Nicola studied BA History and MA Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia (UEA). She now works in customer engagement and support for Jisc's Archives Hub
How did you get your job?
During my studies, I volunteered remotely with first-year students in student support due to the pandemic, which sparked my interest in working in this area. Since I was already comfortable working remotely, I had an advantage in applying for a fully remote role.
I began at Jisc on a fixed term contract working on open access - grant free and open online access to academic information, such as publications and data - and as that contract was coming to an end, I applied for the role with Archives Hub. I updated my CV and cover letter to reflect my new experience, and completed the online application.
What's a typical working day like?
It can vary, but typical days are largely shaped by the types of enquiries we receive. These include requests from:
archivists - submitting archival descriptions for upload or asking how their repository can be onboarded to Archives Hub.
the general public - seeking help with everything from tracing their family tree to researching World War II naval vessels or finding out who owns a specific building.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I arrange monthly online meet ups for our community, which involves:
creating an invite
organising a speaker
publicising and then facilitating the event.
This is a real highlight of my role. It allows me to put faces to names from email signatures, collect feedback, and hear what interesting things are going on in our contributor's archives.
I also have a soft spot for the user enquiries - I've found blogs, archives and more to send people off to.
What are the challenges?
We are a very small team with over 440 contributors to manage. This can mean we have to wear many hats, and it makes busy periods exceptionally busy.
How is your degree relevant?
During my Masters I used archival material and visited archives for my dissertation. Having this background helps me to understand the environments archivists are working in, and the objects or paperwork behind their descriptions. It is also handy to have research skills when dealing with user enquiries, to send them to the correct archive.
Studying history also allowed me to develop my communication skills, both written and verbal. I use this everyday internally and externally, whether in emails or talking to contributors or colleagues.
How has your role developed and what are your career ambitions?
Since starting in my role, I have been able to work with the contributors closely, which I really enjoy. I was responsible for launching the Archives Hub community and supporting this as it grows.
In terms of career ambitions, I know I would like to progress, but am unsure what this may look like - possibly product management or more work with communities. I am interested in exploring different skills and learning to do more and seeing where else within Jisc this could take me.
What advice can you give to others wanting to get into this job?
Use your university careers team as much as possible, they are brilliant and have so much valuable experience. They can help to increase your confidence when talking about yourself in a work environment.
Explore volunteering opportunities in a field you are interested in. This was so helpful in developing time management skills and working on projects, as well as within small groups of people.
Think of the things you enjoy doing and work out the skills you'll need. Talking to people and writing involve using communication skills for example. Then look for jobs that highlight these skills and offer the ability to grow them.
