Hypothetically speaking, if I ever land a job interview in this economy, it would be a miracle. If I had to talk about archaeology in Türkiye, this is what I would hypothetically do, and not at all based on what I was instructed to do as homework for a class I’m taking. And if it WAS hypothetically speaking homework for a class, I would explain it kind of informally like it was meant for a blog post because I can’t code-switch via blog post.
If asked about archaeology in Türkiye, at first I would start by summarizing the overall program and its purposes, as well as when I did it and where specifically I was digging. If the miracle job I’m interviewing for is about or something close to archaeology, I’d probably highlight specific artifacts I worked on or found. Since it’s an academic internship, I’d also include the educational parts of the experience I found most important, especially the hands-on learning, documentation, and technology I worked with (bc I loooove working on technology).
I’m 100% not reading off a list of questions on Gmail right now, but if I was, the current question would be about my time and work at AAC and be kind of confused about what it means, so here’s my response to the non-existent question:
If we’re talking about work, I guess I’d talk about what I did quite literally? So saying I worked at the Great Bath, articulating walls and removing ones not original to the room or structure. Or how shifting from the Great Bath to the Acropolis taught me how to adjust my skills based on the work I was doing, finding where I needed extra care as I dug versus when I didn’t and how to tell the difference.
Skills I’ve been able to practice include communication, resourcefulness, leadership, and problem-solving. I found these most used at the great bath, where our supervisor did not always have time to teach or instruct us. When needed, I often represented my team with questions or gave out instructions on what we needed to do before finishing for the day. I tried to balance this by also letting them know I’m actually not in charge. at all. And if they didn’t want to do something, they didn’t have to, and what I said was merely a suggestion because I’m anxious about being annoying. oops. I’ve been able to deepen my eye for detail, teamwork, and usage with technology. When I found that gigantic freaking log, I learned how to work gently with tools I was unfamiliar with (aka I lost my trowel), and accept mistakes I might make as I work. This program involves being with a group of people a lot. I don’t like being with groups often, and prefer to adapt to a new place on my own, so it’s been a journey working with other people. At St. Olaf, I work with technology I usually don’t know how to use, and get to learn how at my own pace. I’ve had fun peeking over the shoulders of my supervisors to learn how the iPads on site are used, and am grateful they’re letting me input data and learn how to, since it’s something I’m interested in. Finally, I’m working on my ability to adapt to new spaces abruptly. I was never good at it at the Shedd (I am still not. The thought of being shoved into the tunnel store is actually pissing me off rn), and this is no different. I hope that eventually, I’ll be able to properly adjust and acquire this skill, but it is the most difficult, I fear.
Overall, I’ve learned so much from this program and my own abilities as a person. (I’m sorry I’ve lowkey thrown away the interview thing, but imagineI’mm saying this in a super formal-business-nonchalant way) I’ve put myself in places where I stand out, or am away from people I know and in situations I’m not used to. I like to joke that when I work, I “black out.” I talk more than I usually do, act in a different way than I usually would, and attempt to connect to others in ways I refuse to do on my own. Here, I’ve learned to build connections by being with people I’m unfamiliar with, such as professors and workers from other universities, and especially the Turkish students. Even though it may not be the same when I’m not on the clock, I know when I’m working, I have people I feel I can trust and turn to when I need it. From them, I learn how to adapt culturally, technical skills for archaeology (hence I’m so good at sweeping, duh), and how I can depend on others and show them they can trust me. If multiple people are working together in one really, really, small trench, why should one person do all the work of levelling and sweeping when people can work together? Yes, I could do both, but if you’re offering the help, why would we not team up? I want to be able to connect to people and teach them things that can happen when we work together.
I’ve been watching a lot of My Little Pony, so I’m sorry if that was cheesy!!