After a long hiatus, the Career Development Center is finally
able to share new episodes of our podcast! While the episodes
you'll be hearing were recorded in Fall of 2018, the content has
remained relevant to the concerns and experiences of Pipers. Many
include updates for Spring of 2020 from our guests!
Marisa shared with us before this episode aired:
“It's a bit bittersweet thinking back to when I interviewed with
you, actually- I really felt like I had it "together" at that
point, and that I knew my career trajectory, "where I was going",
etc. I LOVED my job working at MNHS in the exhibit department and
expected to be there long term.
About 7 months after I talked with you I was called into a meeting
at work by a higher-up and told that due to department budget
issues my position was selected to be terminated/ I was laid off. I
was blindsided and went through a lot of grief surrounding the loss
of my job. I know when I talked to you we talked a lot about how
sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see where things
take you- this was not what I had in mind! Jokes aside, the better
part of last year was hard. It wasn't something I wanted to talk
about at the time, but now I feel it's important to loosen the
stigma around being laid off. It can happen to anyone at any time,
and for no fault of your own. You might feel like you failed, but
over time you will know that it wasn't up to you. I had to work
through the grieving process of what I thought my future looked
like.
Let's start with the "not so good" of last year: I spent the better
part of 2019 on the job hunt, in a constant cycle of job
applications, interviews, and rejections. My field is very, very
scarce in local job openings- and when there is a position open
there are hundreds of applicants. I was in one interview where I
was told I was one of six people out of 400 applicants to get an
interview... but I didn't get the job. I got very, very close a few
times last year, but not quite close enough. It's a numbers game,
all you can do is your best and persist- and I know that the right
job will be there for me one of these days. I have not yet been
able to get back into a full time position since being laid
off.
Now the "good" things! It wasn't all bad.
Early last year I scored a really amazing freelance job doing
research for Minnesota Public Radio's "The Current" podcast called
"The Current Rewind". (It's a podcast on MN music history.) I did
historical research to build the development of each podcast
episode, and it was such a great professional development
experience. Recently I was asked to return to provide content for
the show's second season. I just wrapped up working on that in
February.
Being on the job hunt made me try new professional development
opportunities I wouldn't have had the time to do before. I started
volunteering at the Richfield Historical Society and am currently
leading their museum exhibit development. I recently also joined
their board of directors, and am really thrilled to be spreading my
wings in new ways through their organization. I feel that I've
built a lot of confidence through this.
I was on TV! In an effort to "say yes" to more I went on a local TV
show called "It's a Woman's World" to talk about my hobby as an
amateur public historian who collects old photographs and
researches the people in them (... I DID say my skills were niche,
lol).
Bouncing off that last point I REALLY explored my skills as a
researcher last year, and spend many days in the archives and on
databases researching just for fun. It was nice in a way to spend
time doing what I love on my own terms, rather than only
researching for work and the topics that the job mandated.
What's next? Great question. I was still deep in the process of job
searching, applying, interviewing when the COVID-19 pandemic hit
us. Now the field that I work in, museums, are facing a very
uncertain future. Local museums are closed down through June, and
potentially through the end of this year. There is basically no
hiring. Right now I, like many, feel like I'm on shaky ground. It's
tough, but I know that the road to success is often uncertain. As
of today I'm trying to enjoy the time I have at home while we all
hunker down through this pandemic. I know I'm not the only one left
out in the cold on the job hunt right now.
I still very much stand by my blind optimism that shone
through in my interview with you. Sometimes we have no idea where
we're going until we get there, and we have to embrace the
uncertainty. It's worked for me in the past, and I know it will in
the future.”
Questions? Concerns? Topics you'd like us to cover in an episode?
Email us at
workshop@hamline.edu and thank you
for listening!