NMRT Notes

By Elizabeth Taft, Resource Management Librarian, Boston University

When I submitted my CV to the NMRT Resume Review Service, I was looking for all the help I could get. I’d only hired student workers, and no one had reviewed my resume in years – so while I’d applied to many a library job, I had very little sense of what librarians and hiring committees are looking for. I wanted to know how to make myself stand out.

Enter the Resume Review Service. NMRT members can receive feedback on their CVs or cover letters (or both!) from an experienced professional. The service is meant for applicants of all stripes, whether you work in a university archive or an elementary school library. Members can submit materials to resumereviewnmrt@gmail.com or via an online submission form. Not a member, or just want to talk to someone in person? The Resume Review Service at ALA’s Annual Conference is open to anyone, with walk-in or appointments for 30-minute consultations available.

I requested a reviewer with experience in my area of interest, academic libraries and collection services, and was paired with Rosalinda Linares-Gray, Collections & Research Services Librarian at Fort Lewis College. Rosalinda gave me thorough, thoughtful feedback on both formatting and content, including what I had done well and what could use improvement. My font choice (Helvetica Neue) earned a thumbs up, but they suggested providing more context for internships and student work positions. They also recommended highlighting collaborative work, presentations, and scholarly or professional engagement.

Curious to learn more? I asked the NMRT Resume Review Service Committee to share their wisdom. Read on for their advice (edited for clarity):

What makes a CV or cover letter stand out as exceptional?

An exceptional CV and cover letter are tailored to a specific job posting. They directly address the job duties and qualifications listed on the job posting and work together to present you as a qualified candidate for the position. A great CV provides clearly organized information related to your educational and professional experience, complete with dates, institutional affiliations, and specific job duties. A great cover letter provides additional context for information found in your CV, elaborating on how your past experience is applicable to this job and demonstrating how this experience will lead you to be successful in the new position through concrete examples. The strongest cover letters put focus on demonstrating how you will be successful in the position rather than explaining why you want the position or providing a narrative account of the qualifications listed on your CV. 

Do different types of libraries have different expectations for CVs and cover letters and how do these expectations differ by library type? 

While there are certainly variations amongst the types of libraries, the basics will remain the same: address the job description, creatively showcase your skills, and keep your cover letter concise and to the point (never more than two pages). Be mindful of the distinction between an application asking for a resume or a CV (curriculum vitae). A resume will be a shorter, more direct version of your longer CV. Many government jobs, public libraries, or positions in nonprofits or corporations will want a resume and not a CV. If you ever feel unsure about industry standards, remember that librarians are a helpful bunch! Try reaching out to a connection in that industry through ALA, LinkedIn, or ask the NMRT Resume Review Service and we can match you with a professional from that sector!

What’s your advice for making the most of your resume review?

It is easier for the editor(s) to remove material than to suggest additions, so provide information, experiences, and publications and talk with the reviewer to remove or revise less relevant entries. For the cover letter, address how previous experience in school/work has prepared you for the specific position. Be specific, because the experiences which have prepared you to be a public librarian will not necessarily prepare you to be a catalog, medical, or special collections librarian.

Do you have any advice for early career librarians applying to their first professional positions? 

Don’t discount all the kinds of experience you have. Many early career librarians feel discouraged if they don’t have a lot of formal library experience. But leverage the skills from other positions (paid or volunteer) that could be a real asset to a librarian position. For example, any work in customer service is relevant as long as you can contextualize how that experience would be useful in the position you are applying for. Another important piece of advice is to understand that a lot of these searches use a rubric that is directly correlated to the required and preferred qualifications that are listed in the job ad. If you can address each one of the listed requirements in your resume and cover letter, that will be a huge advantage. It takes more time to personalize each application, but you will get more interviews if you take the time to show that you have the skills they are looking for.

Who should volunteer to review materials? Are there any specializations you’re lacking reviewers in?

In our call for reviewers, we ask that volunteers have at least 5 years of professional work experience. Being involved in hiring or having served on a search committee is a big plus! To best serve all types of job seekers, we try to have reviewers from all types of libraries, with a range of specializations. We could especially use reviewers with a school media background, public librarians, and librarians specializing in technical services or assessment. We’d encourage anyone with an interest in hiring or desire to give back to their professional community to volunteer as a reviewer!

Are there any other resources you’d recommend to job seekers?

Our committee predecessors created a wonderful guide including job hunting resources that we’d encourage job seekers to check out.

Hiring Librarians is another excellent website with blog posts on all different topics relating to the hiring process. This site also maintains a Library Interview Questions spreadsheet, which can help interviewers predict and prepare for their interviews.

What else should people know about the Resume Review Service?

Our committee is dedicated to supporting the career goals and professional development of job-seeking ALA members, as well as giving other members an opportunity to give back to their colleagues through professional service. While our members work to coordinate this review process, it is our volunteer reviewers that make this work successful. 

Something else to keep in mind is that we do not only coordinate the review of resumes, but CVs and cover letters as well! 

If you are a new member of ALA, whether you’re actively job-seeking or happily hired, it’s hard to think of a downside to using the Resume Review Service. The advice of my reviewer helped me understand how my resume would be received by someone unfamiliar with me and the details of my work history – and while I’m not currently on the market, I now know what kinds of professional opportunities to pursue in the meantime to strengthen my position for the future. The NMRT Resume Review Service is a resource I plan to return to for support as long as I am eligible. Thank you to the Resume Review Service Committee and the volunteer reviewers (especially Rosalinda) for giving a hand to the next generation of librarians.

Ready for your resume review? Submit your materials here!