Resume template · Updated October 2026
Archivist resume template
Short answer
Meridian suits an archivist: skills print above experience in a plain layout, so description standards, digitisation and records systems are seen first. The fictional sample processes collections at a university archive, cleared a processing backlog and launched a digitisation program. Show linear feet processed, finding aids written and researchers helped, using your own numbers.
Download the archivist sample
Nathaniel is a fictional processing archivist. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Meridian suits an archivist resume
Meridian prints a short summary, labelled skills rows and then experience, in black and grey. Archive postings screen for description standards, systems and digital preservation skills, so the skills rows above the jobs answer that first check.
Second choice: Henrietta. Henrietta prints experience first with education close behind, a fit when your graduate degree is a key requirement.
What goes in each section, in Meridian's order
Meridian prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Archive type (university, corporate, government, museum), collection areas and one result such as backlog processed.
- Skills. Rows for description and arrangement, digitisation and digital preservation, records management and systems.
- Work Experience. Bullets with linear feet processed, finding aids published, items digitised, reference requests answered and outreach.
- Education. Graduate degree in library or information science or history, with the year.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Nathaniel Brooks
Processing Archivist, University Special Collections
Ann Arbor, MI | nathaniel.brooks@example.com | (734) 555-0124 | linkedin.com/in/sample-nathaniel-brooks
Processing archivist in a university special collections library. Cleared about 600 linear feet of backlog and launched a digitisation program for student newspapers.
Experience
Processing Archivist, Great Lakes University Special Collections, Ann Arbor, MI (08/2021 to Present)
- Processed about 600 linear feet of backlog and published 48 finding aids in ArchivesSpace.
- Launched digitisation of 70 years of student newspapers, about 30,000 pages, with full-text search.
- Answer about 40 researcher requests a month and teach archive sessions for history classes.
- Wrote processing guidelines that student assistants now follow.
- Transfer and appraise records from university offices under the retention schedule, about 120 boxes a year.
Archives Assistant, Detroit Area Historical Society, Detroit, MI (06/2018 to 07/2021)
- Rehoused and labelled photograph collections.
- Scanned images and entered metadata.
- Helped visitors in the reading room.
Education
Master of Science in Information, Archives and Records Management, University of Michigan (05/2021)
Skills
Arrangement and description, DACS and EAD, Digitisation, Metadata, Reference services, ArchivesSpace, Omeka, Preservica, Teaching archive sessions
How to make the sample yours
Measure processing
Linear feet processed and finding aids published. It is the core output of archive work.
Show digital work
Items digitised, metadata standards used, digital preservation steps. Collections people can find online is a strong result.
Include reference and outreach
Researcher requests answered, class sessions taught, exhibits supported.
Mention records management
Retention schedules and transfers from offices, if your role includes them.
Name the standards and systems
Description standards and the archival system you use.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- archivist
- archival processing
- finding aids
- DACS
- EAD
- ArchivesSpace
- digitization
- digital preservation
- metadata
- records management
- reference services
- special collections
Mistakes to avoid
- Duties with no linear feet or output.
- Restricted records or donor details.
- Listing standards without work done in them.
- Long lists of collections by name.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
What should an archivist resume focus on?
Processing output, finding aids, digitisation, reference and outreach, and the standards and systems you use. Hiring committees also check for the graduate degree.
Should I list description standards?
Yes, and show them in use, such as finding aids written to the standard. A reader trusts a standard named inside a real bullet more than one listed on its own.
How do I show digital preservation skills?
Describe the steps you carried out, such as file checks, format migration and storage, and the system you used. If you wrote a digital preservation plan or policy, mention it.
Can library assistants move into archives?
Often, with archive coursework or a graduate degree. Highlight any processing, scanning or metadata work.
Do corporate archivists use this template?
Yes. Replace researchers with internal users and add records management and retention work. Corporate archives also value history projects for anniversaries and marketing, so include any you supported.
How long should the resume be?
One page for most archivists; two with many publications or projects.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Meridian PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 4 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
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