Resumes/Cover Letters

First, please consult Skidmore’s Career Services website, where you can find many excellent and helpful links which stress the importance of things like correct spelling of the potential employer’s name; correct contact information; clear writing style; no typos, etc.

Because you are an art history major, prospective employers will assume you possess a higher degree of visual literacy and sensitivity than other candidates. Therefore, your résumé and job letter need to look especially good. Please do not use “fancy” (colored, printed with clouds, etc.) paper, but do use paper of a decent stock. Use the same paper, font (not an idiosyncratic one), and point size in both résumé and letter – you’re seeking visual consistency. Keep your margins fairly large, avoid dense blocks of texts, and use bullets to identify your key points.

RÉSUMÉS

• Depending on the job, it can be helpful on your résumé to list the specific AH (and related) classes that you have taken. We offer an unusually wide range of classes; this may be a key opportunity to convince the employer of the range and depth of your knowledge.
• If you have completed a significant independent research project you may want to consider listing this as an accomplishment on your résumé. You would include the kinds of research skills you developed and potentially the kinds of questions you were asking.
• If you have interned or even volunteered at a relevant arts institution, be sure to list this on your résumé.
• You may also want to list language skills and foreign travel, IF RELEVANT.

JOB LETTERS

There are a number of issues you may want to address in your letter:

• You have been educated in an unusually vibrant arts community
• Our undergraduate studio program is highly ranked
• You have regular access to art exhibits through the Case Gallery, Schick Gallery, and the Tang
• Artists of a national and international caliber regularly lecture at Skidmore
• You have had regular access to objects (in the Tang, installing in Case Gallery, or perhaps at area collections)

Please remember – only list information that seems relevant to the job you’re seeking, and be sure to be accurate.