We chose this reader for the CV Doctor because she is in a position similar to many humanities Ph.D.'s. In an e-mail message to us she wrote, “Amid all the publicity about the irrelevance of the humanities in the current economic climate, as an art historian I am one of those lucky souls searching for both academic and nonacademic jobs.” Lucy is in the final year of her program, and focuses on early modern Asian art. She is applying for tenure-track faculty posts at small teaching universities, and for postdoctoral fellowships at large research universities. Outside of academe, she is looking for museum, media, education, and other arts-related jobs that would make specific use of her Chinese language skills and humanities background.
Although we have a few suggestions, Lucy’s CV is quite strong. Her résumé, however, needs some modifications. For her nonacademic job search, we would recommend that she tweak her résumé for each type of position she’s applying for, and take the time to provide a more substantial description of the work she’s done.
Lucy Scholar
lscholar@provider.com
www.lucyscholar.com (1)
123 Main Street City, ST 12345 United States +1 234 555 6789
1A Central Close City, AB1 2DC United Kingdom +44 (0) 2345 678 910
Education (2)
| X University | City, ST |
| Ph.D., History of Art and Architecture (China specialization) | Expected May 2010 |
| A.M., History of Art and Architecture (China specialization) | March 2005 |
| Y College | City,ST |
| A.B., Asian and Middle Eastern studies (China concentration); minor in art history | 2003 |
| GPA 3.82, Magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Presidential Scholar with High Honors |
Awarded Wing-Tsit Chan Prize for best thesis in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies |
Selected Fellowships and Awards (3)
| Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellowship, Y Research Institute | 2009 |
| Nominee, Award for Exceptional Advising and Counseling | 2008 |
| Nominee, Joseph R. Smith Memorial Teaching Prize | 2008 |
Blakemore Freeman Fellowship for Advanced Asian Language Study (Mandarin) | 2005-2007 |
Professional Experience (4)
| Co-Editor and Social Media Director, Asia Art Journal | Summer 2009-present |
Co-edited digital journal on modern and contemporary Asian art. Designed and implemented social-media strategy. |
| Instructor, Z University studies program, Beijing | Autumn 2008, Autumn 2006 |
Designed and taught original seminars covering monuments of Chinese visual culture. |
| Head Teaching Fellow, X University | Autumn 2007, Spring 2008 |
Coordinated all logistics for courses on Japanese art, maintained course Web sites, and taught two discussion sections. |
| Research Director, Laura B. Whitman Fine Arts Advisory, New York | 2007-2008 |
Directed and conducted research specializing in East Asian art connoisseurship and the global art market |
| Co-President, Y Club of China, Beijing | 2006-2007 |
Coordinated regular events and digital database to connect current and former students living in China. |
| Graduate Coordinator, East Asian Art History Seminar, X University | 2004-2005 |
Coordinated logistics and electronic media. Designed, organized, and presented at international symposium. |
| Research Assistant, Chinese Works of Art, Christie’s Inc., New York | Spring/Summer 2002 |
Drafted catalog entries, supervised floor attendants, and resolved client inquiries for fall 2002 sales. |
| Chinese Art Intern, Museum of Art, Y College | Summer 2001 |
| Worked independently to correct and unify cataloging for collections of ancient and medieval Chinese art. |
Skills
Languages: Fluent in Mandarin Chinese; functional knowledge of French and Spanish
Software: Microsoft Office Suite, Wenlin, social media, digital photography
Communication: Delivered extensive professional presentations and lectures (list available upon request) (5)
Comments:
1. Lucy’s Web site focuses on her academic interests. But she may need to broaden her description of her interests if she finds herself applying mainly for nonacademic positions. Return to résumé.
2. Lucy rightly minimizes her graduate education on her résumé. She does have a good deal of professional experience, however, and may want to put the Professional Experience section at the top of her résumé as she applies for nonacademic positions. That will call employers’ attention to her wide-ranging experience, rather than to her Ph.D., which is rarely a necessary qualification for nonacademic posts. Return to résumé.
3. Lucy also minimizes her Selected Fellowships and Awards section. Again, for some types of nonacademic positions, she might put this section toward the bottom of her résumé rather than at the top. Return to résumé.
4. Although Lucy’s résumé is generally good, it’s her Professional Experience section that is most problematic. It seems to us that she’s trying to create a good, general résumé that can be used for many types of jobs. But in doing so, she fails to convey the richness of her experience. Like many people, she will need to tailor the Experience section to particular career opportunities. For curatorial positions, she will need to emphasize her research interests and exhibition experience (The College Art Association has a useful guide on the CV’s of curators). For museum-education positions, she’ll want to emphasize her teaching experience. For other positions, she may want to highlight her writing and editing skills, or a particular area of her expertise, such as her familiarity with China. She might even give specific headings to her experience (for example, Writing and Editing Experience) to emphasize certain skill sets or types of positions. Lucy might also include an entry that treats her dissertation and research like a job, and uses bullet points to list the different tasks that formed the basis of her work. Return to résumé.
5. Listing her communication skills in this way really hides them. She should also have bullet points under relevant positions that highlight where and how she’s used the skills. Return to résumé.