NICOLE AMES PORTFOLIO 2015
NICOLE AMES • nicolemarie00@gmail.com • Orlando FL, 32812
May 11, 2015 Dani Smukall Owner Blu Dulce Dear Ms. Smukall, The position of sales associate at your boutique is a job I would like to apply for. I really enjoy your style and wear your clothes all the time. I feel working for a business like yours will help me grow and teach me the skills I will need in order to open up my own store one day. As a member of the ads staff of my high school yearbook, I am very comfortable with communicating with people via email or in person and have mastered skills in Adobe Photoshop and Indesign which could help in marketing aspects of your company. I work well with others, am a patient person and will do whatever it takes to make sure the customer is happy with their final products. My background in computer and interacting with customers has prepared me to work in a business like yours. I understand owning and running a boutique can be very stressful and at sometimes hectic. I have been through multiple deadlines in which turning in work on time has been vital to the final product. Although I have certain opinions on what pictures look best and where they should be placed I have to take into consideration what the customers want and will like the most. I feel being able to go with the flow will help me excel in a sales associates job. I appreciate your considering me for a job at your boutique, but I would like to meet in person because I feel an interview would allow me to express myself better and show you fully what I am capable of. I have attached a resume of my experience and qualifications. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Respectfully yours, Nicole Ames
NICOLE AMES • nicolemarie00@gmail.com • Orlando FL, 32812
Profile
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Synopsis of Achievements
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Employment/ Community Service
Education
Outgoing personality with a friendly smile. Possess solid computer skills and a quick study. Excellent working knowledge using Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. A team player; working well with groups on school projects. Great understanding of Social Media for use in marketing. Striving to bring a positive attitude to the work environment and others, while achieving a higher knowledge on how to manage a business Junior class officer: helps organize school functions, and creates leadership among members Junior homecoming court member: nominated by fellow classmates to represent the class to the best of my ability, participating in things like spirit week, the homecoming parade and homecoming football game Member of the school yearbook staff: working together as a team, meeting deadlines, and photograph events
Conway Falcon Pop Warner Cheer Team Assistant Coach · Work with up to thirty middle school aged girls to learn cheers and stunting. · Assist with choreographing dance routine for national competition · Role model for young girls, helping them to live up to the best of their ability for future achievements
William R. Boone High School, Orlando, FL · Currently a Senior with 3.6 G.P.A. References Furnished Upon Request
2011 Present
current
ANALYTICAL ESSAY We all used to hear about the blonde teacher in room 224, kind of scary and intimidating, but dressed really cute so she wasn’t hard to look at and didn’t have an annoying voice that would make you cringe. Who knew that one day, I would look up to this woman as another mother figure in my life, someone who I could tell all my problems to, and feel completely confident that it would stay between us. I find it so much more helpful to gain respect for a teacher once they can show you that you aren’t just another student sitting in the back of their classroom, they care. And I thought, why not go see what this blonde teacher was all about, I’m so glad I did. During yearbook this year I have learned that deadlines can be one of the most stressful things a student can be put under during school. You are not only letting yourself down but others. Relying on other people is very difficult because they can be the reason you didn’t get the grade you wanted but the only one who can take the blame for it is yourself. Actual yearbook sales is a very large part of the stress put on us that a lot of people don’t realize and that I did not realize up until this year, so many kids don’t find buying a yearbook important and think its not going to matter to them in 20 years which makes us feel like our work isn’t taken seriously. We put blood, sweat, and tears into it and when you are trying to sell books that no one wants it’s hurtful. Teamwork has not been our biggest strength this year, many of us are too afraid to ask for help so we just do it wrong instead. Luckily, until the last deadline, I got to work on things that I was mostly in control of, once you get the hang of Ads down, it isn’t too bad, just very time consuming, I used to have to spend five hours out of my weekend just so that I could stay on deadline. It is a lot more dedication that most realize. In the future I can see myself using my procrastination skills that I was able to work slowly on through the course of these past two years. Sometimes waiting till the last minute, even though you know you can get it done, isn’t the right answer. I don’t look at my production and work to be the biggest thing I brought to the table this year, in my eyes, I could more seen as the comic relief of room 224. All year we would come in and just feel the pressure and stress of each deadline creeping around the corner that nobody took the time to look around and realize how many great people we had sitting right in front of us, yearbook is supposed to be fun, not just a class to give us gray hairs (we are too young for those). We are a family, and sometimes I feel like we would lose sight of that, so I tried to keep us glued together, with many positive words and lots and lots of hugs.
REFLECTION 1 Everyone can almost see the finish line and think that maybe a little procrastination wouldn’t be so bad, seeing as I had been on ads all year though, I was ready to delve right into this deadline. We had 10 weeks to complete this project, even though at times it felt like we only had two. I learned different things from the odd spelling of words I didn’t know to how to work as a team. A lot of the responsibility fell onto me when my partner had to overcome a personal injury. But in this kind of situation, I can’t make excuses and sit around complaining about how I had been left alone, I had to prioritize things from most important to least important to make sure I could get everything done. Things happen and get thrown at you, you just have to roll with the punches. I started out with the pictures for the page, besides having to take the time to go through folder upon folder to find the best of the best, it wasn’t too hard of a task to accomplish, surprisingly. What came as the main challenge, however, was the body copy. Trying to carry on the theme through out the whole story seemed to present a larger problem than normal. Since this was deadline seven, we couldn’t afford to have a mistake made, we weren’t going to see a proof of all this work so there was no room for error. Constantly getting re-subbed was one of the most aggravating things, when most of the time, it would only be for a simple spelling error. But we learned from it. It went through EIC and Copy probably about a dozen times. My favorite part about the finished product of this page, are the colors, the orange seems to be such an apparent part and is the first thing to catch my eye, the lighting from the pictures just seem to really come out to life. I really enjoyed doing this page because of what I learned from it, it was such a stressful couple of weeks, but once I saw the finished product, it was like the biggest sigh if relief, my hard work had finally paid off.
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Overall, I feel more accomplished just looking back from the last portfolio till now, I can visually see that I have produced so much more. Being apart of ads staff puts a lot of pressure on you due to all the money riding on it from outside parties (aka parents), they pay a lot of money and expect a full completed product right away, not knowing how much actually goes into them. I think that I have grown in a good way from last year, I have become a lot more comfortable with the people around me and I’m not afraid to ask for help. The classroom environment has become more of a fun place as opposed to an uncomfortable place, at some points it is even a safe haven for me. I don’t have as much to compare to last year when it comes to body copy and captions, but I think that could be looked at as a strong suit, having lots of practice in not only spread deadlines but also in buisness and people ads. I’ve also learned with design, that sometimes, less is more, it isn’t about going over the top just to catch the viewers attention, because you run the risk of getting negative attention. I’m very happy that I chose to take this class again, having this experience will really prepare me for the future and deadlines to come.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
ALL ABOUT ME 2015
ABOUT ME