Resume template · Updated October 2026
Museum curator resume template
Short answer
Henrietta suits a museum curator: a conventional layout that museum directors and search committees expect, with experience first and education right after, where your graduate degree belongs. The fictional sample curates a regional history museum's collections, opened exhibitions and won a grant for a digitisation project. Show exhibitions, research, loans and funding, and keep a short publications list.
Download the museum curator sample
Eleanor is a fictional curator of history collections. 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 Henrietta suits a museum curator resume
Henrietta prints a summary, then Work Experience, then Education, in black and grey. Curatorial hiring weighs exhibitions and scholarship alongside degrees, and this layout puts the curatorial record first with the graduate degree close behind, without visual noise.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie keeps experience first with a blue accent, a fit for children's or science museums with a more public-facing tone.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta 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. Museum type, your collection area, years curating and one result such as an exhibition opened or a grant won.
- Work Experience. Bullets on exhibitions curated, objects researched and catalogued, loans arranged, visitors reached, grants and partnerships.
- Education. Graduate degree in the collection area or museum studies, with the year and thesis topic if relevant.
- Skills. Curatorial skills (research, interpretation, collections management, loans) and database software.
- Selected Publications. Use the extra list for selected publications, catalogue essays or talks, with year and venue.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Eleanor Whitcombe
Curator of History Collections, Regional Museum
Richmond, VA | eleanor.whitcombe@example.com | (804) 555-0159 | linkedin.com/in/sample-eleanor-whitcombe
Curator of history collections at a regional museum with about 40,000 objects. Curated five exhibitions and won a state grant to digitise the photograph collection.
Experience
Curator of History Collections, James River Regional Museum, Richmond, VA (09/2020 to Present)
- Curated five exhibitions, including a 120-object show on river trade that drew about 45,000 visitors.
- Won a state humanities grant to digitise 8,000 photographs and put them online with community-written captions.
- Arranged 14 incoming and outgoing loans with other museums and libraries.
- Research provenance for new gifts and present acquisition proposals to the collections committee.
Assistant Curator, Shenandoah Valley Heritage Center, Staunton, VA (06/2016 to 08/2020)
- Catalogued about 3,000 objects in the collections database.
- Wrote label text and gallery guides for two exhibitions.
- Led tours and talks for school and adult groups.
Selected Publications
- River Trade and Daily Life, exhibition catalogue essay, 2023
- Finding the Photographers, regional history journal article, 2021
Education
Master of Arts, History, Museum Studies Concentration, College of William and Mary (05/2016)
Skills
Exhibition development, Provenance research, Collections management, Loans, Interpretive writing, PastPerfect, Adobe InDesign, Community partnerships, Public speaking
How to make the sample yours
List exhibitions with scale
Title, year, number of objects and visitors. Exhibitions are the curator's main output.
Show research and collections work
Objects catalogued, provenance research, collection plans written. Care for the collection is as important as exhibitions.
Mention loans and partners
Loans arranged with other institutions, community partners, co-curated shows.
Include funding
Grants won, donors cultivated, sponsorships. Funding keeps exhibitions possible.
Keep publications short
Choose the most relevant few; long lists belong in an academic CV.
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.
- museum curator
- exhibition development
- collections management
- provenance research
- object interpretation
- loans
- collection database
- grant writing
- public programs
- catalogue essays
- community partnerships
- museum studies
Mistakes to avoid
- Long publication lists that push exhibitions down.
- Exhibitions with no scale or audience.
- Donor names or private collection details.
- Jargon a hiring board outside your field would not follow.
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 | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
Frequently asked questions
What should a museum curator resume focus on?
Exhibitions, collections research, loans, funding and public programs. Search committees also look for your graduate degree and a few key publications.
Should I use a resume or a CV?
Many museum jobs accept a resume with a short publications list. Academic or research posts may want a full CV; check the posting.
How do I show exhibition impact?
Give visitor numbers, press or reviews, and any programs or partnerships the exhibition created.
Can an assistant curator apply for curator roles?
Yes. Highlight exhibitions you led or co-curated, research and any grant writing, and put them first.
How many publications should I list?
Two to five relevant ones. Use a titled extra list so they do not crowd out your curatorial work.
How long should the resume be?
One to two pages, depending on the number of exhibitions and publications.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 7 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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