How ARA Membership can improve your career prospects
ARA Membership can improve your career prospects through Professional Registration, training and learning resources, acquiring additional skills through volunteering, creating a great network across the sector, providing opportunities to publish articles and other content to enhance your professional reputation. Our communications keep you up to date with all the latest developments and offer opportunities to connect with others who can help you in your career. We also offer a free CV review if you are looking for work or to move jobs.
Professional Registration
Professional Registration can help you progress your career to the next level by becoming ARA qualified. ARA professional registration is a key milestone in your career. It demonstrates to employers, clients, peers, related professions and the public that you have met the highest standards of knowledge and competence set by the ARA. It shows you are committed to maintaining that competence through continuing professional development and reflective practice. Professional Registration provides an independent validation by the ARA of your professional practice, experience and development.
Training and Learning Resources
ARA offers core training on a variety of subjects to complement that provided by Sections, Regions and Nations.
A growing suite of online learning resources is available to members in the member only resource hub.
Reports, guidance and technical notes are also available to ARA Members.
Partner organisations offer discounted (and free) courses and training for ARA Members.
The website also hosts a range of blogs and articles sharing career advice and information from a range of individuals across a number of professional contexts. You can find the Professional Registration Blog here.
Creating a professional network
Through ARA’s Specialist Groups and Sections and our Regional and National groups you can network with colleagues to share and gain knowledge and advice. Groups also offer access to training as well as opportunities to informal peer and mentor support. You can build on the success of others and share best practice ideas. Our Section for New Professionals offers tailored support to those entering the profession and who are in their first few years of practice.
Continued networking will enable you to continue to learn and develop your career. in ways that best suit you/your circumstances. There are many benefits to belonging to ARA and you can tailor these to suit your current situation and as you expand your involvement in Archives you will find your ARA membership grows with you.
Our core training offer and conference also offer opportunities to grow your own professional network through ARA, connecting with others and being part of a wider profession.
Enhance your professional reputation
There are several ways in which you can enhance your professional reputation (and promote your service or organisation).
Writing an article for ARC Magazine puts you and your work in front of a wide range of recordkeeping sector professionals and through our back issue repository on Townsweb Past View your work can be seen by a much wider audience.
Writing an article for Archives and Records our academic journal published by Taylor & Francis - this is the top rated journal for the recordkeeping sector.
Speaking at our annual conference or providing your expertise for webinars and other training events.
Winning one of our prestigious awards - each year recordkeeping professionals are acknowledged through a number of different awards.
Serving on the ARA Board
Volunteering as editor or joint-editor for one of our publications
Gain New Skills
As well as more formal training and learning resources aimed at developing skills specific to the recordkeeping sector you can also gain skills that will help you further your career and that are transferable into new areas of work - management skills such as budgeting, chairing meetings, facilitating workshops, project and team management and working with websites, social media and other communications channels.
Members who volunteer with ARA get the most out of their membership.
Each active Region, Nation, Section or Group has a committee structure that includes Chair, Treasurer and Secretary - many also have Training Officers, Communications Officers and some have more specialised roles.
Experience gained from these roles will be a valuable addition to your CV.
By volunteering for an officer role either on the ARA Board or on a regional, national or section committee you can:
develop transferable leadership skills and experience to help your career development.
widen your professional knowledge and sector network
improve your understanding of key issues
gain valuable experience in leadership, management and governance
contribute to the development of your chosen profession and give something back
For our ARA Board members we provide dedicated training on how to become and remain an effective Board member and charity trustee. Region, Nation and Section officers are supported via the Officer Forum and on a one-to-one basis by ARA Staff.
Support from Peers and ARA Staff
When you are a member of ARA you are a member of a supportive community of professionals.
ARA members who are going through the Professional Registration programme have a formal mentor to help them with the process - these mentors often help mentor on other aspects of a member’s career.
The Section for New Professionals has a Peer Pals informal support scheme - matching people in similar roles who are in the first few years of their career.
As a volunteer with ARA you can call on other members of the team you are working in for help and support.
ARA staff are also available to offer one-to-one support on a variety of issues. It can be informal support - just helping you think something through, or we can step in as a representative to help you if you think your job or service are under threat. Chris Sheridan, our Head of Professional Standards and Development offers informal job and careers guidance.
Support for job seekers
ARA Members looking to find or change jobs can get a free CV review.
ARC Recruitment is a paid for job advertising publication and ARA Members receive it straight to their inboxes.
Financial Support for training, conferences and research
ARA Career Development and Support Fund
ARA Conference Bursaries (usually at least 11 worth £7645 in 2023)
Cost of Living Support for Member Fees - supporting our members who have been hit hardest by the cost of living so that they can continue with their membership
Cost of Living Training Support - supporting our members with the cost of paid for training if they are struggling due to the cost of living crisis.
International Bursaries - ARA members may apply for bursaries to support:
attendance at international conferences
training which will assist members in establishing international networks and enable them to take advantage of the global workplace
members carrying out international roles
international projects
CPD Fund
DPC grant opportunities and organisational membership
Free membership and support for apprentices and those considering an apprenticeship
ARA Research and Advocacy fund - The ARA research and advocacy fund aims to support projects within the archives and records sector which:
Improve and widen education, training and continued professional development
Develop and spread guidance on standards for archive-related working
Investigate and develop improved methods for administering, preserving and making archives accessible
Gather and disseminate information on archives and archive-related operations
Advocates to stakeholders, policy makers and the public the importance of the preservation and provision of appropriate access to records and archives
Stay up to date with the WHOLE sector with our publications
ARA Today - our monthly bulletin keeps you up to date with events, opportunities, funding, grants and awards, useful reports and much more. Members get this direct to their inbox on the first Wednesday of the month. Non-members get a digest version 3 or 4 days later.
Conservation Today - is a quarterly bulletin from our Preservation and Conservation Group
ARC Magazine - is our bi-monthly magazine featuring news and information and a range of features from thought leaders and sector professionals from around the world. Members get this direct to their inbox in the middle of the month it is published. Non-members can access issues 6 months after publication date.
Archives and Records is the journal of the ARA. It is issued three times a year to ARA members and contains topical research and articles relevant to archivists, archive conservators and records managers, as well as those involved in the study and interpretation of archives. The journal is published by Taylor & Francis and all members have access to online issues and the online back catalogue. Individual members can opt to receive the hard copy journal by post.
As a member you also get access to five other journals published by Taylor & Francis. Selected annually by the ARA this years additional journals are:
Journal of Web Librarianship
Library Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services
Museum Management & Curatorship
International Journal of Heritage Studies
Heritage & Society
The subscription costs for these journals is over £500 per year making this a great benefit for members.