What are the do's and don'ts of a resume in the field of history?
I have an opportunity to work as a historian, and I would like to know if there is anything that would make for a good resume for a position in the field.
The job position seems to entail mostly research and record management. These will obviously be the focus of my resume, but is there anything else I should add that I might not be thinking of?
Any help is appreciated.
Academic historians (i.e., those who work at universities) generally use a CV ("Curriculum vitae") rather than a resume. If you want to leaf through some CVs and see what they look like, academia.edu would be a great starting point. Do a search for the field (e.g. "Atlantic history") and just start clicking through people's profiles. Most will have a "CV" link on the left side.
That'll start giving you a sense of how historians in your potential field think about academic experience, and it'll help you understand the basic language they use to describe their (sub)field. This can be hugely important, especially if the people you want to work for are professional, CV-writing historians. You might even be able to look up their CVs on academia.edu. It can be a diverse community.
But from the sounds of it, you're probably applying for a position where a resume would be more appropriate. Resumes tend to show off skills, whereas CVs list things like publications (the skills are implicit). There are two basic types of resumes: chronological and functional. Chronological ones are great if you've already got lots of experience. (It's the basic format of most CVs as well.) But if you're entering a new field, you should consider writing a functional resume.
It sounds like you've already identified two functional areas where you need to demonstrate experience and potential: research and record management. Read the position description closely for any other buzz words. Shoot for maybe four functional areas. Then flesh these things out. One-liner bullet points often work best to catch the eye. (You've only got one or two pages; get the interview, then you can elaborate.) Concrete things like: "Completed a 30-page senior research project using archival resources" looks better than "As a history BA, I learned how to do research in archives and write historical essays." Or "Maintained a database linking to over 100 employee personal records" is better than "I worked as an data input analyst in the human resources department."
Think about what they're looking for, and sell yourself! Good luck!