Does Resume Define Self?

If you've ever had the thrill of working alongside someone you enjoy, you know a job doesn't get any better than that. A good friend Tom and I would drink coffee during the night shift, waiting for news to break. We'd process images using PhotoShop 2.0 on Mac computer stations that replaced Dektol and Rapid Fixer, chemicals that were used for black and white film and print processing before the phenomenon of digital imaging replaced traditional photography workflow.

Our respective titles were Lab Technicians and as they morphed into Digital Technicians we recognized we were working in an industry that was quickly changing. Using what was new to us then, the software tools of PhotoShop quickly advanced to newer versions of 3.0 and all its subsequent iterations, we'd verify and often write captions (all pertinent data) to accompany the photography using the IPTC fields for the next day's newspaper. There were deadlines to meet and beat and it was a pure adrenalin rush to file the story and pictures.

We sometimes waited for things to happen, for the photographers to return with their rolls of film from various assignments - from shoot outs to fires to fashion shows to a celebrity sighting....whatever and wherever the pulse of a news story took place, we would be there - to get the picture processed, caption information verified and transmitted to the receiving end where it would be placed into the layout and sent to press.

Those days remind me of today's Twitter fever and the occasional mad dash to be the first to tweet and beat out traditional news sources. What was once an industry specific tendency - to rush and scoop the competition, is now a ubiquitous normal way everyone operates. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Scoop.it, Digg and so many more social media sites, too many to list here, are web platforms that many twenty-year olds take in stride, much like what I favored at twenty. What was 'trending' then was just as interesting to me at the time, only it wasn't called 'trending' but instead, new things were 'cool' but really meant, 'hot' and was simply whatever was in style at the time.

Tom would joke as we walked the halls of the New York Newsday office building, "Beam me up," referring to Star Trek technology that would transport Spock,  Captain Kirk  or any member of the crew USS Enterprise to "Get me out of here." He meant, "When will the night end?" But for me, being there as part of the news cycle was so about being valued and important and part of the process that all I could do was enjoy, enjoy and enjoy.

That was some time ago and since then I've added a few bells and whistles to my resume. The skills I've acquired only half represent the motivation behind job choices. That is a whole other subject for a new blog post! My resume, like my life, is a work in progress. Job descriptions are a tidy sum of our capabilities. I've always wondered about the things I haven't done. Suggestions are welcome: