Resume. Resume. Resume.

Today's discussion is the much dredded, hated, scary thought of the Resume. My friend Aaron who I used to work at Calumet with, asked me to send him my resume, so he could compare his to it. Aaron is also a freelance assistant in Chicago, and he and I have been stumbling through this industry together, attempting to figure it out. Aaron and I had a very in depth discussion about our resumes, which essentially revolved around the age old question "Do I have a strong resume?"

With the country on it's knees right now, in a financial mess, it is incredibly hard to land a job. The photography industry is really struggling right now, and being a freelance assistant, my jobs have slowed down. To get jobs, I typically call photographers, and email them attempting to woo them in one way or another, to get them to hire me. Many photographers don't want to see my resume, they want to see my portfolio. Yet many people say, to have a resume. I know that it is smart to always have an updated resume, but how do you know if you have a strong resume?

Well here is my resume....I am putting it all out there. You tell me.

Tiffany O’Neill
tiffany@tiffanyoneillphotography.com
440-897-xxxx
xxxx N. Marshfield Av Apt 1S
Chicago Il, xxxxx

Education
Bachelor of Science from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication
Graduate June 2007

Skills:

Photography
• Efficient using Speeddotron, Profoto, Dyna-Lite, Bron Color Professional lighting systems.
• Proficiency in use of Mamiya, Hasselblad, Nikon, and Canon Professional cameras
• Photographed fashion, food, products, and portraits
• Participated in two-women photography exhibit
• Created marketing campaign for photography exhibit
• Assisted with set design, set-up and lighting for professional photography jobs.
• Many years experience in dark room, developing, printing, and matting negative, and images.
• Very comfortable with Adobe Photoshop CS2, Light Room, Capture One, and Leaf Capture.
• Very Proficient in Microsoct Office, Excel, Word, and Power Point

Culinary
• Progressed from prep chef, pastry chef to Prep Manager for large restaurant (serving up to 500)
• Organized large parties for groups of up to50
• Styled fruit and cheese platters for large parties
• Certified in ‘Serve Safe’ and ‘Sanitation’
• Served as cook for large bar/restaurant

Management
• Managed staff of ten
• Oversaw daily operations of full-service bar, daily sales up to $10,000
• Opened and closed cash drawer for business
• Provided staff training in Cashier, Bartender, Door staff, and Cook

Work History
• Pettersen Associates, Chicago IL
• Janice Hosick, Photography, Chicago IL
• Callie Lipkin Photography, Chicago IL
• Calumet Photographic, Chicago IL Aug 2007-May 2008
• The Pigskin Sports Bar and Grill, Athens, OH, Jan 2004 - 2007

References
Available Upon Request

I personally don't care too much for or about my resume. I have also learned that the photography industry is very hard, sexist, and about WHO you know, not WHAT you know. But, I guess it is smart to have a strong resume in my back pocket.
My friend once said to me...

"I am only one resume away from my next job"

Holiday Happiness.

Some of my first and happiest memories of my childhood are cooking in the kitchen with my mom. My mother is the one that I attribute my love and passion of food and cooking to. My mother loved cooking elaborate dinners for the family on Christmas. She would wake up before the sun came up to start on the brunch for the family, before she even started cooking the dinner. Although, before the actual day of Christmas came, it was clearly Christmas eve. Todays post is dedicated to the many years that my mother would make Christmas cookies cookies with me the night before Christmas. I was the youngest out of the three siblings, and I was always in charge of leaving the cookies for Santa. Thinking about it today, it really makes me laugh. Santa would always eat every last cookie too! I love the holidays, and the fun silly traditions. So while I was thinking of my happy memories from my childhood, I took some photos to honor them. My santa's cookie stack. So cute.

Fashion Photography?

I am constantly researching all different forms of photography, in attempts to stay fresh, and keep aware of what is going on in the photography industry, and I am noticing things about the fashion industry that are silly.

I have noticed that photographers are more times than not showing their set in the image. When I say showing their set, I mean showing their lights, and stands, and the edges of the sweep. It bothers me. I imagine it bothers me because all throughout my training, I was drilled to be clean, crisp, and professional. I understand that "everybody is a photographer" today, now that the digital is getting more available to the public, and it is hard to get your images noticed....but come on!

I don't understand it, and I don't know if I will ever understand it. Oh well. Any opinions? Anyone out there?