If you’re job hunting, you’ve probably read all about the various things you can do to create a more effective resume. But many people overlook the power of resume examples—browsing through the resumes of others can provide some inspiration and insight into what you can do with your own.

Resume examples can be an especially useful way to gain a realistic perspective on the types of careers people romanticize and daydream about—such as photography.

If you visit Indeed.com and click on the “Find Resumes” link at the top of the home page, you’ll be taken to a useful feature where you can search resumes by keyword and location. By browsing through the resumes of photographers, you will be able to get a good sense of the skills, equipment, tools, and credentials you should have on your own resume.

Ultimately, though, the job posting for a specific role that interests you is the best research tool. That’s because the job posting is where you will find your resume keywords. These are specific terms you use on your resume to demonstrate to an employer that you are a good fit for the role.

Resume keywords are a critical part of how an applicant tracking system scores and ranks candidates. An ATS is a tool used by employers to store and filter resumes and find the most qualified candidates. If your resume isn’t scored highly by an ATS, your application is likely to go unnoticed.

The word cloud above was generated using the text from a dozen job postings for photographers. The larger the word is, the more often it appeared throughout the job postings.

Photographer resume keywords

  • Art
  • Cameras
  • Clients
  • Creative
  • Digital
  • DSLR
  • Editing
  • Equipment
  • Images
  • Lighting
  • Magazine
  • Photography
  • Photoshop
  • Portfolio
  • Professional
  • Reliable
  • Shoot
  • Studio

Notes on photography resume keywords

photographer resume
Be specific about the brands and types of equipment you have experience with.

When looking at a photography job listing, pay attention to whether it mentions “digital SLR” or “DSLR.” They both appeared regularly throughout job postings for photographers. Similarly, many listings called for experience with specific camera brands—namely, Nikon or Canon. If you’re experienced with the brand mentioned in a job listing, be sure you include it on your resume.

Portfolios were also mentioned frequently. If you have an online portfolio, you can include the link to it in the contact information portion of your resume.

Tailoring your resume

Tailoring each resume you submit is easy when you use the right tools. Working from a career management document means you never create a resume from scratch. A career management document is a place where you compile things you’ve listed on earlier resumes and things you might include on future resumes, plus notes about big accomplishments, or your references and their contact information.

Keeping all of this information in one place means not forgetting details over time, or being stumped when you need to create a resume. Obviously, a career management document is most useful if you update it on a regular basis.

Finally, to see how well you’ve targeted your resume for a specific job, try Jobscan. Paste the text of your resume plus the text of the job listing into the provided fields, and you’ll get a score telling you how well your resume matches up with the job, along with changes that will get your resume ranked more highly by an ATS. Resume examples are great for big-picture inspiration and research, while customized feedback provides you with concrete actions to take.

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Trista Winnie

Trista Winnie has been writing and editing professionally for nearly a decade, primarily covering the job search, investing, engineering, and health.

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