« October 2009 | Main | February 2010 »
November 16, 2009
Art History CV Workshop
With Dr Giuffrida
CVs/Resumes/Cover Letters – all about MARKETING!! (how you arrange the content and present it)
Resumes are short – 2 pages; CV is much more comprehensive – max of 3-4 pages (3 is a good goal at this stage)
Websites and books:
Inside Higher Ed --> insidehighered.com
Mostly free
Good career advise for graduate students and young professionals
Chronicle of Higher Education --> http://chronicle.com
CV Doctor – on homepage – will give you commentary and feedback
-Humanities oriented – not necessarily
********Surviving Your Academic Job Hunt: Advice for Humanities Ph.D.s**********
by Kathryn Hume, $23 on Amazon
Teaching philosophies, etc
First 2/3 is about academic job hunt
Last 1/3 has formatting tools
High-Level Resumes: High-Powered Tactics for High-Earning Professionals
By Marshall A. Brown - $3.70 new on Amazon (NOT a typo)
If you get past title – good tips on how to market yourself
Good for non-profit and museum work
Descriptive personal attributes and active verbs
College Art Association
Careers > Standards and Guidelines – good general information (starting point)
U Of Pennsylvania Career Services
Job Search Advise
Tips and Advise
Examples – comparison
Humanities oriented
Accessible to non-students
Content
Major Categories
Order/wording may change by goal and stage in the field
• Education
- ALWAYS first in Academic field
- For museum or non-profit, work comes first
• Teaching
• Museum Experience (curatorial, research, education, conservation)
- Good heading
- Individual titles tell what you did
- May be paid or unpaid positions (don’t distinguish between them)
- At least a few bullet points of what you did
- If you are involved in grant writing – indicate that you were involved as part of a team
- “Cooperation in preparation for … grant…” – if it was not yet submitted
- Want to know that you’ve had some experience
- Say you can work with adults and kids if going into museum education
• Other Professional Experience
• Grants, Fellowships, Awards
- Don’t put the amount – just the prestige of earning SOMETHING
- List if you earned money to travel to juried paper (separate from papers b/c honor)
- Use the name of the Fellowship!!!
- AVOID ACRONYMS (at least spell out first)
- Teaching Assistantship is just the TA assignment – should go under teaching experience
- Honors on MA Exam
- Nomination – can be listed if significant
- Date – then the title
• Selected Juried Papers (or Conference Papers and Invited Lectures, Public Lectures)
• Publications
- Most recent come first
• Selected Research Travel
• Professional Service
• Professional
Do not use multiple emails and phone numbers
- Make sure your cell phone message is professional
Use personal email that will stay with you
EDUCATION
-Resume – come at the end
-Academic – near the beginning
-Easy to make look hard to read
-Degree on far left, year of completion in column, then List Dorctoral Comprehensive exams Major and minor areas – can list
-Do NOT include GPA or coursework
-Section for coursework if needed for fellowship – usually look at transcripts
Publications
-Try to get into conferences – may publish
-Can turn presented papers into published papers
“Selected Juried Papers” – had to be accepted into
-Note where it was and titles
-Mixture of Bold and Italics works well
-Note date (year)
-Mention if you had a specific job
-Presentation abroad is prestigious
-If your paper title doesn’t hint at what the section title was then add it (usually paper title enough)
Languages
-At the end
-List “English” – especially if you have an ethnic name
-List languages, imply a full comprehension
-If you don’t know fully (put competency in parenthesis)
-“Basic” – doesn’t sound stupid
-Include any ancient languages
Study abroad goes in education
Institution and place with year
TA/RA assignment
-Do not use “TA” – spell out Graduate Teaching Assistant/Instructor
-List as Instructor – if you get to stand up in front of the class and do the teaching
-Presented guest lecture on “title” like an exhibition
-NO COURSE NUMBER!!! Means Nothing outside of school (use title)
If you are an “Instructor of Record”
It is a separate category and should be listed as separate
-Start with how many semesters you have under your belt
-Indicate a range if it changes – list years with commas (don’t need to list fall and spring)
-“Conduct weekly conference sections”
-If you collaborate with curators from another institution
General Questions
•If you help on an exhibition – make another section in
•If you did something else (Another Career)
-Generally – mention as a sentence in cover letter but not in CV or Resume (distracts)
-Personal life history – make you memorable in phone interview – give them something that the CV didn’t tell them
•If you work in a gallery
“OTHER” work experience
Try to use language that sounds closer to the field
•Only bring in technical if the certain computer skills are part of the qualifications
•Special Situations – use technical jargon
Visual Resources department –
-People usually have library and/or art historical background
-List software that you may have used
**Always indicate that you know the computer program that the job specifies
-Museum – TMS – good to indicate if you know
-Those kinds of jobs can include a list of
Web design
-DO NOT indicate higher level technical skills than you actually have!!
-“basic,” “intermediate,” and “advanced”
-Only indicate if it is part of the job description
-You don’t want to scare off the employer – only give them what they ask for
•Nothing High School
If you are on a committee – as grad student – list under professional service
•Don’t list yourself as Union rep – look bad to employers
•No need to distinguish between part time or full time experience
•No need to indicate paid/unpaid internship
NONOs
•Don’t indicate things that you did not do
•Be ABSOLUTELY consistent in formatting
•Serif is hard to read in small (12 point for heading, 11 for information)
•Don’t fully justify – leave white space
•All Titles bolded
•Titles in the same place
•Have people read over and over
Often thrown out if there are typos
•If you send a Resume and a Cover letter to institution you’d like to work for that doesn’t have a posted job opportunity
Include a summary at the beginning – paragraph to tell a bit about yourself
Cover letter thrown away, but Resume will be filed
When they get it later it has the pertinent information
•Post-Doctoral or Fellowship
Might ask for specialized information on teaching philosophy and syllabi
Make up a syllabus to show that you have the knowledge
•Archival research
Can fit under “Selected Research Travel” or “Research Experience”
•List undergraduate awards if you have later information
•Memberships – under Professional Affiliations
CAA or AMA
List
Join the pertinent institution
•Personal research – include in your Cover Letter
Major MA Qualifying paper can go on CV
Recommendation Letters
-Take time to choose people that know you well and have the time
-If they are too busy – the letter will not be good
-Have a conversation first
-Give them as much information as possible
-About the job and your experience
-Don’t assume that they will do the research themselves
-4 – 6 weeks advanced notice
-Remind 2 ½ weeks beforehand
-Ask for a confirmation email that it is sent
-“Friendly reminder checking in to see if …”
-Separate reminder for multiple due dates
Cover Letters
•CUSTOMIZED for every application
•You will be cut if it is not easy to read, confusing, etc
•Need to show that you know how to communicate
•No runons
•Very mapped out
•Strong topic sentences (not creative)
•Hit all points in the job description
First Paragraph
-Short introduction of what you are applying to (Include Title)
-Your experience (short and relevant)
-And your status (where you are in education/career path)
Second Paragraph
-Research job -research interest
-Teaching – teaching experience
-Match the requirements of the job description
Last Paragraph
-Close the deal – why you are a good fit for the job
-Tell them why you are the best for this job
-Don’t be humble!!
-Unnecessary to use grad school letterhead (just your own name)
-2 pages max – academic job or fellowship (tenure track)
Generally 1 page for most jobs
Writing Samples
-Less than 20 pages (inclusive of footnotes, but not images)
-Good if on a single object
-Be aware of using something that uses only ONE method
-Usually a range in a department, but you don’t want to pigeon hole yourself
-What you submit should have 2 – 3 methods (illustrates your knowledge)
- don’t want too much or too specific
Balance traditional and more narrow theoretical analysis
-Don’t just appeal to the person you are working with
*Always ask professors if they know someone at the place you are applying to!! Connections are always beneficial even if they are through someone that is not writing a letter for you.
Posted by bsh30 at 11:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 13, 2009
MA Exam Meeting
November 11, 2009 – Dr Olszewski
Questions will be gathered from all of the faculty (essay questions and images)
Ancient – Dr Niles
Medieval – Dr Olszewski
Ren/Baroque – Dr Olszewski 3-4 questions and Dr Scallen 3-4 questions
Modern – Dr Landau, Dr Helmreich, Dr Adams, Dr Carrier – each will present a few questions
Non-Western – Dr Giuffrida, Dr Petridis
DAY ONE
2 1/2 hours
30 images – 5 minute answers
Answer all 30
6 images in each of 5 areas – equally balanced painting, sculpture, architecture
Graded 0-4 points for each answer
1 point artist title and date, 3 points for discussion
5 lowest scores dropped (because not everyone familiar in all areas)
Artist title and date (don’t need location, except architecture) Some will be anonymous
May not have a specific title – be as precise as possible
Dates – as specific as you can – will vary by item
Explain the importance – in term of significance to period and larger history
If it is not unique or extraordinary – contextualize what makes it fit category (ie: peristyle temple) (Why Last Supper is an important theme)
Can be any image from the history of art
Emphasis on images from the CMA collection and Stokstad Survey book (but not limited to these sources)
ID questions will NOT be any chronological/stylistic order (may repeat a patter or sequence – don’t know what to expect)
If it is something you are unfamiliar with it, try to rationalize and say something about the work – partial answer better than none
Should be able to say something significant about very famous works.
If there is something you are unfamiliar with –> comment to the extent that you can
Visual components might relate to the essay questions the next day
DAY TWO
Also in the 5 areas
Answer 4 questions in 3 areas
(Minimum of 3 areas must be answered)
2 of 4 in area you plan to study in PhD
4 hour exam – 1 hour per essay
Spend first 5-10 minutes in making an outline (use extra blue book) – decide answer before writing
Answer the question as it is asked (give specifics to the answer and then bring in outside material – suggest fluency in the material)
If you are strong in one answer, don’t spend too long on it (will cheat other answers)
Support answer with visual references (artists, images *dates) to show visual fluency
General Information
Both Days in Mather 100 – projection – rearrange tables
Faculty will be present for questions
Blue books provided and shared between faculty in grading
Usually graded within a week
Information will come later in the semester about applying to Case’s PhD program
You have to do well in those answers
High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail
PhD needs at least 2 High Passes
Image ID grade should be above 80 (want to be as high as possible)
2 HP on essays and good slide grade or 3 HP essays and mediocre slide grade = HP overall
(2 HP and 1 LP – problem)
Normal – high grade for image ID is low 90s
Dr Scallen grades images
Other faculty looks at essays
Recommended bibliography?
Visual fluency is the key!! Just keep looking at images
Then move to advanced books (Renaissance = F. Hart)
Then move to monographs
Start thinking in terms of 3 areas (don’t study what you won’t need to know)
Know major monographs
Get a sense of chronology
Impressive if you bring in methodology and historiography
Major authorities in the field should be at your disposal
Impress reader by bringing in different methodology in your essay
If you answer a question quickly – be careful
Difference between undergrad and grad
(Undergrads – say too much; Greaduates – don’t say enough)
Start with the question and then get into extraneous information
Be careful that you don’t speculate or make it clear when you are
Don’t add INCORRECT information!
Won’t mark up the blue book (don’t want to influence if there is a second reader)
Posted by bsh30 at 06:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 09, 2009
Meeting Minutes - November 9, 2009
Attendees: Allison, Colleen, Rosemary, Julie B, Elizabeth S., Joe, Bailey, Bethany, Rachael
Methods Reception
•December 1 - After Methods presentations (approximately: 4:30-6:00 pm)
•Clark 206 or somewhere on campus
•Appetizers and Beverages provided
Registration for Next Semester
•Dr Olszewski is the academic adviser for Graduate students this semester - need to schedule and appointment with him
•There is a form to fill out for Fellowship courses - available online:
http://www.case.edu/provost/gradstudies/forms.html
CV Workshop questions – Monday, Nov 16, 2 pm in Mather 100
•Discussion of major questions for Dr Guiffrida to address at the CV workshop next week
•Answers to questions will be posted following the CV workshop
Upcoming Events
•Tuesday, November 10 – 6:00 pm – Clark 309
Anna Bryzaki – Associate Professor of Art History, University of Kentucky
“Chinese Graffiti: Politics of Visual Culture in Contemporary China”
•Wednesday, November 11 – 1:00 pm – Mather 100 – MA Exam meeting
•Wednesday, November 11 – 7:30 pm – Murch Auditorium – CM Natural History
Patrick McGovern, U of Pennsylvania Museum
“Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer and Extreme Fermented Beverages”
•Thursday, November 12 - 2:00 pm - Mather House 100
Julie Nero - Case PhD Candidate
Dissertation Proposal:
"The Lesbian Monocle"
•Wednesday, November 18 – 6:30 – CMA Recital Hall
Moyna Stanton, CMA Conservator
“Technical Aspects of the Volpini Suite"
•Wednesday, November 18 – 7:30 – CMA Recital Hall
James Housefield -
“Gauguin’s Baudelairean Dream”
•Wednesday, December 2 – 12:30 pm – Recital Hall of CMA
Travers Newton – Case Masters Candidate and CMA Consultant Researcher
“Van Gogh Exhibition Research at the CMA: The Repetition Paintings”
•Monday, December 7 – 4:00 pm – Mandel Center Room 115
Friends of Art
Stephen Knerly, Esq.
“Issues for American Museums Regarding Holocaust Era Looted Art”
•Cleveland Symposium call for papers went out – ONE spot held for a Case student - deadline for submissions is Dec 11
Posted by bsh30 at 07:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 02, 2009
Career Center CV/Resume Workshop
Career Center CV/Resume Workshop
November 2, 2009
Kimberly Paik
216-368-4446
kjp14@case.edu OR kimberly.paik@case.edu
Attendees: Allison, Bailey, Julie B., Colleen, Elizabeth S., Margaret, Virginia, Rachael, and Bethany
Career Center – located in Sears 206, one level down from the Quad entrance
Handouts – slides from the presentation; general template (more available online); tips for networking
What is a Resume/CV?
Summarize work experience and qualifications – first thing seen in an application
Takes time, drafts, many reviews
Marketing tool – sell yourself – look at what skills you want to use to entice prospective employers/schools
Goal => peak their interest to get the interview (not the final say)
First impression of your professional talents
Make sure all grammar and formatting are as perfect as possible
Try to put yourself in the reader’s shoes – make it as easy as possible for them to get key points
If an application asks for x, y, and z skills make sure you emphasize those
Difference between CV and Resume
Length, content and purpose differ
Curriculum Vitae – CV is longer (Resume is 1-2 pages, CV has no limit)
CV is focused for academia – apply for academic/museum position; application for grant; presentation at a conference; annual review for an employer; requirement for membership in many professional societies/organizations
More details go into a CV
- Includes summary of your educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching a research experience, publications, presentations, honors, affiliations and other details
Resumes apply to specific positions outside of academic setting
Basic content:
Name and page number on each page! (include as a footer, with “Hotujac, 2 of 3”)
DO NOT use Word Template (not scanner friendly and spacing issues)
Handout is a skeleton – gets meatier with more content
Double check spelling and grammar!
Use 8 ½ x 11 paper with ½” – 1” margins
Use boldface to highlight information, but be consistent in use
Leave enough white space for someone to read
Use neutral colored paper – higher quality can make a difference in hard copy
Keep it simple! Avoid speckled paper (makes copies less legible)
Laser printer is better quality than ink jet version (better for them to make copies)
Do not staple
How to Grab Attention
Easy to read and logical
First look may be 20 seconds – make skimmer friendly
List is more friendly than a paragraph
Problem Action Result (PAR) statements
Action verb first!
Pair the action with a goal/result/skill developed → show what you learned
Go beyond action (job description) tells about you and adds value
DOs
Format so it is easy to read/skim
Most important information first
Choose strong headings
Focus on result/skills/accomplishments more than duties
Use consistent tense
Write to an outsider
DON’Ts
Beware ERRORS!!!
Have read by friends, family, Professors, Career Services
Do not include personal information beyond name, address, phone (Hurt to have too much info)
Avoid personal pronouns (me, my, I) – keep in sentence fragments
Avoid abbreviations, slang or jargon
Unless generally known to field or common (GPA)
Don’t be vague or poorly focused
No need to label as “CV” or “Resume” at top
No photo!
Salary information is irrelevant
Don’t include the reason you left your last position (can explain in the interview)
Ideas for Categories of Information:
Very personal – will vary from person to person
Identifying information
Summary/Objective – not necessary in CV
Education
Experience (Can split Research and Teaching Experience)
Most relevant information first
Skills
Activities, Honors, Interests
Service
Publications/Presentations
(These are not the only options, feel free to add a category that will highlight your potential)
CV – home and office info if applicable
Summary/Objective
(More for a Resume than a CV)
Short, but difficult to write – 2-3 lines at beginning
First thing after your name
Clear, concise statement describing your skills/experience and express you goal
Give structure
Show what you have to offer for the position
3 ways to focus
- Knowledge, experience, or skills offered
- Job function (position) desired
- Organization type, industry, or field
Tailored to specific job
Education
University and degrees (with graduation date)
Majors and Minors
Honors (if you have enough, you can separate them)
Describe where you are in program
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH
- M.A. Art History, May 2010
- GPA 3.5 / 4.0
The Ohio State University, Columbus OH
- B.A. Art History, May 2008
- Minor in Music
- Studied abroad for 3 weeks in Italy
- GPA 3.8 / 4.0
Variety of ways to separate schools, depending on where you went
No one set method – need to figure out what works best for your information
Highlight what is most important about your experience
Experience
Company, location
Title, dates
- Action + goal/result
- Action + skill developed
Include job title, name of employer/institution, your responsibilities and accomplishments, dates
If you can quantify information it makes it sound stronger
If you quantify – use the number don’t spell it out (stands out more)
If you have a substantial amount of experience in museum, it is ok to label as “Museum Experience” – this is especially important if you want to go into that field
REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Good phrasing, Example:
“Responsibilities included preparing class lectures, homework assignment, and exams”
vs
“Delivered 8 class lectures on composite materials and developed 5 supporting problem sets and a midterm examination.” **More effective
“Developed and implemented a scholarship plan…”
Research Experience Example
Postdoctoral Research: Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2007-present (research advisor: Dr. Stephen H. Smith)
- Developed a quantitative theory of hierarchical structure in ecological systems.
- Analyzed how ecological communities reflect environmental heterogeneity at different scales.
- Completed a numerical study of the foraging behavior with short and long range movement in heterogeneous environments.
Doctoral Research: Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 1999-2004 (research advisor: Dr Jane Advisorname)
- Studied the impact of avian predation on lizards in the eastern Caribbean. Documented the importance of differences or special scale between prey and predators.
- Completed analysis that demonstrates how species interaction can sharpen underlying environmental patterns and how heterogeneous environments can stabilize predator and prey populations.
Undergraduate Honors Research: Department of Biochemistry, Northwestern University, 1995-1999 (research advisor: Dr Sam Jones)
- Investigated primary events of bacterial photosythesis
Teaching Experience
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH
Department of Art History, Teaching Assistant, August 2008-present
- Issues in Medieval Art, Fall 2008
- Issues in the Arts of China, Spring 2009
- Sixteenth Century Italian Art, Fall 2009
Activities, Honors, Interest
Professional Associations
Leadership Roles
Clubs
Include only if active member (expect to be asked about connections)
Professional Associations:
College Art Association, 2007-Present
Etc.
You may also choose to list them as “Memberships”
Awards
Scholarships, Fellowships, Teaching and Research Awards
List title and date
Can be grouped with Honors
Service:
Community service if relevant and substantial
Publications and Presentations
(can be together or separate; when you have enough you may choose to list “selected”)
Good to keep a full list somewhere in case you need it
Could group by content – if you publish in multiple fields
Publications in standard bibliographic form
Presentation includes title, conference and date
Tips For Success:
Best CVs are drafted with particular application in mind.
Think about what the organization is likely to value:
- Quality and quantity of research (achievement and potential)
- Previous experience
- Ways you have ‘added value’ to your current job or department and made your presence felt
- Your education
References:
List on separate page from CV
Talk to at least 3 people (can be more) so they can be ready to write
Bring to the interview
Talk with references FIRST
Keep them informed on what’s going on (If they tell you they will call references, if you have an interview that went well you should tell the reference – send updated copy of CV if necessary – they can look at the job description)
List: name, title, company, address, phone number, email
If reference is not clear – indicate your relationship with the person (id: professor that moved from one institution to another)
Thank you note when done
Example:
Dr. Jane Smith
Department of Art History
Case Western Reserve University
206 Sears
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-368-5555
Career Center Services:
Majority of these available to Alumni
Representative at Career Services who specifically with Alumni
(On campus interview only within 1 year of graduation)
Online tools always available
Review CV/Resume
Monday-Thursday 11 am – 2 pm Walk in hours (no appointment necessary, first come first served)
They can assess and make suggestions
Accenture Career Resource Library
Section for graduate students
Academic Job Search Handbooks
Books on searching for an academic jobs
Non-circulating, but open times to use
Case Career Link
When a company contacts Case about job postings they go here
Access from Career Center Website
Can search for jobs by keyword
Alumni Career Network
Alumni that volunteer who can provide career-related information and guidance
Fill out an application to find a contact
More to learn about a specific career – not a way to get a job, more to learn about a job
Location, title and degree are the easiest searches to find someone to meet with
You give them your CV/Resume and they put you in contact with someone
Phone (or in person) interview where you can ask questions
Employer Interaction Opportunities
Connect with employers through our on campus interviewing program, employer sessions, annual career fairs
On Campus Interview
Practice with a Career Center Employee
Call 216-368-4446 to schedule a mock interview
1 hour appointment
20 minute interview
Tape interview and get feedback on your response
Consulting Hours
Come into the office for quick questions
Website
http://careercenter.case.edu
Links on left side of page
Section specifically for applying to grad school
Internship programs
“Credential Files” – Interfolio service
Create an account with minimal fee
Service where references are uploaded and you choose where the letters go to
Good for handling multiple references
They remain confidential (you cannot read the letters)
If the school you apply to uses a similar service, you can call them and see if this is possible
“My Career” – login
Access databases – free for Case students – quick descriptions
Guides for specific cities – US and Abroad
Posted by bsh30 at 10:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack