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Museum Curator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Experts

Dr. Barry Jackisch,

M. Alison Kibler Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical museum curator skills. We ranked the top skills for museum curators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 29.0% of museum curator resumes contained collections management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a museum curator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 museum curator skills for your resume and career

1. Collections Management

Collections management refers to the different procedures taken to gather significant items or collectibles and effectively preserving them for various purposes. It primarily involves administrative duties that include conducting research and analyses, planning events, managing inventories, and developing storage strategies.

Here's how museum curators use collections management:

Input inventories, collected data, and cataloged information into collections management software system, including current location.
Initiated new procedures for collections management and record keeping according to professional museum standards.

2. Art Collections

Here's how museum curators use art collections:

Conducted and organized art collection research, public presentations, and other education programming.
Managed and presented art collections - Directed gallery tours

3. Museum Exhibits

Here's how museum curators use museum exhibits:

Supervised After-School Program students in the creation of museum exhibits using tech-based research
Assisted with the research and development of temporary museum exhibits, blog posts promoting Wells Fargo's history and identity.

4. Fine Arts

Here's how museum curators use fine arts:

Background in the general education of fine arts, especially within the Western hemisphere since the Renaissance.
Leverage curatorial background to advise and execute diverse exhibits for museums, galleries and other fine arts/educational venues.

5. Educational Programs

An educational program is a program primarily concerned with the provision of education, including but not limited to early childhood education, primary and secondary education, post-secondary education, special education, vocational training, career and technical education, education for adults, and any program managed by an educational agency or institution.

Here's how museum curators use educational programs:

Performed a variety of administrative duties including planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating educational programs for tribal members and public.
Developed and delivered educational programs related to environmental and physical science, health and fitness, and cultural education.

6. Cataloging

Here's how museum curators use cataloging:

Assist curator and registrar with artifact accession/deaccessions, cataloging using Past Perfect(TM), exhibit creation and installation.
Performed registrar duties, receiving and cataloging all incoming artifacts utilizing ACHAS.

7. Exhibit Design

Here's how museum curators use exhibit design:

Hire and supervise exhibit designers and fabricators.
Acted as collection manager, registrar, archivist, librarian, exhibit designer, educator and historian.

Select Skills To Add To Your Resume

Collections Management

Art Collections

Museum Exhibits

Fine Arts

Educational Programs

Cataloging

8. Educational Materials

Educational materials are items and accessories that are used to enhance learning in any given educational setting. They vary per setting and may include audio or visual aids, textbooks, tools, devices, machinery, gadgets, and virtually ant media that can improve the learning process of any individual at the primary or advanced educational level.

Here's how museum curators use educational materials:

Provide copy for supplemental educational materials such as a story book for the Virginia Health Department sponsored disease-prevention program.
Led courses and workshops, developing hands-on activities and educational materials to promote visitor engagement.

9. Docents

Here's how museum curators use docents:

Trained Docents and worked with the Curatorial Department.
Managed Staff - Docents and Volunteers.

10. Promotional Materials

Promotional material is any document or article - written, printed, graphic, electronic, audio, or video presentation, distributed or made available in whole or in part on behalf of a product, cause, idea, person, or business for promotion, advertisement, announcement or direction. Promotional materials are used to make a business stand out from its competitors and to engage the target audience.

Here's how museum curators use promotional materials:

Provide promotional materials including copy.
Expanded Education Department's school division through the introduction of innovative programming, production of promotional materials and outreach efforts.

11. Historic Sites

Here's how museum curators use historic sites:

Lead schools, boy scouts and various groups on tours through the historic site.
Conducted research for the historic site and also the community.

12. American Indian

Here's how museum curators use american indian:

Broker of American Indian, 19th Century Art Appraiser of American Indian, Baskets & Textiles 19th & 20tht Century

13. Graphic Design

Graphic design is the art of making visual content to communicate messages. Designers apply different page layout methods and visual hierarchy by using letters and pictures to meet the need of end-users. Most companies use graphic design to sell their product or services and to convey complicated information by using infographics.

Here's how museum curators use graphic design:

Worked together with curators, graphic designers, and editors to create marketing materials.
Web maintenance, graphic design, social media management and webinar planning.

14. Press Releases

Here's how museum curators use press releases:

Provided media relations: preparation of press releases, reviews of outside generated materials, and interviews with media professionals/journalists.
Selected to write all press releases and edit all information distributed to the public due to superb language skills.

15. Heritage Museum

Here's how museum curators use heritage museum:

Managed two non-profit museums under the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation: The Waynesboro Heritage Museum and The Plumb House Museum.

What skills help Museum Curators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What Museum Curator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Barry Jackisch

Associate Professor of History and Director of the Roger Ray Institute for Humanities, Website

For the field of Holocaust studies in particular, I think several things are important. One is to understand the broader field of comparative genocide and where recent research on the Holocaust fits into that work. Secondly, students should pay close attention to the emerging field of digital humanities, with a particular focus on digital research and presentation regarding the Holocaust. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a strong resource in this area.

What type of skills will young Museum Curators need?

M. Alison Kibler Ph.D.

Professor, Franklin and Marshall College

The key for today's graduate is to come ready with relevant skills and experience. A college degree without relevant skills and experience will just not be as sufficient as in previous years to land that first, post-graduate role.

Creativity, proactivity along with strong communication skills and intellectual grit to anticipate and respond proactively to the unexpected are the competencies most prized in today's labor market. Showing that one worked through the pandemic, and even pursued additional skills and experiences relevant to a role or field, will make a graduate stand out from among their less prepared and proactive peers.

In the last class of American Studies graduates (class of 2020), I saw some students take a new path to a job. For example, one student had an internship where she worked remotely for a digital marketing firm. This then became a full-time job after graduation. Another student had worked on legal research (also remote) over the summer and in her senior seminar, and then got a job as a legal assistant in the New York DA's office. She hopes to ultimately go to law school. This is a job that other AMS alumni have secured in the past. Other students got jobs as community organizers, teachers, museum curators and entry-level business positions. These paths seemed largely the same as in the past. All built on course work and/or internships where they developed skills and deepened interest in topics. The student that went to work as a community organizer, for example, had done a senior research project on homelessness.

Do you want to know more?

List of museum curator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a museum curator resume and required skills for a museum curator to have include:

Collections Management
Art Collections
Museum Exhibits
Fine Arts
Educational Programs

Cataloging
Exhibit Design
Educational Materials
Docents
Promotional Materials

Historic Sites
American Indian
Graphic Design
Press Releases
Heritage Museum

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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