I'm looking for temporary Walking Tour Guide roles in Salem, MA. I prefer positions with a focus on history and education, and I'm open to training opportunities. My availability is for part-time work during the walking tour season.

Okay, I've searched for temporary Walking Tour Guide roles in Salem, MA, focusing on history and education, with available training opportunities, specifically for part-time positions during the walking tour season. I found 12 positions that match your criteria.

Walking Tour Guide

Salem, MA

Temporary

Entry

Part Time

Can you help me to analyze the job description and company culture?

Sure. Here's the analysis:

Job Analysis:

The Walking Tour Guide role at the Peabody Essex Museum fundamentally seeks a charismatic and knowledgeable individual to facilitate engaging and educational experiences for visitors in Salem. This position emphasizes not only the delivery of accurate historical information but also the creation of a captivating narrative that brings the city’s rich architecture and history to life. Primary responsibilities will encompass leading 60-90 minute tours, managing group dynamics, ensuring participant safety, and processing admissions. It is essential for the guide to possess strong public speaking skills and an enthusiasm for storytelling, as the role hinges on the ability to convey information in an entertaining manner. Challenges will likely include managing diverse audiences, handling potential disruptions during tours, and adapting the presentation style to different group sizes and demographics. Success will be defined by the guide's ability to engage visitors, receive positive feedback, and significantly contribute to PEM’s reputation as a key educational resource in Salem, especially in the peak tourist season. This role serves as both an ambassador for the museum and a facilitator of public learning, requiring not just knowledge, but a genuine passion for sharing that knowledge with diverse audiences.

Company Analysis:

The Peabody Essex Museum, established in 1799, stands as a significant player in the American art museum landscape, celebrated for its historical underpinnings and contemporary growth trajectory. As a museum that has undergone spectacular transformations in recent decades, PEM is focused on expanding its outreach and engaging a global audience through exhibitions and educational programs. Its commitment to cultural and financial stability showcases a forward-looking strategy that likely permeates its work environment, favoring innovation and creativity. The culture at PEM seems to value inclusivity and community engagement, as evidenced by its recruitment efforts to embrace a diverse pool of talent. This environment suggests that the Walking Tour Guide not only needs to possess individual capabilities but also a willingness to integrate into a collaborative and dynamic team working towards shared educational goals. Given that this role is situated within a broader framework of a museum undergoing continuous expansion and active community engagement, a guide's contributions will align directly with PEM's mission to connect and educate the public. This seasonal position offers the opportunity to build relationships with patrons and support the museum’s increasing focus on educational initiatives while thriving in a historically rich context.

Mock up some interview questions based on the job description.

Absolutely. Here are some mock interview questions that could come up:

Tell me about a time when you had to convey complex information in an engaging way to an audience. What approach did you take?
Describe a challenging group dynamic you experienced while leading a tour or presentation. How did you manage it?
Can you share an experience in which you had to adapt your communication style to suit different audiences?
What motivated you to apply for the Walking Tour Guide position at PEM, and how does your background align with our mission?
How would you approach leading a tour for a group with varying levels of interest in the subject matter?
What methods would you use to memorize the tour script effectively while ensuring it feels natural during delivery?
Imagine you are leading a tour and a participant asks a question about a historical detail you’re unsure of. How would you handle this situation?
As a guide, safety is paramount. How would you ensure the safety of your group while navigating Salem's historical sites?
If a rainstorm suddenly disrupted a scheduled outdoor tour, how would you adapt your plans to still provide a positive experience for customers?
Why do you believe understanding PEM's collections and the history of Salem is important for a Walking Tour Guide?
What role do you think storytelling plays in enhancing the visitor experience in a museum setting?
How do you envision contributing to the mission and values of PEM as a Walking Tour Guide?
What are your thoughts on the importance of inclusivity in the museum experience, and how would you promote it during your tours?
How can the Walking Tour Guide position help you grow in your career within the cultural and educational sector?
What questions do you have for us about the Walking Tour Guide role or PEM's plans for the upcoming season?

Job Details

Overview Company

Tour Guide

$19/h-$19.5/h

Peabody Essex Museum

24 days ago

Highlight

OnsitePart-timeEntry

Summary

Peabody Essex Museum is seeking a Walking Tour Guide in Salem, MA. The role involves leading informative and entertaining tours around Salem, focusing on the history and architecture associated with the Peabody Essex Museum.

About the Role

As a Walking Tour Guide, you will lead up to four, 60-90 minute tours per day, walking 1-3 miles per tour. Responsibilities include presenting a memorized script, handling admission transactions, customer check-ins, providing daily reporting, and ensuring group safety. A 3-4 week training is required prior to conducting tours.

About You

Required:

Excellent speaking skills.
Interest in history and education.
Ability to manage groups and navigate varied subject matter.

Preferred:

Experience with tour guiding, acting, public speaking, or storytelling.
Knowledge of the Tessitura database.
First Aid certification.

Peabody Essex Museum

Founded in 1799 in Salem, Massachusetts, 15 miles from Boston, the Peabody Essex Museum is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States. Now among the top 8% of American art museums, PEM is also one of the nation’s fastest growing art museums and operates on a global stage in terms of networks, partners, and patronage.

PEM has achieved unprecedented growth over the past two decades. In 2003, PEM completed one of the most striking museum transformations in American history, including exponential growth of the operating budget and the addition of over 250,000 square feet of new and renovated gallery and public spaces. This includes 26,000 square feet of changing exhibition galleries and 55,000 square feet of galleries devoted to collection installations. In 2011, the museum announced a comprehensive and singular advancement campaign for $650M. The campaign focuses on increasing an already healthy endowment to support an expanded exhibition program; programmatic initiatives ranging from the interpretive to the digital and educational; global leadership initiatives; and an institutional culture of creativity, all in concert with fiscal stability and sound management, based on annual budget of$ 31 million.

PEM is adding a 40,000 square-foot wing scheduled to open in summer 2019. It will include 15,000 square feet of galleries for collection installations and additional public and educational spaces. The museum is also developing a 110,000 square-foot offsite collection center for the care and study of the museum’s collection of more than 1 million works. Between 2017 and 2022, PEM will develop new collection installations museum-wide, based on innovative experience, interpretation and design strategies that reflect the museum’s commitment to drawing on multiple fields of inquiry, including neuroscience.

Annually, the museum welcomes 250,000 people. It employs 250 staff and engages over 110 docent guides in support of PEM’s educational mission.

Salem, MA