{"id":22101,"date":"2013-05-13T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=22101"},"modified":"2013-05-27T13:06:33","modified_gmt":"2013-05-27T17:06:33","slug":"finding-your-niche-in-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=22101","title":{"rendered":"Finding your Niche in 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Finding your Niche in 3<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Lisa1\"<\/a>For my first blog post, I thought I\u2019d write to you about something that greatly affected my job hunt: finding my niche within the library\/archives\/museum field. First, I have a confession<\/strong>. I don\u2019t have an MLS and I do have a full-time position in the library\/archives field (please don\u2019t hate me). \u00a0I do, however, have an MA from Syracuse University in Museum Studies (and took some LIS courses), and work, volunteer, and intern experience in libraries, archives, and historical societies, as well as museums. And, I found my niche<\/b>.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ll notice, I\u2019m the head editor for the INALJ Sweden<\/a> page. But I don\u2019t live in Sweden. Scandinavian-American cultural organizations are my area. Specific enough for you? In college, I majored in Scandinavian Studies because of my family heritage, my interest in world cultures (anthropology was my double major), and because I wanted to learn another language. Family and friends questioned the sanity of my decision: would this major translate into a \u201creal job\u201d after college?<\/p>\n

And yet, when I started applying for jobs near the end of graduate school, it was mostly Scandinavian heritage organizations that called me for interviews. Could it be that my specific passion was paying off? In short, I believe, yes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure countless sources have told you to find what you\u2019re passionate about and pursue it, and even other INALJ articles have reminded you about the value of finding a hobby. All true advice, but how exactly do you go about doing this? How can you translate your hobbies and interests into a professional niche? Here are some tips that have helped me find my niche \u2013 and thus a job\u2013 in this competitive job market:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Learn a language. <\/b>This isn\u2019t always easy or accessible, but in terms of personal and professional development, it can help immensely. Plus, it\u2019s a fun party trick to speak Swedish.<\/li>\n
  2. Become an expert in something. <\/b>Or at least go all out. Maybe you love playing guitar and know all about different makes and models. Learn as much as you can! Then when you see a position opening at the Guitar Hall of Fame, for example, you\u2019ll be able to talk specifically about why your professional and personal<\/i> experience makes you a great candidate for the job.<\/li>\n
  3. Invest in your passion<\/b>. Are you passionate about Benjamin Franklin? Travel to the U. Penn archives and do your research. Maybe you want to know everything about Peruvian textiles? I think a trip to Peru would be in order. Again, go all out with your passion (as much as you\u2019re able). This type of experience really illustrates your passion and dedication to your subject area.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Of course, none of this is guaranteed to get you a job, but pursuing an interest is never time wasted, right? Good luck finding your own personal and professional niche!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Lisa Huntsha, Head Editor, INALJ Sweden Finding your Niche in 3 For my first blog post, I thought I\u2019d write to you about something that greatly affected my job hunt: finding my niche within the library\/archives\/museum field. First, I have a confession. I don\u2019t have an MLS and I do have a full-time position…<\/p>\n

    Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[4337,69,3592,4335,4334,4336],"class_list":["post-22101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-4337","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-sweden","tag-lisa-huntsha","tag-niche"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-5Kt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}