My interview with success story,  Ashley

Naomi:  How did you find your current job?
Ashley:  I found my position through Archives Gig which then redirected me to USAjobs.gov.

Naomi:  Favorite library you have been to?
Ashley:  The Seattle Public Library.  I love the architectural design of the building, their use of library-related objects as art, and the red floor.  They have an entire floor painted the color red which incidentally is my favorite color.  I loved it.

Naomi:  Favorite book?
Ashley:  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.  A couple of years ago, I went on this classics kick.  I wanted to read all the classics that I never got a chance to read in school.  I came across this book and fell in love.  It has murder, intrigue, love, revenge and so much more.  Dumas keeps you entertained and makes you think.

Naomi:  Favorite thing about libraries/ library technology?
Ashley:  I like the openness and inviting nature of libraries and librarians. It’s my hope to bring that to the archives profession.  I think as a profession we tend to hold people at a distance but I don’t think that should be the case.  I love what I do and I love history.  I want to help others understand that and should they become a fan of archives that’s great too.

Naomi:  Any websites or feeds or blogs we should be following?
Ashley:  For job-related sites, check out Archives Gig, Hiring Librarians, and OpenCoverLetters.

For fun, I love following anything on The Nerdist.  It’s tailored to all the nerds out there, like me.

Naomi:  Best piece of job hunting advice?
Ashley:  My best friend gave me advice that’s always stuck with me in my job search.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Change things up.  For example, during my college years, I was a journalist on the college paper.  In journalism, you’re taught never to bury the lead in the story.  You’ve got to grab the reader’s attention from the first sentence.  I took those skill sets and applied them to my cover letters.  And, I started getting interviews.  Even though I didn’t get those jobs, I was getting a call back.  I realized that I was doing something that got me noticed out of the hundreds of applications.

Try something different with your cover letter and resume.  You never know, it could be the very thing that gets you noticed….and the job.

I’m a southerner without a southern accent.

I was born and raised in Brunswick, Georgia.  I got my B.A. in History at Georgia Southern University in 2007.  After taking a year off, I went on to graduate from the University of South Carolina with my M.A. in Public History and an M.L.I.S. with an archives concentration.  At USC, I got a chance to work with Teaching American History in South Carolina, which inspired me to become a people’s archivist.  Also, I interned for a summer at the National Archives in Seattle.  After graduating in 2011, I worked for a year as a contract archives technician in Death Valley National Park.  Starting in late October, I will be joining the National Archives in Philadelphia as an archives technician. When I’m not busy working on my career, I like to read, write short stories, and enjoy all things scifi.