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,
I am currently working as a high school librarian in a small boarding school in California but will be looking to move on at the end of the year. Ideally, I would love to work in a public library but I know that I’ll be applying to lots of high school school library jobs as that is what I have the most experience doing and it is something I enjoy doing. I’m drawn to private schools, but I’ve also worked in public education and like it, so both are options for me.
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Hiring Librarians 
Depending on where you apply, the stylized name might be off-putting. Also, if you could quantify the tasks you describe (ex. oversaw a collection development budget of X dollars) that might be helpful.
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When you refer to the stylized name, do you mean the entire heading or just the size of my actual name?
I was hoping it would be included in my description, but I also have my portfolio/resume online which is slightly more detailed oriented. It is something I include in my cover letters.
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Specifically the size of the name and the font used. The picture may also raise some eyebrows.
Despite having a portfolio online, it’s helpful to include the most important/impressive information on your resume. Some employers will never look beyond the resume, despite how frustrating that is!
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I like the design/style. I agree your name could be *a bit* smaller. I’d also like to see the dates of your degrees.
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Thank you for the feedback. I am going to reduce the size of my name a bit based on you and the above user’s feedback. I thought about putting dates for my degrees but I have this weird thought that it would sort of age me and maybe (or maybe not) hurt me. Is that totally irrational? I’m almost 38 and while that is not terribly old, I don’t want it to work against me.
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When I review resumes, I’m more suspicious when someone omits the date. You’re actually putting a spotlight on your age by leaving it out.
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I really like your resume! (And, your blog’s pretty awesome, too!)
If you’re interested in moving into a different type of librarianship, you may want to highlight aspects of your current/former positions that mesh with X sector. For example, community programming is really big in public libraries. If you’ve had experience developing programs, program content, working on program committees, etc. you’ll want to include that information and provide detail(s) about your specific role(s). You may also want to consider providing a bit of “generic” information about the schools you’ve served. This could be especially useful if you’re interested in working with YA, youths, etc. So, if you’ve worked with elementary students and want to move into children’s librarianship in the public sector, there’s a direct connection – even though the settings are different. Find the connections between what you’ve been doing and what you want to do, and make it work!
Good luck!
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