Deb and Dan, thanks to both of you for your advice to Colleen -- advice that we all can use or pass along to the job seekers in our lives. And for those starting out, if get yourself a volunteer museum position, then you'll learn what museums really need and you can tailor your job or life experience to match those needs. --Kathie Kathie Gow Curator, Hatfield Historical Museum http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com Oral History Producer http://www.wordspicturesstories.com On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 9:30 PM, Dan Bartlett <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Collen: > > Use as many pages as you need as long as it's relevant information for the > position you are applying to (and all resumes and cover letters should be > tweaked for the position you are applying for). > > But I have this advice for people looking for their first position. I've > been reviewing resumes here at the college for a grant program that places > students into real work experiences in the community and I'm troubled by > students' inability to explain on a resume or in a cover letter just how > working at McDonald's qualifies them for working, say, as a marketing > assistant at a local historical society. Most students seem embarrassed by > these very real work experiences. Your master's degree gives you only the > most basic qualifications for whatever museum job you are after and there > are hundreds of others just like you churned out every year competing for > the same spot. You'd better flaunt every advantage you have. > > Here's what your resume should say about your fast food experience: > > - Taught me how to show up to work on time > - Taught me how to fill multiple roles working on a team > - Taught me that details are important. > - Taught me how important it is for everyone on a team to do their job > well or it affects everyone else on the team. > - Taught me how to smile and be pleasant and say "thanks you" to > customers who didn't deserve it because it was good for the franchise > (professional behavior) > - Taught me how to live within a budget. > - Taught me how NOT to manage people (or maybe you did learn something > if you had a good manager) > - etc. > - etc. > > I've been monitoring this list for almost 15 years and this time of year > there is an inevitable flurry of > "Oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-graduate-and-i-need-a-job-what-do-I--do?" posts. My > advice is that if you're applying to work in a small to mid-sized museum > you ignore everything your college's or university's career counselors tell > you about resumes. You need to be noticed and your personality needs to > shine through. The person reading your resume should say, "I want to meet > this person." You can't do that following the corporate philosophy where > page lengths, job titles, and career paths actually matter. Museums want > flexible, multitasking, problem-solving, innovative, pleasant superstars. > Corporations might not think that working the stock room at Target > qualifies you to be an entry level junior accountant, but the right museum > might think you're the perfect person to work in collections because you > had to pay attention to details in recording the physical placement of > merchandise in storage so the computer inventory system was accurate. > > EVERY position you have ever held has prepared you for whatever job you > are applying for. Dog walker, baby sitter, dishwasher in the college > cafeteria. Your challenge is to figure out how it did and tell the person > reading your resume why it helped make you an awesome person to hire. > > Best, > > Dan > -- > Dan Bartlett > Curator of Exhibits and Education > Instructor of Museum Studies > Logan Museum of Anthropology > Beloit College > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).