In 2017, I had the opportunity to work with Michael Dove, of Western’s Public History Program, to author a technical leaflet for the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). Titled, “Get to Work: Crafting Cover Letters and Résumés for Emerging Professionals,” our leaflet is part of the AASLH’s Winter 2018 History News publication which is an Emerging Professionals Takeover Issue of the magazine.
The issue is currently at the printers and will be landing in AASLH member mailboxes soon. Our technical leaflet will also be available for download as part of the AASLH leaflet series. The aim behind the series is to provide clear, short guides on topics specific to practicing history at the local and state levels.
In writing this leaflet we hoped to demystify the world of public history jobs and provide concrete advice for emerging professionals who are embarking on a job search. We discuss skills sought by public history employees, how to project your value in a cover letter, and have included a sample résumé as a guideline.
A huge thank you to Hannah Hethmon and Hope Shannon who served as guest editors for this issue of History News and who invited the contribution from Mike and I.
Photo credit: G. Crescoli on Unsplash