Amy R.
About me
| Amy R. | |
| Medieval Studies | |
| Medieval Studies | |
| Taught Postgraduate | |
| Wentworth | |
| 2016 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Information Assistant | |
| Tate | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Library, museum and information services | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2019 |
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A day in the life of a Information Assistant in the United Kingdom
Studying at York for my MA definitely helped shape my career trajectory as I decided during that year that I wanted to work in a museum, art gallery or historic property.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
Tate
What do you do?
A cross-site role between Tate Modern and Tate Britain, producing internal communications for the Front of House team as well as on-site visitor communications at the Information Desks in the galleries. We also take care of visitor emails, have an Information phone line and monitor social media to help out our visitors. We collect and analyse visitor feedback as well, helping us to understand what visitors want.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
Studying at York for my MA definitely helped shape my career trajectory as I decided during that year that I wanted to work in a museum, art gallery or historic property. An internship at Waddesdon Manor in collections and conservation, learning how to be Conservation Assistant, also helped as I realised that I was endlessly fascinated by the stories behind the objects I was conserving and loved telling with the public about them. Working in several customer service jobs throughout my teens and when I was looking for work in the right sector helped me to gain the skills I needed for this role and meant I knew this was the right job for me.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
When I graduated from my undergrad - yes. From my MA? No! It took a few years but I landed the job I wanted somewhere I was desperate to work.
Describe your most memorable day at work
Probably the day I discovered an email I sent with information and suggestions to a lady whose daughter had disabilities was mentioned at a meeting of Tate's Board of Directors as an example of embodying Tate's values and showing our visitors that we really care about access issues. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that an email I'd taken time to research and word perfectly was appreciated not only by the person who received it, but by colleagues really high up in the organisation.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
Working with the public can present many challenges, especially when we have difficult situations going on in the gallery, such as fire alarms or needing to lockdown parts of the building. However, I have lots of support from managers and colleagues in other departments for this. It can be similarly challenging on the telephone, having to tell people we can't give them what they want!
What’s your work environment and culture like?
I part of my time in an office and the rest on the Information Desk in the galleries. The culture at work is easy-going and relaxed, with my bosses working among us in the office and no need to wear particularly formal clothing. My team is fun and sociable, with lots of chats around the coffee pot going on and we make sure every birthday is properly celebrated with tea and cake! We also have socials fairly regularly and a big summer BBQ and Christmas party, which means we all know each other well. Because I have a longish commute, unfortunately I don't really get much time at home on the days I work, but as I get 2 hours worth of breaks in the day I do get to spend a reasonable amount of time away from work.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I continued to work as a freelancer during my time at York for the company I worked for before I started my MA. Balancing producing excellent SEO copy with my studies meant I had to learn how to be extremely organised and be able to switch between academic and commercial writing styles easily. This has helped me with writing in the Tate 'Tone of Voice' in my current role.
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
Only very few people walk straight into their dream job. Even less find that dream job to actually be wanted they wanted it to be! It's okay not to be sure what you want to do and it's common to struggle to find something. I applied for over 100 jobs before I got the one at Tate. I worked odd jobs when they came my way for some money, even if they weren't what I wanted to do. But by throwing myself into them and being determined to learn everything I could, I found myself with transferable skills and the resilience to keep going and find something I enjoyed doing.
Next steps...
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