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