Museum careers are some of the most inspiring and dutiful positions in not just the art world, but in the preservation of world culture. The care and maintenance of precious paintings, sculptures, and artifacts is very important, and benefits the collective curiosity and understanding of our society.
The safe transport, installation, and conservation of art work requires a large network of educated workers and nonprofit management experts: For transport and installations, art handlers move and hang work with an attention to safety and detail; conservators maintain and repair artwork that deteriorates from the progression of time or the occasional accident; registrars keep track of the museums inventory and keep notes on the condition of each and every piece; curators pick and choose combinations of artworks for exhibitions.
Each of these positions start with entry-level positions where one can rise through the ranks. But where can you find the top museums housing the best collections of art in the country? Check out these top five U.S. cities for museum careers:
5. Dallas, Texas
The expansive Dallas Museum of Art features Cezanne and Van Gogh collections along lacquer mother-of-pearl furnishings and antique rugs. A big 19th- and 20th-century European and American art collection and Asian, African, and Pacific art are also here. One of the biggest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain is found uptown at the Meadows Museum. There is also the Nasher Sculpture Center, noted for its old master sculptures, and the Crow Collection of Asian Art, which houses art from China, Japan, and India.
4. Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world's biggest complex of museums, and they are all free. The National Gallery of Art, home to masterpieces from Da Vinci to Van Gogh, and the Old Masters, is part of the Smithsonian and is free as well.
3. San Francisco, California
The Asian Art Museum houses 6,000 years of art from Southeast Asia, China, Japan, India, Tibet, and Nepal. The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park has hosted two exhibits of 200 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. And in addition to its collection of 19th century art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has acquired more than 1,100 modern artworks by 20th century masters, much of which will be shown in public for the first time.
2. Santa Fe, New Mexico
It's the artsy-est small city you've ever seen, with more than 240 art galleries in this town of 60,000 people. Specialized museums are also at home here. The Museum of International Folk Art hosts more than 135,000 artworks, crafts, and textiles, making it the world's biggest collection of folk art. Others include the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, the New Mexico History Museum and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture.
1. New York, New York
The largest number of museums are in New York City, making it the best place to see art in the country. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the second most visited art museum in the world (behind the Louvre in Paris), and the Museum of Modern Art has world-renowned collections with priceless works like Van Gogh's Starry Night. Further out, the Brooklyn Museum of Art is known for showing retrospects of Haring and Basquiat.
New York has art for every taste and ethnicity, including The Frick Collection with Western European art, the Rubin Museum showing Jewish art, the Guggenheim Museum including late 19th- and early 20th-century art with contemporary retrospectives like Matthew Barney, and the Whitney Museum for 20th-century American art and it’s famous Biennial.
This article was written by Social Media Outreach Coordinator Logan Harper on behalf of CAREEREALISM-Approved Partner, 2tor — an education technology company that partners with institutions of higher education such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which provides an online Masters in Public Administration.Image Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Museum careers are some of the most inspiring and dutiful positions in not just the art world, but in the preservation of world culture. The care and maintenance of precious paintings, sculptures, and artifacts is very important, and benefits the collective curiosity and understanding of our society.
The safe transport, installation, and conservation of art work requires a large network of educated workers and nonprofit management experts: For transport and installations, art handlers move and hang work with an attention to safety and detail; conservators maintain and repair artwork that deteriorates from the progression of time or the occasional accident; registrars keep track of the museums inventory and keep notes on the condition of each and every piece; curators pick and choose combinations of artworks for exhibitions.
Each of these positions start with entry-level positions where one can rise through the ranks. But where can you find the top museums housing the best collections of art in the country? Check out these top five U.S. cities for museum careers:
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