow EMPs just starting off in the museum field?
Be flexible and pursue everything. I came out of grad school seeking a curatorial position, but when I saw how dismal the situation was in New England, I switched my focus to education. By so doing, I landed all three of my jobs within a year of graduation. Lastly, you may need to consider working outside the field. Just make sure to attend conferences and workshops to keep your hand in and maintain networking connections.

Career Paths: Mentor, Coach, Reality Show

Today’s guest post comes from Cecilia Wichmann, Publicity and Marketing Manager at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Without giving too much of the story away, Cecilia brings us a story of an EMP actively seeking a mentor and the resulting relationship/partnership. I’ve placed this post under the heading of “Career Paths,” as mentorship can have a remarkable impact on the progression of a museum career. You can read more at the blog she and her mentor started to track their progress, Talking About Talking. 

When you’re starting out in the museum field, you hear a constant drumbeat of encouragement to intern. Seek internships in museums early (during high school or college), and once that door opens, put your best foot forward. You’ll gain valuable professional skills, build relationships with future colleagues, and learn how a museum operates. In my experience, the very best outcome of an internship is a positive and productive relationship with your supervisor. She may just become your mentor.

My first undergraduate internship was in communications at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. I worked with Ann Greer, director of the department, who taught me the fundamentals of media relations, marketing, writing with an institutional voice, navigating sensitive situations, and much more. She trusted me with challenging projects and provided constructive feedback. In short, she mentored me.

Today, Ann continues to be my mentor, and she’s also my boss. After graduating in 2008, I joined her team as Marketing Associate. Over the course of nearly five years, my role has evolved—through her persistent support and my hard work—to Publicity and Marketing Manager. I continue to learn from her daily.

The Phillips fosters professional development for its staff. To this end, the museum recently gave me a series of coaching sessions with Wendy Luke (a name on EMP radars since AAM published A Life in Museums: Managing Your Museum Career, an indispensible guide to the profession that Wendy edited with Greg Stevens). Wendy’s coaching expanded my view of mentorship. Rather than unfolding organically through personal affinity and admiration like my relationship with Ann, our work together was assigned and finite. At the same time, goals were open-ended and defined by me (with Wendy’s guidance), rather than by my job description. Our work together was fun and empowering.

Wendy helped me recognize and commit to one core goal—become more strategic. This direction led me, again, toward mentorship. Wendy challenged me to identify a role model outside of my organization and ask her to mentor me for a discrete amount of time. I reached out to Suzanne Hall, chief communications officer at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts with 30 years experience in the field, whose genuine manner, fresh energy, and experimental instincts struck me whenever our paths crossed. I proposed the 6 month-mentor idea in a brief email and, to my surprise and delight, Suzanne said yes right away.

My new mentor wasted no time in modeling strategic thinking—she proposed that we reinvent mentorship for the 21st century. Rather than restrict ourselves to one-on-one confidences, we would blog our work together over six months and invite participation from our social networks. We met in person and identified a series of topics for monthly discussion via Google Hangout, from a nuts and bolts examination of the everyday communications plan to a boot-camp on crisis preparation and response. Topics are shaped to accelerate my learning curve and engage our peers in healthy debate about how we do our jobs now. We built the blog on WordPress right then and there and launched Talking About Talking: A Communications Reality Show three days later. Two-thirds of the way through our project, we have 20 blog subscribers and a small but active group of followers, participating through Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. We’ve surpassed 2,500 page views and published 23 posts, including two guest posts from branding experts in Richmond and New York. While our formal mentorship ends in June, Suzanne and I have forged a bond and will stay in touch.

Each of these relationships has shaped me personally and professionally. I’ve learned that mentorship takes many forms, all of which can be good. I’ve learned to take very seriously that the mentee has an active role to play. Meaningful mentorship doesn’t just happen—it takes nurturing, deliberate effort, and sometimes a bold request. You’ve got to be receptive, self-aware, and willing to grow. For those of us lucky enough to have benefited from supportive mentors, the next step down the line will be to pay it forward, as a mentor to another EMP.

A related article was originally published in A Life in Museums: Managing Your Museum Career, edited by Greg Stevens and Wendy Luke, copyright The AAM Press 2012, www.aam-us.org. Reprinted with permission.

Professional Development: So, the conference is over. Now what?

Attending conferences can be exciting and exhilarating. With AAM, it’s 4-5 days of non-stop session attendance, networking, and visiting museums. You might have seen in my last post that it really can be a 14+ hour day of constant activity. Being back home this morning, it would be easy to say that I was tired and had a million e-mails to catch up on, and so could put the conference off to the side and deal with any follow-up later.

Part of the “AAM swag” pile currently on my desk

While this is a tempting path, we don’t recommend it. There are a few simple things you should do after you attend a conference, and the sooner the better.

1. Go through the papers, brochures, and other swag you picked up in the Expo Hall. I’m going to be organizing things into piles based on why I was interested in these resources, so I’ll have an Education, Development, and Marketing pile when I’m done. Some of these things I’ll be passing along to co-workers, to share a little bit of the conference experience with them. Others will go into filing folders I keep full of examples, so that I have inspiration on hand when I need it.
2. Go through the business cards you collected and make a plan for getting in touch with these individuals. I forgot to mention this before, but it’s strongly advised that you write how and when you met someone on the back of their business card so you don’t forget (I have at least one in my pile that I have no idea who they were, but I’ll find out!). Send them an e-mail saying that it was nice to meet them at AAM (at xyz event or program) or fun to converse with them on twitter, however you interacted with them. I also make sure to provide a gentle reminder of who I was and where I work. After e-mailing, I usually look for them on LinkedIn as well if we had a memorable conversation. Personally, I’ll be undertaking this on Monday, as today I have a few meetings at work and wouldn’t be able to focus on making the process personal and meaningful. Don’t put it off for more than a week though, as you really will start to forget the details of conversations you had.
3. Write to or call the people you met who you didn’t get business cards from, if you remember who they are. I know a lot of the EMPs through attending the AAM conference, but most of them I met last year and I already had their business cards, so we didn’t trade again this year. These connections are just as important as new ones, so I’m going to be sending quick e-mails or LinkedIn messages saying it was nice to see them again and hopefully we can connect at another conference soon.
4. Make a report for work or school. It was luckily very simple for me to get permission to attend AAM, and my boss did not require me to take time off. She didn’t ask me for a formal report, but I consider it polite and important to let her know my time was well spent. My report won’t be complicated, just a list of which sessions I attended and a few highlights from each, but it will give her (and my co-workers) the chance to ask questions about the things I learned or request that I follow-up with certain speakers or museum staff.

Do you have any other post-conference rituals? Something you’ve learned that works really well, or things that don’t? We’d love for you to share them in the comments.

Current Events: Live-Blogging from the AAM Conference

Today I’m going to be live-blogging from the AAM Conference, to take a look at what a full day of events can look like. This isn’t to say I’m the “normal” conference attendee (or even the opposite, I can’t say how typical my process is), just one example of how a conference day can be structured from start to finish. I hope you’ll follow along as I post updates periodically! 

7:00 am - Today’s alarm went off at 7am. This was actually fairly late for me on a conference day, but there weren’t any networking or Skills Lab events this morning I was particularly intrigued by (that’s usually what’s available in the morning without pre-registration, like an official breakfast would need). So I took the chance to get some (much needed) sleep to recharge before what’s going to be a long day. I’m also making sure to get breakfast this morning, as a quick glance at my schedule makes lunch questionable today. I have granola bars and bananas that I bought at Target a few nights ago (the proximity of this convention to a Target in the first place feels nothing short of miraculous), and tea I brought from home. I’m also making sure that all electronics are charged – laptop, phone, and camera. From here, I already feel like it’s going to be a great, but busy day!

8:40 am – Arrival at the conference center. Today feels a bit calmer than the last two days, with the registration booths almost empty. A few places are hopping with activity though, a networking event for Development and Marketing staff members, and the coffee shop.

9:00 am – I decided to grab 20 minutes of a session before having to get on a bus to my on-site insight (essentially, field trip!). ”Show Me the Money: Straight Talk about Museum Business Models.” Because I know I have to leave early, I’ve got a seat in the very back near a door so I can go without disrupting anyone. As soon as I sit down I realize this is going to be a fun session; without knowing it I’ve walked into Nina Simon’s Tuesday morning presentation and within five minutes the place is hopping and seats are disappearing, and at 9:02am it’s standing room only. I should have been able to guess before even looking at the stage, due to the distinctive hip hop music that I remember led up to her presentation last year.

The presenters are Ellen Rosenthal (Conner Prairie, $9 million budget), Eric Seigel (New York Hall of Science, $17 million budget), and Nina (Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, $850K). Surprisingly all three places spend their money in similar proportions, but each raised their money in strikingly different ways. NYSCI does so through grants,  Conner Prairie through investments, and SCMAH through contributions. Each of the presenters is outlining their museum’s financial history, after which they’re going to open up the topic to audience questions. Unfortunately, I only get half-way through the second presenter’s section, and then I need to go!

9:30 am - Now I’m about to board the bus for my first on-site insight this year. I’m going to the Minnesota Science Center for a workshop on live presentations, and boy am I excited about this trip! Since I work in a science center now, I’m always eager to see examples of outreach and programs at the museum itself, as opposed to reading about it online. Pre-registration was required for $15, so I had signed up for this event back in February before knowing much about what the competing sessions looked like. That’s why I only got 20 minutes at my last session. Sometimes that’s the choice you have to make though, and the chance to visit a nationally renowned science museum was too good to pass up!

I’ll be back around noon to let you know how it went.

11:45 am – I’m back at the convention center, where I did have a chance to grab a sandwich luckily. The science museum was great fun, with learning about their live show program and the public and administrative sides of it. I got to meet a pirate, and it was as entertaining as you can imagine. Their professional actors were so good, I could see why 75% of visitors to the museum say the improvisational performers are their favorite part of an exhibit (in this case, free-range pirates who are just in the temporary exhibit, talking to people).

Now I’m waiting for noon when the Expo Hall reopens, and plan to go to the Center for the Future of Museums drawing club and probably to add more to Colony, the participatory art/meaning assemblage. My next official session starts at 2pm, so I actually have a few hours to network, relax, and and just continue connecting with other people here.

2:00 pm – The last two hours have been great for networking. I spent half an hour catching up with our EMP guide at AAM Guzel DuChateau. I spoke briefly with Elizabeth Merritt from the Center for the Future of Museums and drew dinosaurs living in the exhibits of the future. Then I spent a while in the Expo Hall actually looking around and connecting with vendors, while casually running into other EMPs and chatting occasionally. One of the booths was offering free cake pops, and this was a serious boost on a slow afternoon. People in museums always talk about the importance of food in making people feel welcome and comfortable, and at the conference (even for museum people themselves) this usually proves to be true. People flock to food.

Now I’m sitting in “Success in a Development Office of One,” with executive directors from the Dakota County Historical Society, Golden History Museums, Winona County Historical Society, and the president of the Museum Trustee Association. They’re going to talk about three topics – development plans, capital campaigns for small museums, and the role of trustees in fund raising – and then open it up for discussion and questions.

3:30 pm - I’m writing this part ahead of time, but I’ll be down in the AAM Showcase of the Expo Hall to meet with anyone interested in the EMP blog! I’d love to hear from people who might want to contribute, those who have ideas for posts or series, or just anyone with questions about the EMP movement. If you’re at the conference, come say hello!

4:45 pm – I ducked back to my room to drop off my bag and freshen up for the events that night, after which I went to the “Future of Museum Education” roundtable discussion at 5:15. That was a fantastic session, where we all called out topics that we believed were important to the field, the facilitators picked 6 categories that captured the majority of the topics, and we had 45 minutes in small groups to discuss where we thought museum education was heading within our category. I picked standards (no surprise for me), and it was a lively discussion about whether further national education standards would stifle creativity and diversity (as the book, National Standards and Best Practices suggests).

6:15 pm - Then it was time to quickly board the bus to the Mill City Museum evening event, which was phenomenal. Good food and dessert, amazing live demonstrations and a tour that would blow your mind. We also talked to the building’s architect, explored the gift shop, and took a million pictures.

9:30 pm - My little group (which included the EMP Phoenix president), tried to get out to the EdComm fundraiser after leaving Mill City, but it was pouring rain with a lot of lightening. So instead, we decided to grab food and drinks at one of the hotels next to the convention center, and continued networking and learning more about each other’s museums and positions. It was a nice, quiet way to spend the last evening of the conference.

11:30 pm – Back at my hotel room, and ready to sleep! I only have one session in the morning, an on-site insight with the Children’s Museum, and the buses leave at 8:30 am. Thanks for following me today, and I hope you’ve either had fun at the conference or enjoyed keeping up with people on twitter and facebook and engaging attendees in conversation about what they’re learning.

Museum Moonlighters: Making it Work #4

Today is our fourth professional profile in the Museum Moonlighters series, bringing us a look into the career of Andrea Gallagher from Orlando, Florida. Until recently, Andrea was managing four responsibilities, including school, a freelance writing job, a museum job, and a non-museum job. An impressive display of what people are willing to do in today’s job climate to make it work!

Name: Andrea Gallagher
Place of birth: Orlando, Florida
Favorite museum: Field Museum in Chicago
Favorite food: Anything Italian!

1. Where are you currently working?
I work as the Special Projects Coordinator at the Tampa Bay History Center located in downtown Tampa, Florida. I started at the museum as an intern while attending graduate school at the University of South Florida. Eventually, I got a part-time job at the Visitor Services desk, where I answered general inquiries and sold tickets. This position gave me valuable experience on the floor, and I was later promoted to be an assistant to the President & CEO of the museum and Board Liaison, which led to my current position. Up until just recently, I was taking four graduate classes, and working as a freelance writer, server at a steakhouse, and at the museum. It has been busy, but worth it because I love the History Center and feel strongly about its mission and that I can make a difference.

2. What does your average week look like?
As I mentioned, I recently graduated from the University of South Florida and accepted a full-time job at the History Center as their Special Projects Coordinator. Unfortunately because of my student loan debt and the high cost of living in the Tampa Bay area, I found it necessary to keep my serving job. Now, my week consists of working at the museum from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday with an occasional evening or weekend program, which falls under the category of “special projects.” Around my commitments at the museum, I also work a couple 6 p.m. till midnight shifts at a nearby campus steakhouse.

3. How do you make it work, and is there ever any conflict in balancing multiple positions/responsibilities?
I make it work because I love what I do. I am gaining invaluable experience at the History Center and am grateful for this opportunity. In a nutshell, I primarily assist the President & CEO and work closely with our Board. But in addition, I help the Director of Marketing with promotion, writing, and editing; plan programming and assist the education department; and have gained experience in membership and donor relations by working with our Director of Advancement. On nights and weekends, I serve dinners to tourists visiting Busch Gardens. I clean, bus tables, and get covered in food. I do not get much sleep, but for now, my jobs do not cause a “conflict” because I know that one day I will look back and wonder how I did it all, and it will feel great.

4. What is your ideal job? What are your future plans and goals?
In my current position, I work with an array of departments including Executive, Marketing, Development, Education, and Visitor Services, and I honestly cannot pinpoint which is my favorite. Thus, my ideal job is to be a Museum Director. I see our Museum President work tirelessly to ensure the success of the History Center and that is exactly what I hope to do one day.

5. What advice do you have for fellow EMPs just starting off in the museum field?

For fellow EMPs just starting out:

• You will work hard, maybe harder than you ever have in your life. The money may not be great starting out, but you cannot put a price on experience.
• Never feel like you are “too good” for even small wins or honors.
• Find a mentor, someone who really believes in you and pushes you to be the bestyou can be and who tells you when there are opportunities.

You will get discouraged and go through times when you wonder if it is all worth it. It is! When you see the look on an underprivileged school group’s face as they begin to understand where Florida’s First People come from, or when an elderly woman thanks you for teaching her something new that engages her mind OR when you know you are preserving something so that your grandchildren’s children can learn from it, you will know without a doubt, that your hard work is worth it.

Current Events: Tweeters for #AAM2012 and an Open Invitation

Things have certainly been busy in the virtual (and real) world as many of us prepare for the AAM conference. In case it’s starting to wear you out, you’ll probably be glad to know this will be our last post on the topic until next Tuesday when I attempt to live-blog a full day of events (wish me luck!). Tomorrow we’ll be back to some of our more regular programming with another “Museum Moonlighters” profile. In the meantime, there are two more things I’d like to bring to people’s attention or at least touch on briefly.

Twitter at #AAM2012

The first of those is a short list of who to follow on twitter during the AAM conference. We’ve already recommended that EMPs hop on twitter to keep in touch with one another and other attendees about events and interesting tidbits they’ve learned, and now we’d like to share a few of our favorite people to follow over the next week. This can also be good for those of you who can’t make it and can’t afford the virtual registration cost ($119 for the full conference for AAM members), as a means of keeping up with the conversations that are taking place in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Remember to look for the tags #AAM2012 and #aamEMPs. Also, many thanks to Adrianne Russel from over at Cabinet of Curiosities for helping compile this list!

• Speaking of which, we definitely recommend that you follow Adrianne herself!
• Having told others to keep up on twitter, I realized I tweeted for Bay Area EMP last year, and needed an account of my own! You can find me over at CaitlinEMP.
• If you liked Kate’s post Tuesday about conference wardrobes, you can follow her at KLBMacIntosh.
• Of course (like BAEMP) we love all our EMP regional groups on twitter! Check out Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington DC, and Philly.
• National groups like AAM, the Center for the Future of Museums, NEMA, and IMLS.
• There’s a huge list of wonderful individuals that are passionate about museums, and have been working tirelessly for months or years to bring people more information about them through social media. Not all of them will be at the AAM meeting, but we wanted to raise awareness about them anyway. You may want to peek at a few examples to see who matches your interests. Our recommendations include Museums365, Janet Carding, Colleen Dilen, Sarah St. Scrimshaw, ExposYourMuseum (one of the top tweeters at last year’s conference), Sluggernova, Guzel DuChateau (our fabulous EMP advisor at AAM!), Linda Norris, Unmuseum, Sarah Banks, Paige Dansinger, Nina Simon, and Liz Neely.

If you know of any other great people on twitter (or are a great person on twitter) that will be at AAM, be sure to let us know in the comments!

 

Open Invitation to Chat About the EMP Blog!

I mentioned last week that I would be available at the AAM Showcase in the Museum Expo during the Open Hour on Tuesday from 3:30-5:00. I wanted to reiterate that I’d be delighted if some of you stopped by to chat. I’ll be around to talk about how you can contribute to the EMP Blog, topics you’d like to see in the future, if you think we need to take more risks with topics (I usually think this, so I’d love to know if you do too!), or if you’d just like to find out more about the EMP movement in general. There’s no competing sessions during this time, so it’s the perfect moment to come down and say hello. I hope some of you will join me!

If you aren’t able to make it, or won’t be at AAM, I always welcome your ideas in the comments or by e-mail at emuse.blog@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back again tomorrow!

Professional Development: Dressing for Success at Conferences

Today I’m delighted to introduce Kate Laurel Burgess-Mac Intosh as a guest blogger here at EMP, with a post about how to prepare your wardrobe for a conference. Kate is one of the busiest and most experienced EMPs I know, and has been a great acquaintance since we met at the AAM conference last year. She holds a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from Harvard University Extension School, and an Undergraduate Degree in Art History and Fine Arts. Kate is currently an independent museum professional, and her present work includes working for Reach Advisors as a Research Assistant, and facilitating learning about the future of museums and the field as a Teaching Assistant in the Harvard Extension School Museum Studies Program. She also is the one of the Professional Affinity Group Chairs for the New England Museum Association’s Young and Emerging Museum Professionals (NEMA YEPs). Kate is Principal of Revitalizing Historic Sites. She has been researching, writing, and presenting on creative ways to ‘shake up’ historic sites, especially through the introduction contemporary art, and featuring her findings on revitalizinghistoricsites.com and Facebook page, “Revitalizing Historic Sites Through Contemporary Art.” Thanks again to Kate for today’s wonderful post!

 

Dressing for a conference is tricky, especially when one is just starting out in their career. After a conversation at last year’s Emerging Museum Professionals reception at the American Association of Museums Annual Meeting and Conference in Houston, Texas, it became apparent that there was not much out there for guidance on dressing for this type of event. The acronym of KISS comes to mind, slightly shifted for dressing for success at conference: keep it simple and stylish.

In many ways, conferences are like multi-day interviews. Dressing strategically says something to others around you, and you should take getting dressed for the event as seriously as you would take dressing for an interview. You will meet many other professionals, all with various levels of experience; they may be your next co-worker, manager, boss, or executive director, so making the best impression during your first encounter is important.

Everyone travels from somewhere to get to the conference. Point A to point B can be hard on dress clothes. Everything you want to wear has to be packed; finding sturdy and wrinkle-free fabrics is key. Check with your hotel, either by phone or on their website, prior to arriving to verify if laundry services are available, and/or if an iron and ironing board are included in your room amenities; if an accident occurs, or a shirt needs to be ironed, it is good to know what your options are before panic sets in.

Climates vary by where the conference is being held, so check and follow the weather prior to packing. If it seems appropriate, pack layers so as to be prepared for what the weather may become while you are there. A dress or suit jacket makes a huge statement when it comes to your outward appearance, and can be helpful if the building or hotel is air conditioned, or if the weather shifts during the day.

A big question to ask yourself when getting ready for conference is: if you put it on at 7:00 am (or sometimes earlier!) can it make it until 11:00 pm? Even if you hope and think you can dart back to your hotel room in-between sessions and events, it is best to plan that things can (and will) go over time or off schedule. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes that are professional, yet easy on your feet.

When networking and attending sessions, you will be receiving and handing out lots of business cards and other materials. Try to plan to have pockets in each of your outfits throughout the days you are at the conference. Leave your room and realize you don’t have any? Put your business cards in the pocket of your nametag, behind the name plate (this helpful tip was given to me by Leslie Howard, Chair of the Boston EMP group, at my first AAM Conference, and I continue to use and share it).

Short on funds? (Okay, I know, EMERGING professionals in the MUSEUM field, do I even need to ask?!) Below I’ve included a list: “12 Places to Shop Chic on a Museum Professional’s Budget.” Before you head out to shop, sign up for e-blasts from places that have clothes that inspire you; these generally include coupons, discount codes, and inside knowledge of special sales. Mentally plan outfits before shopping, so as not to ‘over-purchase,’ but to head into a store with a clear definition of what you are looking for and the gaps in your wardrobe you are looking to fill to be conference ready. For inspiration, and to help keep you on track, find outfits you like in magazines and/or online, and bring images with you when shopping. One rule of thumb to always remember is that inexpensive clothing always looks more expensive in a neutral color (think black, grey, white, beige).

Remember most importantly to reflect your personality and interests, as your dress is only the first step to conference success.

 

12 Places to Shop Chic on a Museum Professional’s Budget

An alphabetical list of 12 places to show chic on a museum professional’s budget in honor of the 2012 AAM Conference, for those seeking clothing that reflects their professional persona without leaving them penniless. A combination of in-person and online retailers are listed. If you have a favorite please share it in the comments section, so as to grow the list as a resource for others who want to shop chic on a museum professional’s budget.

1. Bluefly: discounted designer and up-and-coming designer clothing; added deals received via e-blasts

2. Burlington Coat Factory: discounted clearance venue for major retailers; large selection of men’s suits at most locations

3. Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW): wide selection of shoes at discounted prices; rich clearance section with reductions between 30-90% off of original prices

4. Gilt: online designer sales, requires account sign-up

5. H&M: great location to search for accessories and basics at inexpensive prices. Watch for designer collaborations, such as recent ones with the tv show Fashion Star, and designers such as Versace, Lanvin, and Marni, at deep discounts compared to their runway lines.

6. Last Call by Neiman Marcus: clearance venue for the major retailer; additional coupons and discounts available to e-blast email subscribers.

7. Macy’s: sign up for their email and snail-mail list to receive coupons and alerts during major sales, with discounts up to 75% during end-of-season clearance events

8. Marshalls: discounted clearance venue for major retailers

9. My Habit: online designer sales, requires account sign-up

10. Nordstrom Rack: clearance venue for the major retailer; additional discounts available to e-blast email and snail-mail subscribers.

11. Rue La La: online designer sales, requires account sign-up

12. Target: selection varies by store; identify items online, and use search feature to locate at a local Target. Watch for designer collaborations (recent collaborators include Jason Wu, designer to First Lady Michelle Obama), generally priced below $100 per piece from the collection.

Current Events: Where to find EMPs at the AAM Conference

Navigating the AAM conference can be a daunting task. At any given minute you usually have to choose between 5-10 different things to do, and if you don’t know many other people in attendance it can be a very isolating experience. Today I want to talk about where you can find other EMPs at the AAM conference, and some of the members of the EMP Advisory Council (EMPAC). This will be my third AAM conference, and my second as a member of EMPAC, and I can say with confidence that these sorts of connections can make the 4-day conference a much more cheerful,  fulfilling experience. We’re more than happy to connect and help orient other EMPs, and so we’re providing a list of a few of the places you can find EMPAC (and EMPs in general) during AAM 2012 -

1. On Twitter: I mention this one first because it’ll quickly become the easiest way to find many of us during the conference. Several of us were prolific tweeters at last year’s conference, announcing what sessions we were at, evening events, and even where we were meeting once sessions were done (dinner, drinks, etc). Our two most common hashtags will be #aamemp and #aam2012.
2. “Navigating the annual meeting for first-timers”: This Sunday morning session (from 11:45am-12:30pm) is  the perfect time to get oriented to the conference if you’ve never been, and to meet a few friendly faces that can help support you throughout the event.
3. The AAM Opening Party: Pre-registration was required for this event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, but I know several of us will be there. It may be a little hard to find us, given how big this event is. But if you’re interested in connecting and hanging out (or dancing!) twitter will be the best way to get in touch with other EMPs.
4. The Skills Lab: It would be impossible to list all the events taking place in the Skills Lab, but a quick scan through the program showed sessions on budgeting, resume writing, project management, public speaking, personal branding, decision making, communicating with your board of directors. The sessions are highlighted by bright blue “Skills Lab” labels in the program. It’s likely that these sessions will have high numbers of EMPs in attendance, and you’re likely to be sitting with people you don’t know. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and start a conversation!
5. The Museum Expo: The AAM showcase usually includes a booth for Emerging Museum Professionals, and members of EMPAC have previously staffed it to talk to other EMPs and those interested in starting their own EMP group (also see the Dine and Dialogue description below). I know I’ll be there for a few hours on Monday, and I welcome anyone who’d like more information about contributing to the blog to join me during the Open Hour on Tuesday from 3:30-5:00. There’s also the new Expo “Happy Hour” on Tuesday at 5pm, which should be fun! We’ll be sure to make an additional announcement when other EMPAC members know when they’ll be available in the Expo.
6. The EMP Event: Another event that required pre-registration, it may still be possible to get tickets through the “Exchange Booth” outside the MuseumExpo. This year it’s being hosted at the Guthrie Theater overlooking the Mississippi River falls, on Monday night from 6-8pm. Bus transportation is provided from the convention center, leaving at 6:15.
7. After the EMP Event: Had a conflicting event, or couldn’t get a ticket for the official EMP one? Never fear! The EMP event ends at 8pm, but that’s not when the networking stops. Last year we went out for dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant, and we’ll do that again this year as well. Follow us on twitter for details, and we’ll use the #aamemp and #aam2012 hashtag simultaneously to announce where we’re heading.
8. Meet and Greet Signings: On Tuesday from 1-2pm, Greg Stevens (Assistant Director of Professional Development at AAM) and Wendy Luke (The HR Sage), along with other contributing authors, will be signing copies of their new book “A Life in Museums: Managing Your Museum Career.” This is an exciting publication with strong applications in the EMP community, and we invite all of you to join us in checking out the book and meeting the authors and editors!
9. Tuesday Night Dine and Dialogue (6:30-9:30 pm): “Starting an EMP Group in Your Area” is a new offering we’re trying, in response to how many people ask us how to start EMP groups. This informal dinner conversation will focus on the growing momentum for AAM Emerging Museum Professional (EMP) groups to develop in cities across the country. Come explore what it takes to start a group and learn from EMPs who have taken the plunge! Visit the Restaurant Reservations Desk at the Minneapolis Saint Paul Hospitality Lounge in the Minneapolis Convention Center to sign up and get dinner locations and directions.

If there are any other EMP events you can think of, please be sure to leave us a comment. Otherwise, we’re hoping to see many of you in Minneapolis!

Current Events: Gearing up for AAM – A Panelist’s Perspective

We have a special bonus post today, as we continue to gear up for the AAM conference. This submission comes from Laura Hoffman, one of the co-Vice Chairs of the DC EMP group, in charge of planning the group’s events. Laura currently works as at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, as the Web Project Coordinator. This past July she graduated from The George Washington University with a M.A.T. in Museum Education, and also has a B.A. in Art from Connecticut College. In addition to her work, she serves as a member of Education Innovators at Smithsonian Institution’s EdLab, which is a cohort of educators and museum professionals working together to identify best practices for the use of new media in museums and other learning environments. Today she brings us a post about her preparations for making a presentation at the conference in two weeks, something we always love to see an EMP involved in!

At last year’s AAM conference, I found most all sessions were led and attended by mid or upper-level museum professionals. I remember speaking with other EMPs and fellow graduate school classmates, and although we found these sessions insightful and interesting, there weren’t many sessions targeted for EMPs.

After the conference, two former classmates and a close creative community of mine, Amy Homma and Emily Kotecki, discussed the possibility of leading our own session. As recent graduates of the Museum Education Program at The George Washington University, we wanted to share our experiences as EMPs who successfully landed jobs after graduating, as well as provide a forum for other emerging museum professionals to problem solve and connect. In our brainstorming, we kept coming back to how our open attitudes in embracing technology (even when we were not completely comfortable with the particular technology at hand) helped us move forward in our budding careers.

Take Amy, for instance: As an ARTLAB+ Mentor at Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., she creates innovative programming for teens using technology. ARTLAB+ provides state-of-the-art visual and audio technology—including a recording booth, green screen, DSLR cameras, image editing software, and animation program —all of which Amy has learned throughout the year.

Emily, on the other hand, had the greatest working knowledge of technology before starting her job as Associate Coordinator of Teen and College Programs at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC. Previously working as a multimedia producer at The Washington Post, maintaining an active food blog, and being an avid Tweeter, Emily is very comfortable jumping into new technologies. She has transferred these skills to working with distance learning technology in developing curriculum for high school students.

Unlike Emily, I always considered myself a technophobe before landing my current job as the Web Project Coordinator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Though I was originally hired to handle the organization of the website’s redesign, when our Digital Media Manager left, I quickly learned that someone would need to fill that role as well in the interim. While in this position, I have immersed myself into the local tech scene and taken over all responsibilities as the web administrator. I am pleased to report that the website just launched earlier this April, and we are very happy with the result: www.nmwa.org!

Lastly, I asked Susan Diachisin, The Kelli & Allen Questrom Director of the Center for Creative Connections at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX, to be our session chair. As my first museum mentor, Susan showed me firsthand the possibilities of introducing technologies in educational, interactive spaces when I interned for her at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA. Since her arrival at the Dallas Museum of Art, she has expanded the different interactive technologies and remained a mentor for me throughout the years.

I hope you will join us for our session on Sunday, April 29, at 4:15. We will share what we have learned as well as open up the room for intimate, small group discussion to create our own creative communities.