>My instructor several years ago in Museum Marketing at JFK did an informal
>survey asking local museum professionals what they looked for in employees, and
>found that the most prevalent characteristic was backgrounds similar to their
>own. Showing some interest in the interviewer's background may help.


This may indeed help in the hiring process, but again, it may depend on the
nature of the position and who's doing the interviewing.  I know that when I
hired another person for my department recently, I purposely looked for
someone with a DIFFERENT background from my own.  After all, I didn't need
another me.

Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center