Tips for Pre-Program Internship Applications

The following tips were written by Beth Edelstein, Colleen Snyder, Amaris Sturm, and added by Natalya Swanson from Conservation Wiki. They are intended to aid early career professionals applying to institutional internships.

I have paraphrased and reorganised their information instead of putting my own words, in order to convey the most accurate and helpful

General professionalism and organisation

• Any emails related to the application should be considered professional communication. Use proper salutations, proofread before sending, avoid emojis, make sure your automatic signature is up to date and appropriate, and use an email address that is appropriate for the workplace.

• If asked to upload materials, submit in pdf format, unless otherwise requested.

• Label files with your last name first, then the document name. Remember, the institution will receive a lot of files named “City_Art_Museum_internship_CV” or similar, and you want to make it easy for them to identify yours.

• Be sure that you have changed ALL institutional names in your text to the proper institution – it’s easy to reuse the same letter and forget to change the name or acronym somewhere along the way. Triple-check this!

• Remember to include an online portfolio. Even if it is very simple, this is preferable to sending individual report files with your application, unless otherwise requested.

CV or resume

The following is information that we want to be able to see at a glance in your resume:

1. What year did you graduate college, what major and minor (and thesis topic, if appropriate)?

2. Have you completed your requisite coursework, or when do you aim to complete it?

3. Highlight art-making background or experience in a particular medium or material

4. Highlight study or work abroad experience

5. Separate Conservation from other art-related work experience

6. Leave out your unrelated work experience – retail, restaurants, administrative etc., unless there is a direct connection to your conservation path or interest

7. Include any association memberships (i.e., AIC, IIC, WAAC, ECPN). Try to have some – most organisations offer inexpensive student rates, or will work with you if you ask!

8. Include any pertinent conservation-related lectures, workshops, and conferences attended.

Letter

Think of your cover letter as a way of telling us more about you, your experiences, and your interests, to augment rather than summarise or repeat the content of your resume or CV. Some things that are looked for:

Your experiences: which specialties you have had experience in, what did you learn and what do you need next?

Start by summarising what you’ve done (“My internships have primarily been with library and archives, and I spent one summer working on a medieval wall paintings project”) and then:

Highlight artworks or projects that you found interesting or challenging in your previous experiences (“in rehousing a collection of African masks, I learned about the challenges of storing mixed media objects”), then:

Tell what experience you’re hoping to gain next (“I haven't yet had the opportunity to work with textiles but hope to gain experience in this area next” – of course, making this relevant to the internship you’re applying for!)

Your path to conservation:

We are always curious how you found out about conservation, how you discovered this field, and why it interests you. It is less important here to include general statements about your interest in museums or art in general.

Include any experience you have with public outreach or education about art, art materials, or conservation, or any interests you have in this area.

Your reasons for applying to this internship:

Tell us where you found out about this internship position.

1. What specifically interests you at THIS institution? Is it the type of institution (large museum, regional lab, etc.), a collection or project that you read about, or even the city itself? Research the institution online, learn about its culture and its collection, look for any conservation projects highlighted on their website or social media.

2. Read the position listing carefully; it will generally include some specifics about what the internship will entail. For example, if the description includes working on outdoor sculpture, mention why this interests you or would help you fill in the experience that you need. Just pick one or two things – you don’t have to address everything in the listing. This shows that you read the listing closely and have a sincere interest in this opportunity.

And finally:

Read your application materials out loud and have other people read them before sending it off. This can help ensure that your sentences read well and can help catch spelling or grammar mistakes. Often when you are looking at your own writing for too long, you can miss the little things!'