SLIG 2022 Sponsor Highlight: AncestryProGenealogists

Janell Esplin, Talent Acquisition Manager with Ancestry, and a panel of four staff members answered SLIG participants' questions on Thursday about applying to and working for AncestryProGenealogists.

Highlights from questions and answers included:

• Interested and qualified researchers are invited to apply with AncestryProGenealogists even if they are not certified or accredited. Although credentialing is valued, applicants should emphasize their professional experience both in and out of genealogy.
• Applicants are encouraged to present themselves honestly in their applications and interviews. Don't oversell your research or language abilities.
• Managers are looking for persons who have sound project and time management skills and the ability to work well with others, in addition to research skills.
• One good way to get your foot in the door with AncestryProGenealogists is by becoming part of their contractor database of researchers who might be contacted to pull records locally.

Information about current openings and application procedures can be found at https://www.progenealogists.com/careers.

Janell Esplin can be contacted at janesplin@ancestry.com.

We thank Janell and the panel members from AncestryProGenealogists for taking the time to meet and talk with SLIG participants. A special recognition also goes to AncestryProGenealogists for their ongoing support of SLIG overall, and this year's sponsorship of the Military course.

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Janell Esplin is Talent Acquisition Manager at Ancestry, leading a team of recruiters who actively support Ancestry's Content, Family History Business, DNA Science and Operations, Legal and Member Services. She has brought over 75 genealogists into the Ancestry family and over 200 other persons into other openings across the organization. She has a passion for supporting her team and business partners to ensure that candidates have a great experience working with Ancestry. Before joining the Ancestry family, Janell was a recreation director in the human services field. Janell holds a bachelor's degree in behavioral sciences: psychology from Utah Valley University.

AncestryProGenealogists panel members:

• Deena Darst: Research Team Manager (specializing in Heir/Forensic research)
• Noah Lapidus: Genealogist (specializing in Souther African-American research)
• Brian Schellenberg: Research Manager (specializing in German research)
• Margaret Crymes: Research Manager (specializing in United Kingdom research)

Workshop Highlight: Resume Building - on paper AND LinkedIn

Resume Building and Digital Presence

Janell Esplin

This workshop will dive into two aspects of building your professional resume – the one on paper AND your presence on LinkedIn.

In the first part of the workshop, we will discuss your professional genealogical resume. We will cover what counts as professional work and what doesn't. Our main focus is making you look good on paper. We will discuss how to present what you have done in genealogical research to show your research skills. At the end of the session, you should be well on your way to having a presentable resume to submit to a company.

The second part of the workshop will discuss your digital presence, focusing on LinkedIn. We will discuss why you should have a LinkedIn profile and how that can help you in your professional genealogical research career. 

Pre-requisites: Please come to this workshop with an up to date resume and with a LinkedIn profile created. (You might have to reset your password. Please do that before you attend.)

Days/times: This workshop is offered on Thursday, January 21, 2021. Two sessions are available from which to choose: 8:30 am to 12:00 noon, and 1:30 to 5:00 pm Mountain Standard Time.

Registration is open to anyone currently registered for SLIG 2021 or the SLIG Academy for Professionals 2021. See additional details about SLIG Extended events at slig.ugagenealogy.org. 

Janell Esplin

Janell is Talent Acquisition Manager at Ancestry. She leads a team of recruiters who actively support Ancestry’s Content, Emerging Business, DNA Operations and Member Services. She has been in the Talent Acquisition space for 5 years. She has brought over 50 genealogists to the Ancestry family and over 160 other openings across the organization. She has a passion for supporting her team and business partners to ensure that candidates have a great experience when working with Ancestry. 

Janell loves to help candidates find the right role at an amazing company, Ancestry. Prior to joining the Ancestry family, Janell was a Recreation Director in the human services field. Janell has a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences: Psychology from Utah Valley University. Janell currently serves on the Human Rights Community for a local residential facility, where she services as Chairman. She is an avid soccer fan and in her spare time loves to read and spend time with her family.

SLIG Extended 2021: Workshops

We are pleased to announce the technical and professional workshops to be offered during SLIG 2021 Extended. We have selected a handful of our most popular topics over the past few years, along with some new ones, and are offering multiple sessions to hopefully accommodate demand.

Each workshop will be taught with periods of instruction followed by time to practice the skills and ask questions. Workshops last 3.5 hours and will include a short break. They will be delivered via Zoom on Tuesday, January 19, and Thursday, January 21, 2021.

Registration is open to anyone attending SLIG or the SLIG Academy for Professionals in 2021 and opens Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 12:00 noon Mountain Time at sligregistration.ugagenealogy.org.

Please review the schedule published below or on the website prior to registration.

Note: Sponsored events will be announced separately and will not require registration to attend.

Organize Your Research and Writing with Scrivener

Kimberly Powell

This hands-on workshop will teach you how to utilize Scrivener to help plan, organize, write, and publish your family research. We’re going to walk through setting up your first Scrivener project through demonstrations interspersed with implementation periods and the chance to ask questions. Make 2021 the year you finally get your research organized with everything cross-referenced and available at your fingertips. We’ll also get you started on the path of writing as you go! 

Pre-requisites: Students should have Scrivener (either Mac OS or Windows) installed and working on their computer prior to the workshop. A free 30-day trial of Scrivener (30 days of actual use) is available; download instructions will be sent after registration. 

Tools for Analyzing & Visualizing Family History and DNA Networks

Kimberly Powell

Network analysis and visualization—commonly used in areas such as social media analysis, biology/medicine, and business data analytics—offers exciting possibilities for exploring ancestral connections and making sense of DNA matches. Join us as we explore the basics of network analysis, including the ways that software can be utilized to explore and better visualize relationships, connections, and clusters (networks, FAN clubs) in our family history and DNA data. Through short demos followed by implementation periods, we’ll practice using the free, open-source Gephi software to create a cluster network from your own documentary or DNA data. 

Pre-requisites: Students should have Gephi (free; available for Mac OS, Windows, or Linux) installed and working on their computer prior to the workshop. Instructions will be sent after registration. Gephi can be fairly computer resource-intensive, as is Zoom, so while you should be able to run both simultaneously on the same computer, having a second computer or tablet available for Zoom is ideal. If you don’t want to actually try the software yourself and prefer to watch and follow along, you’re also welcome! We’re also going to discuss how to create and organize a spreadsheet to collect data for future network analysis which will also serve as an alternative activity to use for the implementation periods.

Using Google's MyMaps as a Research and Analysis Tool

Cari A. Taplin, CG

Learn to use Google's MyMaps as a research and analysis tool including how to create custom maps, tips for genealogical applications, and real-life examples. This workshop includes interactive in-class exercises to walk students through the creation of custom maps, drawing shapes, dropping and labeling pins, measurement tools, adding photos, and more.

Pre-requisites: Please create a Google account and/or know your login information prior to class. We will not have time to go over how to set up an account in class. This is the page to sign up for a new account: https://accounts.google.com. The process is simple. You can read about it here: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/56256?hl=en.

Resume Building and Digital Presence

Janell Esplin

In this session, we will discuss your professional genealogical resume. We will cover what counts as professional work and what doesn't. Our main focus is making you look good on paper. We will discuss how to present what you have done in genealogical research to show your research skills. At the end of this session, you should be well on your way to having a presentable resume, to submit to a company. In the second part of this session, we will discuss your digital presence, focusing on LinkedIn. We will discuss why you should have a LinkedIn profile and how that can help you in your professional genealogical research career.

Pre-requisites: Please come to this session with an up-to-date resume and with a LinkedIn profile created. (You might have to reset your password. Please do that before you come to this session with that already done.)

Get Your Life Back: Organizational Tools for the Professional Genealogist

Jessica M. Taylor

This workshop will dive into tools to help you balance your work life AND succeed as a professional genealogist. We’ll discuss scheduling and life balance tools, communication tools, project management, to-do lists, and more. Our focus will be less on the organization of genealogy documents and more on the management of everything else related to your genealogy career. 

Land Your Dream Job: Preparing to Apply for Professional Genealogy Positions

Elly Catmull and Christy Fillerup

Real-life advice on how to be hired by and succeed at a professional genealogy firm. We'll help you assess the skills you have and identify which areas to strengthen. We'll go over education and training options–what is the best path to a genealogy career? We'll deep dive into what makes a great cover letter and resume using your real-life examples. We'll help you choose the best sample reports to showcase your skills. You'll have an opportunity to take a sample research test and even practice interviewing. By the end of the workshop, you'll know what to expect from the interview process and we hope you'll feel confident and ready to pursue your genealogy career!

Pre-requisites: Please come prepared with a working draft copy of your cover letter and resume. Please also have one or two sample reports handy, if you have them. We'll send attendees a short research test to take before the workshop.

SCHEDULE:

SLIG Extended Technical and Professional Workshops
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
8:30 - 12:00 pm	Organize Your Research and Writing with Scrivener (Kimberly Powell)	Using Google My Maps as a Research and Analysis Tool (Cari Taplin)	Land Your Dream Job: Preparing to Apply for Professional Genealogy Positions  (Elly Catmull and Christy Fillerup)
1:30 - 5:00 pm	Tools for Analyzing & Visualizing Family History and DNA Networks  (Kimberly Powell)	Using Google My Maps as a Research and Analysis Tool (Cari Taplin)	Land Your Dream Job: Preparing to Apply for Professional Genealogy Positions  (Elly Catmull and Christy Fillerup)
Thursday, January 21, 2021
8:30 - 12:00 pm	Resume Building and Digital Presence  (Janell Esplin)	Get Your Life Back: Organizational Tools for the Professional Genealogist (Jessica Taylor)	Tools for Analyzing & Visualizing Family History and DNA Networks  (Kimberly Powell)
1:30 - 5:00 pm	Resume Building and Digital Presence  (Janell Esplin)	Get Your Life Back: Organizational Tools for the Professional Genealogist (Jessica Taylor)	Organize Your Research and Writing with Scrivener (Kimberly Powell)