Foiled Again!

This week's good news...Jury duty! The timing couldn't be more perfect. (Can you feel the sarcasm?) You would surmise that with my current work situation I would have loads of free time for things like jury duty. Wrong. It just so happens that I was scheduled to interview with the Adirondack Mountain Club on Thursday, the day I am supposed to report for jury duty.

Big deal, right? Well, it might be. You see, I didn't pick Thursday, they did. The interviews are being done by a small committee of people and they wanted to do them all on that one day. Again, big deal. Just explain the situation and they will figure something out. OR, they will just eliminate me from the field because it's easier than rescheduling everyone involved. I was still waiting to hear back on when my interview would be during that day and now I have already had to e-mail them to say I can't make it. Based on the lack of communication already, and this lovely Monday holiday, I'm guessing the earliest my jury duty e-mail will be read is Tuesday.

OK, so get out of jury duty instead. It says right on the form that everyone is allowed one postponement as long as you notify them no less than three days before you are supposed to report. I received the summons Saturday, I am supposed to report Thursday. Three days prior equals Monday, a lovely Monday holiday, when their offices are closed just the same as they were on Saturday when I tried to call and the recording reminded me of their hours and that they would be closed on Monday. I think I'm screwed.

What is it with people these days? I was contacted Thursday, via e-mail, about the ADK interviews set for this coming Thursday. The hours I was given to choose from for the interview were between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Are they expecting us all to have that day off from work or take a vacation day to be available? I don't think they were thinking of anything except what worked for them. There was a note in the e-mail about advising them of other days you would be available in case Thursday didn't work out. I was tempted to tell them Wednesday, but I have other things I need to do this week, and since I hadn't even heard back about my interview time for Thursday, I decided not to list any days after. If I did list days after my jury duty I would probably jinx myself and get stuck on a jury!

And the county - my jury summons went into the mail system on Friday. I'm supposed to get it, and then arrange with work and other responsibilities to be available for five straight business days beginning in less than a week. WTF?

Boy, I'm getting really cranky. Too many things to think/worry about. I'm supposed to hear sometime this week about the Illinois job. If I get the position I originally applied for I will be supervisor to the woman who is fulfilling those duties currently, and also applied for the job. Yea. If I don't, then I will be up for her position and have to decide if I have reached a point where I am desperate enough to make a lateral move. The money is better, for sure. And the organization seems sound and interesting. I just don't trust myself to make a decision anymore. Too many variables keeping me up at night worrying. Here I go, answering my questions for myself again - what I am really looking for is a job I can get excited about. So, even if no one else ever reads these pages, they are serving their original purpose.

A new question though - can I afford to linger in part-time land waiting for a job that excites me?

On a Lighter Note

Check out my rad tattoo. This was taken within a few days of getting it so it's still a little swollen and covered in antibacterial goo (hence the shiny). It's between my shoulder blades and approximately the size of a dessert plate. I got it in August 2004.

It is not my only tattoo. I also have a lesser long-nosed bat approaching a saguaro cactus flower on my left ankle. I had it done in 1996. Someday I will get someone to take a snap of it and post (I'm not as bendy as I used to be and fear injury if I attempt it on my own!)

And yes, I want more. They put the tattoo disease in you with the first one. I just need time off (to let it breathe) and a wad of money for what I want to get next. Don't start holding your breath just yet.

An Argument for Standardization

Apparently, this blog is where I vent. Well, at least I'm doing something with my time...

An Argument for Standardization

A recent victim of budget cuts, I am discovering just how unprepared I am to navigate the murky waters of job hunting in a field still struggling to define itself.

How can we expect to promote the interpretive profession and professionalism without clear standards/guidelines for what qualities make up an interpretive professional at different levels? If someone applies for a teaching position within a public school district in any state in this country it is assumed/expected that they will have attained a state teaching certificate, in conjunction with a bachelor’s degree and will have or be in the process of earning a master’s degree as well. Within the interpretive field qualities that rate an applicant for an interpretive position as qualified range from simply having a friendly and outgoing manner to possessing a master’s degree or higher.

I myself stumbled into the profession through the side door. Based on the non-profit, budget beleaguered nature of most interpretive employers standards are set aside or overlooked completely in exchange for a warm and willing body. Needs are waiting to be met and the individual who can satisfy the greatest number of those needs while at the same time accepting a position for low pay are the winners of the job search lottery.

I have since made up for lost time by attending training workshops, national workshops, becoming a CIG, and beginning graduate studies relevant to my chosen field. You would think that, taking all of that and the 8 ½ years I have worked as a naturalist into consideration, I would be a gem in the eyes of prospective employers. In the eyes of some, I am a gem, in the eyes of others I am no more than the small pebble that sticks in the treads of their boots.

The NPS rated me as qualified for a GS-09 Education Specialist position when I recently submitted my first ever application. That fact alone gave me pride and a newfound confidence that I sorely needed to maintain my job hunting momentum. I was qualified! I was valuable! If the NPS thought I rated so high surely I would have no trouble finding a job. But, while I felt an emerald in the eyes of NPS, I rated topaz in the eyes of a local museum when applying for the part-time position of Teacher Host (read – tour guide) with the Strong National Museum of Play.

Two short days after electronically submitting my application I received a form letter in the mail stating “not withstanding your training and experience, we are searching for a candidate whose skills, experience, and education philosophy are more closely aligned with our job requirements.”
From their website: http://www.strongmuseum.org/about_us/job_opportunities.html accessed on Feb. 13, 2008

TEACHING HOSTJob Type: Part-time; 12–18 hours per week; weekdays during the school year.Education: NYS certification or equivalent experience in any content area. Wage: $12.50 per hourStart Date: Negotiable.Job Description & Qualifications:Strong – National Museum of Play® has immediate openings for hourly-paid K–8 teachers who have NYS certification (or equivalent experience in any content area) and who are familiar with Multiple Intelligences. Must have a positive attitude and be articulate, enthusiastic, and interested in a flexible part-time schedule. Must be able to work well with children in non-traditional delivery settings, and able to work well on a team. Lessons are provided.
Must consent to and pass a drug screen and a criminal background check as a condition of employment. We are a smoke-free building and smoking is not allowed on museum property.
To apply, click HERE to enter our career site. If you do not have Internet Explorer, a resume may be e-mailed to jobs@museumofplay.org

When I went through the on-line application process it stated on one page that a master’s degree was required for the position. I foolishly believed that my years of experience and years already completed towards my master’s would suffice.

As the NAI certification program continues to grow, more and more institutions are adopting the standards set forth by NAI and using the standards of certification as a measure for prospective employees. But what of the organizations that are not members of NAI or do not prescribe to the standards NAI has created? This is a challenge that will be one of the largest and ultimately most meaningful to NAI and its membership. If we are to professionalize ourselves at a national or global level we need to work with other organizations to set a level that all agree upon. We must meet with NAAEE, ALFHAM, AAM, AZA, the list goes on, and determine what defines an interpreter and what standards should be expected from interpretive candidates and professionals.

Every year I am asked by the parents of nature and animal-loving children how I came into the profession. Their children are nearing the end of their high school careers and their parents are hoping to be able to give them the direction that overburdened high school guidance counselors cannot – how can my child do what you do? I honestly don’t know what to tell them. Unless they know the exact place they would like to work, there is no easy answer. And if they do perchance know that they definitely want to work at Park/Museum X when they graduate, how do they prepare themselves to find work elsewhere if their jobs are cut or eliminated due to budget cuts as mine was so recently? Without standardization they can only hope to appeal to those institutions holding the same standards and values as the one they started at.

Saying Yes to a New Job

This morning I had an interview for a position in Illinois. The job would be a definite step up from my current position - in both responsibility and pay. My interviewer showered me with compliments about my winning personality and how much she was sure she would enjoy working with me. Near the end of the interview she informed me that there were also internal applicants for the position and inquired whether I would be interested in a lower-level position (obviously one currently filled by an internal applicant) should the original one be filled internally. I told her yes.

Now, of course, I am having second thoughts. It seems clear that the internal applicant will most likely get the job. While the lower level job would hold challenges of its own and still pay more than my current position, it would be a lateral move. I am hesitant to take it. When I began my job searching in September 2007, in my desperation to free myself from my current work hell, I was applying for jobs that mirrored my current position. After attending a conference in November and getting a chance to speak with my peers about my job search I became convinced that I should be looking for a job that would advance my career - not stagnate it. It took travelling half-way across country (and away from work) for me to regain some confidence in my abilities and realize that I was capable of more than I am doing now.

Well, I think I just answered my question...but here goes anyway.

If the Illinois people call me and offer me the lower-level position, should I take it? Do I pack up and move half-way across the country because I need a job so badly that I have to accept any reasonable offer? Or, do I hold out for the more interesting and challenging jobs that I have applied to and risk not being able to pay my bills and my lease running out? How are you supposed to make these decisions. Most would say don't worry about it until it happens but, I want to be prepared if it does.

Welcome

Welcome to my very first blog. I have decided, in light of recent events, that it is time for me to overcome my luddite ways and start embracing the current technologies. It's been a big year already as far as keeping up with the electronic age goes - just two weeks ago I bought my very first digital camera. Just this afternoon I finally swallowed my fear and learned how to download pictures. Check out the gorgeous butterfly snap I took yesterday at the Strong National Museum of Play. http://www.strongmuseum.org/

This blog has many purposes: to get me writing more, to help me become more computer savvy, and to serve as an outlet and companion as I navigate the scary world of job hunting.

Speaking of job hunting...(I feel a vent coming on) I recently applied to the above museum for a part-time position as Teaching Host (read - school tour guide). Today I received a rejection letter in the mail stating "Not withstanding your training and experience, we are searching for a candidate whose skills, experience, and education philosophy are more closely aligned with our job requirements." Apparently, in the world of children's museums, the only thing that will qualify you for a job as a tour guide is a Master's degree and/or teaching certification. Forget that I have been a naturalist for 8 1/2 years, a public speaker for 12 years, and am half-way towards a Master's in resource interpretation. Criminy.