Frustration with the system

We all know that it is incredibly hard to get a job in the museums/culture field. But sometimes something happens that makes you just truly despair.

Friday 26th October was a national holiday in Vienna and as with any long weekend like this, the city ups and leaves. A cultural institution had advertised a job on at least two of the cultural job mailing lists that I subscribe to with a closing date of the 26th. The job was a more organisational than content-creation, the language of the job was English and I felt that my qualifications matched the essential and desired criteria very closely. I sent my application in a couple of days before the deadline and prepared to wait a couple of weeks to hear back. I have been at this long enough now - and I am certainly jaded enough - to not get my hopes up too high. There have been dozems of jobs before this one that I felt I was qualified and experienced enough for that I didn't get invited to an interview for. I appreciate that demand for these jobs are high and that is reflected by the volume of applications. What I didn't expect was an email 80 minutes after the start of business on Monday telling me that my CV was interesting, but the job had been filled.

Presumably, over a national holiday weekend this company was able to short-list, interview and fill the position after having considered the applications of potentially a LOT of people (a similar position last year saw over 70 applicants. That institution also took the time to send an obviously personalised email explaining why I hadn't progressed further in the recruitment process - overqualified, you can't win!) Perhaps they are just being more honest? Perhaps this is the case for lots of other jobs that I have applied for and they just keep you waiting a couple of weeks to give the impression of transparency in the process?

Has anyone else had experience of this?

#employment #against the odds #frustration #disillusionment

museumsandstuff reblogged

thisbelongsinamuseum

This Belongs in a Museum: Why do I continue writing about museums when I’m barely dipping my toe...

thisbelongsinamuseum.tumblr.com

Why do I continue writing about museums when I’m barely dipping my toe into the shallow end of the museological pool? Well, this blog is for fun, yes, but sometimes I get easily frustrated in the lack of success I have in this particular field. For the last seven years I should’ve been working as a curator or museum educator, but instead I sit here writing this blog. I mean I’ve had my share of museum-related jobs over the years, but what do I really have to show for it? Hmmm….I guess it’s all my fault because I didn’t kiss ass to the right person. Remember that kids. Success isn’t defined by what you know, but who know. And if you look good wearing a suit while doing it. As seen in the excellent television show The Wire, life is just a game and I’ve finished dead last. While I cry in my soup and start writing a proposal for an Unfairness Museum (shit needs to happen) I just wanted to remind all the children of tumblr of that very fact. Enjoy your youth and be happy if you have a trust fund. Some of us aren’t so lucky.

museumsandstuff

Scarily familiar. You are not alone.

#preach #museums #frustration

museumsandstuff reblogged

sympathyfortheartgallery

theories-of

museumsandstuff

sympathyfortheartgallery:artlistpro: via knitzilla, theories-of.

Brad Tinmouth Artforum Ad 2010

“I didn’t know whether I should spend money on grad school or this ad in Artforum. Welp.”

#art or desperation?#frustration

museumsandstuff reblogged

nerd-gasms

In other news, I have applied to at least 150 jobs over the past 6 months, leading to 1 interview and 0 serious prospects.

museumsandstuff

nerdgasms:

ETA: “Only” 150ish jobs because I’m not just applying for any old job. Also sorry potential employers, I know I BREAK ALL THE RULES when I show you negative qualities about me like:

I am not a hot market commodity, which you could have probably figured out the moment you saw “M.A. Museum Studies” on my resume.
I have a blog.
I have another blog about how I think jobs should pay money in return for work. This means I must be either greedy or a socialist, and possibly both!

This is a very familiar story - have applied for multiple jobs (problems compounded by the fact that museum jobs in Austria don't seem to be advertised in the same way as the UK, lots of word of mouth and through - subscription payable - professional organisations). I sent out C.V.s anyway, got two interviews, neither actually had any jobs going but found my C.V. interesting (nice, but no good to me).

My problems seem to be:

Austrians don't seem to believe that an English person can speak German (despite it being written on my CV, both expressed surprise when I interviewed in German)
Museum Studies MA doesn't really exist here in the same way and the closest things are still quite young. There isn't the same route into the museums profession (if only I had know that I would end up here when I carefully planned my career-orientated qualifications!)
Jobs aren't really advertised. Sometimes something will come up on the museum homepage but more often than not they get sent out over listservs for professional organisations (universally expensive) or through friends. It's a hard circle to break into the get the networking opportunities.

If anyone can think of any ways to get around this or turn it to my favour, please let me know!

#museum studies #career #Vienna #Austria #frustration