Good on you Dennis,
I believe that those of us who have jobs can forget so easily the difficulty
of actually acquiring the job!   I sent out many letters and I phoned, and
phoned and phoned until they begged me to stop phoning ..... but I didn't
and eventually it paid off.   I have now been in the business for 20 years
and as the "employer" I now feel it is my responsibility to take note of all
applications and if we don't have anything then maybe I know of something
coming up and the applicant can be re-directed.  My advise to you, for what
it's worth, is be persistent with the place(s) you really want to work and I
bet it'll pay off for you.
Good Luck.

Carol E. Mayer
Curator
UBC Museum of Anthropology
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
At 10:14 PM 6/5/96 -0400, you wrote:
>On June 3 Helen Glazer, Exhibitions Director, Goucher College wrote:
>
>"I occasionally get letters in the mail with resumes from recent graduates
>[...] asking if positions are available. They all get a boilerplate letter
>saying, no, and there will be none in the forseeable future.
>I suppose the theory is that I might read over the resume and tuck it
>away, or pass it on to someone else, but I wouldn't pass along a resume
>from someone I don't know. I can't imagine anything resulting from this
>mass mailing approach..."
>
>
>NO, the "theory" is that you might deign to show a modicum of respect for
>a recent college graduate by actually taking a moment to seriously
>consider their resume should a position be available. Apparently the only
>way anyone gets a position in your institution is to know you... hardly a
>diverse pool of applicants!
>
>As a graduate student in Museum Studies at NYU, I have taken both
>approaches- responding to the few and far between ads, as well as sent
>resumes cold. And in fact, I've gotten more interviews from exhibition
>design firms and museums via the "cold" mailings than via the ads. All I
>can say is thank goodness not everyone takes the same elitist attitude you
>do... I find your comments insulting to those of us who invest our time,
>and hard work, not to mention thousands of dollars in grad school (or even
>undergrad) only to have their resumes ignored by someone who thinks they
>PERSONALLY know everyone who might be qualified for their institution.
>
>Finally, for the many grad students who receive this list, I can say from
>personal experience that sending "cold" resumes can generate results.
>While I happened to find a full-time position by responding to a posting,
>my fiancee found a position at the Whitney Museum here in NYC with "cold"
>resume... good thing she didn't apply to Goucher College!
>
>
>Dennis Kois
>MA Program in Museum Studies
>New York University
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>
>