Welcome to crowd-sourced resume review for LIS job hunters!
Please help the job hunter below by using the comment button to offer constructive criticism on her resume. Some guidelines for constructive feedback are here, and the ALA NMRT has brief tips for reviewing resumes here.
This 2 page resume was submitted by a job hunter who says,
This is a resume that I am using for reference and instruction positions.
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Hiring Librarians 
Your résumé is formatted nicely. It’s easy to skim and read and doesn’t present an overwhelming amount of information regarding your skills and qualifications. I wonder, however, if some of the information you’ve provided can be collapsed? For example, under position number 3 (2009-2011, page 1), you indicate that you “processed requests for interlibrary loan…” and “delivered and received electronic documents…” using the ILLiad system. Perhaps items such as these can be combined into a single bullet point to tighten up some of the text? I’d also suggest adding slightly more information about your role in, say, the social media and special projects collaborations. These items really stand out, but there isn’t any indication of how you worked within these collaborations. Also, what were the outcomes of these collaborations or other activities in which you’ve engaged?
Good luck!
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I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your resume format. Like Taylor V. says, it reads easily and gives a good amount of information. The problem, as I see it, is that you come off as rather generic. Your list of activities under your current position might as well be a position description in a job ad.
You need to highlight your most interesting projects, innovations and achievements. And, for the more standard stuff, don’t just say what you did, say what your activities accomplished. “Improved circulation stats through social media promotion”, “Saved money while improving faculty satisfaction through effectively managing collections”, that sort of thing.
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I agree with Taylor and Bill that your resume is formatted well. I also second Bill’s suggestion to combine some of your bullet points regarding ILL.
I don’t think you need the summary of qualifications. Your resume is concise enough that I can tell what your qualifications are at a glance. That’s a good thing! I feel the same way about the skills section and it repeats some of the summary section.
Some of your bullet points could be punchier. For example, under the second position you wrote:
“Managed course reserves for [Employer] faculty by adding, removing, and updating materials as appropriate using ALEPH”
This could be written as “Managed course reserves using ALEPH.”
Another example under the ILL position: “Conducted extensive bibliographic search…” could be condensed down to “Verified citations.”
Similarly, in your current positions instead of “Provide in-person information literacy instruction to [employer] students” say “Deliver (you use provide in the first bullet point) course-integrated information literacy instruction.” I’m assuming your employer is a college or university so you don’t need to mention the students.
If you condense some of your bullet points, you can then expand upon your most interesting projects as Bill suggests without adding length to your resume.
Hope this helps. Best of luck in your job search.
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The format is clean and user-friendly.
The Qualifications and Skills sections are essentially repetitive. Use your marketing savvy to emphasize your emerging technology skills. You may want to tailor your qualifications to suit the type of position you are applying for.
Beyond enumerating your duties, emphasize accomplishments that set you apart from others. An example would be the instructional smartphone apps you created. I would judiciously add a bit more techno babble. For example—for example, what tools do you work with to manage the social media presence; Facebook, Twitter, reddit, etc.? Things like this will set you apart.
Your current position seems to be a good forum to emphasize your knowledge, skills, and abilities. Build up your accomplishments here. Deemphasize your previous positions as they do not seem to be the direction you want your career to go.
As you are applying for instruction and reference positions, think about any formal or informal training you conducted even while in ILL.
I like the inclusion of the volunteer activities as they underscore your interest and abilities in helping folks find their way.
I think you have a lot going for you and wish you success in your job search!
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