Letters
Stop pretending there are jobs when there aren't
I am a 2011-12 postgraduate from museum studies at the University of Leicester.
After being interviewed for many roles I am hitting the same issue: without paid experience in the heritage sector of at least 18 months, I am not given the chance to take my first steps into the museum world.
I have volunteered at seven museums and heritage institutions for eight years and have just completed a three-month unpaid placement, which put me in debt just to get there. I would like to say this to the museum sector:
I am now giving up on my plans for a career in heritage as I do not think it will ever support me enough to have a comfortable life, a home and a family.
The museum sector needs to be more honest with its new recruits and tell us from the onset that the chance of a paid position in the field is highly unlikely.
You should know that every time you turn a young person away from a job interview, a little part of us dies inside.
And next time you interview one of us, please be gentle, we are not exactly having the best time of our lives.
After being interviewed for many roles I am hitting the same issue: without paid experience in the heritage sector of at least 18 months, I am not given the chance to take my first steps into the museum world.
I have volunteered at seven museums and heritage institutions for eight years and have just completed a three-month unpaid placement, which put me in debt just to get there. I would like to say this to the museum sector:
- Give the young the chance. Nearly 90% of my class intake are unemployed after finishing the course last July. Our CVs read well, we have the relevant qualifications and voluntary experience, but no one will take a chance on us. We took out huge loans to fund our master’s degrees; repayments on these do not stop if we are unemployed.
- Do more to stop unpaid internships and placements or at least support the costs of travel. I have so far been offered one unpaid voluntary role of three months in a museum an hour away costing me £70 a week in travel costs and one (unpaid) 25-hour live-on-site role as a caretaker where you have to pay the bills on the “free” flat they give you. I was told that I would need a partner to support me, savings or a part-time evening job to support my expenses.
- Do not invite us to interviews when you know we do not have the relevant experience to get the job. I have been to five interviews where they said I performed really well in the interview, but didn’t have enough paid experience.
I am now giving up on my plans for a career in heritage as I do not think it will ever support me enough to have a comfortable life, a home and a family.
The museum sector needs to be more honest with its new recruits and tell us from the onset that the chance of a paid position in the field is highly unlikely.
You should know that every time you turn a young person away from a job interview, a little part of us dies inside.
And next time you interview one of us, please be gentle, we are not exactly having the best time of our lives.