Education
After a long hiatus, the Career Development Center is finally able to share new episodes of our podcast! While the episodes you'll be hearing were recorded in Fall of 2018, the content has remained relevant to the concerns and experiences of Pipers. Many include updates for Spring of 2020 from our guests! This episode focuses on Marisa Gonzalez Morseth, a 2015 grad whose path to career has not been a straight line but who has gained great insights over her journey. She shares with us her best tips and advice from how to navigate choosing a major to her hopeful outlook on approaching the job search. Marisa shared with us before this episode aired: “It's a bit bittersweet thinking back to when I interviewed with you, actually- I really felt like I had it "together" at that point, and that I knew my career trajectory, "where I was going", etc. I LOVED my job working at MNHS in the exhibit department and expected to be there long term. About 7 months after I talked with you I was called into a meeting at work by a higher-up and told that due to department budget issues my position was selected to be terminated/ I was laid off. I was blindsided and went through a lot of grief surrounding the loss of my job. I know when I talked to you we talked a lot about how sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see where things take you- this was not what I had in mind! Jokes aside, the better part of last year was hard. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about at the time, but now I feel it's important to loosen the stigma around being laid off. It can happen to anyone at any time, and for no fault of your own. You might feel like you failed, but over time you will know that it wasn't up to you. I had to work through the grieving process of what I thought my future looked like. Let's start with the "not so good" of last year: I spent the better part of 2019 on the job hunt, in a constant cycle of job applications, interviews, and rejections. My field is very, very scarce in local job openings- and when there is a position open there are hundreds of applicants. I was in one interview where I was told I was one of six people out of 400 applicants to get an interview... but I didn't get the job. I got very, very close a few times last year, but not quite close enough. It's a numbers game, all you can do is your best and persist- and I know that the right job will be there for me one of these days. I have not yet been able to get back into a full time position since being laid off. Now the "good" things! It wasn't all bad. Early last year I scored a really amazing freelance job doing research for Minnesota Public Radio's "The Current" podcast called "The Current Rewind". (It's a podcast on MN music history.) I did historical research to build the development of each podcast episode, and it was such a great professional development experience. Recently I was asked to return to provide content for the show's second season. I just wrapped up working on that in February. Being on the job hunt made me try new professional development opportunities I wouldn't have had the time to do before. I started volunteering at the Richfield Historical Society and am currently leading their museum exhibit development. I recently also joined their board of directors, and am really thrilled to be spreading my wings in new ways through their organization. I feel that I've built a lot of confidence through this. I was on TV! In an effort to "say yes" to more I went on a local TV show called "It's a Woman's World" to talk about my hobby as an amateur public historian who collects old photographs and researches the people in them (... I DID say my skills were niche, lol). Bouncing off that last point I REALLY explored my skills as a researcher last year, and spend many days in the archives and on databases researching just for fun. It was nice in a way to spend time doing what I love on my own terms, rather than only researching for work and the topics that the job mandated. What's next? Great question. I was still deep in the process of job searching, applying, interviewing when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us. Now the field that I work in, museums, are facing a very uncertain future. Local museums are closed down through June, and potentially through the end of this year. There is basically no hiring. Right now I, like many, feel like I'm on shaky ground. It's tough, but I know that the road to success is often uncertain. As of today I'm trying to enjoy the time I have at home while we all hunker down through this pandemic. I know I'm not the only one left out in the cold on the job hunt right now. I still very much stand by my blind optimism that shone through in my interview with you. Sometimes we have no idea where we're going until we get there, and we have to embrace the uncertainty. It's worked for me in the past, and I know it will in the future.” Questions? Concerns? Topics you'd like us to cover in an episode? Email us at workshop@hamline.edu and thank you for listening!