Hello Maria, Everyone:
I can speak to a bit of this because I am at the beginning stages of my RIM
career. I am a Records Clerk in a large law firm. A bit of my back story. I
fell into Records Management while working my way through graduate school
(Archives/History dual degree program) as a case filer. I worked with
attorneys to get their files in order - putting pleadings in files,
checking for duplicates, organizing stacks of paper that piled up on desks.
I have now been in a job for a year and a half where I do more process and
life-cycle management.
*What education, training, and/or special software is necessary for this
kind of job?*
A library science degree is useful. However, I know a lot of folks who
entered the RIM profession as file clerks, records specialists, or the
like. They learned the trade and advanced through ARMA and on the job
training. However, they all had tremendous problem-solving, management, and
relationship-building skills.
*Describe a typical day including major responsibilities and the kinds of
problems you deal with?*
A lot of what I deal with in the legal environment is dealing with access
and end of life-cycle issues. What are we storing? Where? How are we making
these processes as efficient as we can?
The other big part is the customer service aspect - keeping what we do
relevant to the end-user. This includes training users, resolving issues
that they have, and dealing with the conflicts that arise (ethical walls,
legal hold - why can't I see that file???).
*What do you like and what don’t you like about records management?*
I enjoy the fact that I get to know a lot of different people. I cannot do
my job unless I can interface with people who I probably would not be
friends with outside of work. I quite enjoy the problem solving - for
interpersonal issues, process management, and compliance issues, et cetera.
*What are the typical entry level positions in this field?*
It is very hands-on - filing documents in folders, organizing case files,
etc. A lot of what I deal with is operational management of the records in
our firm. I don't know if my experience is typical, but it provided a solid
understanding of how the end-users in my environment operate and the
challenges to keeping reliable, authentic, compliant records.
I hope that this helps you in your life-decisions. Please contact me
off-list if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Abraham
--
Abraham D. Miller
MA History
MSLIS
443-386-5697
Boston, Mass.
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