Employers/Intern Supervisors Respond

We received over forty responses from employers and internship supervisors, representing 14 states, Washington D.C., and Canada. Their input is greatly appreciated and we are currently working to compile some analytical data from the surveys, which we will share on this site and with SNAP after the NWA conference. These survey results allow us to build a model of expectations for employers of students/volunteers/interns. These expectations are going to be compared with the expectations of the model we develop for the current student (based on those survey results).

In the meantime, keep checking up on the blog as we are going to create a couple of posts on both surveys for your viewing pleasure. To start, we wanted to share some of the answers to a few of our questions.

-Max and Pete

Are there any particular set of skills, knowledge, etc that you look for in potential interns and employees?

“Curiosity, responsibility and friendliness. With the school here, I hire grad students already interested in or learning about archives. I'm happy to teach skills, so long as I'm teaching someone receptive.”

" ... Understanding that we need to have skills in the interpersonal side as well as the technical side of things"

"Attention to detail, strong analytical skills, excellent communication skills, interest and curiosity about archival materials, strong self-motivation"

Are there any skills, knowledge, etc that you feel students and emerging archivists do not possess which would make them more prepared?

“Management, communication skills, & donor relations are rarely addressed in grad school, but they should be.”

“The connection between what we do and why we do it. Processing does not happen in a vacuum and is part of the bigger picture related to preservation and access.”

“The biggest problems are actually with their abilities to create good cover letters and resumes and their lack of preparation for interviews. In addition, however, some have no practical experience (practicum or internship), most have weak understanding of appraisal, and too many are daunted by large modern collections.”

How do you define a successful experience for an intern/volunteer/student worker?

"Unfortunately, I think there might be some divergence between what employers define as successful and what students/interns think. And it depends on the job they were brought in to do ... So with all this in mind, I define successful as coming out of the experience having learned more about the profession and how theory and practice come together. They'll have had the opportunity to put their knowledge to work and move to the next level of experience or figure out how the dots connect. Above all, I think it's a successful endeavor if they understand that it really isn't all about processing and working with cool materials, because the vast majority of archivists will only do this for a short period of time. "