Shannon,
I hear your frustration! While I have not gone through the application process myself in many years, I have served as an informal coach for a number of applications in the recent past. My assistance has consisted of both opinionated advice (what else!) and actual re-writing of their resumes and cover letters. The applicants I have worked with have all been invited to interview as finalists, and several have been offered the jobs. Following are my suggestions. They are very much in line with Wesley's comments about interviews.
1) Prepare a detailed cover letter that highlights your strengths and experiences. Organize it by specific museum areas of responsibility, such as education, collections management, collections care, exhibition design, historic preservation, fund-raising, administration and management, and so forth. I would expect the letter to be 2-3 pages long. Your list will be customized to you, and your experiences that are relevant to each of the categories may come from a diverse background that is not based entirely upon museum employment. Each category will be about your abilities backed up by your specific accomplishments. For example, "I have organized and led more than a dozen educational seminars attended by over 1,000 people." It does not matter that you did this for a corporate employer (and you don't need to mention this), it is still relevant experience. Make this master cover letter as comprehensive as you can.
For each job application, customize the cover letter to EXACTLY reflect the position requirements and preferences in the job announcement. Do not be afraid to list the exact category headings from the announcement. If there are requirements that are not on your master letter, address these to the best of your ability. If there are categories that you have that do not apply to the position, delete them from the letter, unless you think that their inclusion will strengthen your application. You want the institution to think that you are writing this letter just for their job.
2) In general, your resume expresses your education and relevant employment experiences. You do not have to list everything you have done, and you do not have to account for all of your time since college, if you have an adequate amount of experience. To a somewhat lesser degree (depending upon the type of resume you have prepared), you will customize your resume to the specific job responsibilities and experience being required or preferred in the job announcement.
3) Know thy enemy - well, not exactly. But research the institution before responding to their offer. Visit their web site, and make a physical visit if possible. Evaluate their financial statements. All private nonprofit organizations are required to file an annual IRS 990 form, which are public information. These include extensive information about the financials of the organizations, including revenues and expenses, investments (endowment), names of board members, and salary information. 990s are available online at guidestar.org.
4) If they ask for salary history or salary requirements, do not give a figure. Simply say that you would be happy to discuss this when you are interviewed, or if you are gutsier, when the organization is ready to make you a job offer. In general, you are better off not working for an organization that is bottom fishing for the lowest salary. If the job pays over 50k, you can probably find out what the incumbent is being paid from the organization's 990.
5) Follow up your application with a phone call to verify that they received it. Talk with the head of their search process. Ask if there is anything additional that you can provide them with. Be friendly, helpful and positive. Follow up at appropriate intervals (perhaps in a couple of weeks) if you do not hear anything. Generally, as expressed by previous posts, your contact will be interpreted as interest in the position.
Yes, this process will take time - perhaps several days for a single application. However, the chances of your success increase dramatically if you customize your information to the institution's needs, and a couple of applications with an interview offer is a much better result than dozens of applications with no response. And, yes, there will be jobs that are not a good fit for you, so don't bother responding to these offers.
Every institution and job is different. You need to learn to identify what they are really looking for as critical factors, and convince them that you meet them. Good luck, and don't loose the faith. The correct match will come along.
Marc
---- Shannon Lefebvre <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Chiming in:
>
> Do strengths matter? I thoroughly enjoy doing
> research, laying out exhibit spaces, running retail,
> and giving tours. Classwork included education,
> preservation, art history, landscape, art classes,
> theater, etc.
>
> In fact, right now I volunteer at a local museum,
> researching a 1768 wedding for a Yuletide presentation
> and learning the tour.
>
> Add in a BA in modified history, an MA in History and
> Museum Studies, five internships, two paid part-time
> positions, more
> retail and customer service experience than you can
> shake a stick at, twelve years of teaching
> (uncertified), having worked with special
> needs and all ages, the ability to read several
> languages and hammer straight... and still, I get few
> or no interviews.
>
> Ideally, the job would entail working closely with a
> mentor in a position that allows cross-training.
> Moving is an option: never unpacked from the last
> move, and have purged even more since. Nothing ties
> me to the area I'm currently in, not even a lease.
>
> I suspect that the silence is in part due to
> overqualification, a hard question to answer at an
> interview without sounding desperate. Several
> interviewers have cited overqualification as a reason
> to go with someone else. It may be in part that one
> knows one's skills and inclinations, or field
> overcrowding. Questions that crop up more are:
>
> 1) How do you target a resume when you have held 27
> jobs [no worries, they were up to 4 at a time around
> school] and yet are specialized for a particular
> niche?
>
> 2) Is it better to have a single page resume or CV
> with few details, or to have a longer version that
> emphasizes your accomplishments while working
> elsewhere to pay the bills, AND outside interests?
> What if you also have a portfolio and writing samples?
>
> 3) Is contract work an option? For example, I am very
> good at designing and working with miniatures. One
> eight foot tall, 400 lb model of a meeting house is
> permanent display material. Do websites support this
> entrepeneurial spirit?
>
> 4) Does a certification in teaching actually help your
> odds in the museum field? Are the extra costs worth
> future success or cross-training?
>
> Any answers would be helpful.
>
> Shannon Lefebvre
>
>
>
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