I would like to offer a cautionary tale for all of you recent graduates
looking for your "first job".

I spoke to a friend recently who was hiring a Curator of Collections for
a medium-sized history museum, with a collection of about 60,000
objects.  He advertised nationally and got a good cross section of
applicants.  There was also a internal candidate for this position.
While he was reading the resumes, he believed that the internal
candidate would be given a run for her money in obtaining this
position--the resumes were impressive and the applicants seemed
competitive.

That is, until the face-to-face interviews.  The candidates from outside
the institution were, as a group, inarticulate, uninformed, and NOT
impressive.  In fact, a couple of them did not even seem sure what
institution they were interviewing in.  The internal candidate won the
position on her merits, not because she was already known.

No, this was not a sham job search (and I have participated in my share
of them).  An external candidate could have gotten the job if he/she had
gone into the interview and blown the director away.

My advice to those of you who are lucky enough to be invited for an
interview--if you are selected to interview it means that you have met
the minimal qualifications for the job and have enough extra to be worth
a look.  The personal interview is about personal things--are you quick
on your feet?  are you well-informed?  do you have a sense of humor?
are you observant?  All of these things matter.  Managers who are hiring
are looking for individuals who will fit in to their
institutions--people who can come in with a minimum of disruption and
start to work right away.  If they have invited you to interview, to a
certain extent, they are assuming that you know what the job is.  They
want to find out about you in the interview.

Sorry to take so long, but don't go into an interview assuming that your
resume will speak for you.  You have got to speak for yourself!

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
  e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
  Phone:  651-297-7442
  FAX:  651-297-2967