The First Steps...Resume building

This past summer, I participated in an internship program called University of Dreams. I lived in Manhattan for 2 months. I was housed at one of NYU's dorms, Palladium Hall, right in the middle of Union Square. To the right of the dorm was a Trader Joe's grocery store and to the left of the building was a Trader Joe's Wine Shop and a few steps outside of the dorm's doors was the Union Square subway stop. With different celeb sightings from an America's Next Top Model winner to the Olsen twins, the location of my summer housing was perfect. Throughout the summer I went to a Broadway show, went on a cruise around NYC's harbor and traveled to Atlantic City for the 4th of July. But my main reason for being in the Big Apple for the summer was to intern at Blackbook Magazine, a progressive culture publication located in Noho, North of Houston Street. I worked in the advertising department and was able to sell ads for the magazine, attend parties the magazine threw at exclusive clubs, (as seen in the picture above) as well as making many trips to Starbucks, faxing, and sorting through mail. The experience was one that I'll never forget. I developed contacts, people to network with, new friends, and many new experiences. But the one thing that this summer of dreams did for me was to build my resume. The resume I am now using to determine my future in the real world.

Before University of Dreams, my resume was nothing to be excited about. I had a few volunteer events written down and a job at a grocery store, in which I found out later that I shouldn't really be putting on my resume anyway, my GPA, and my semester when I recieved the award of Dean's List. That was all I had, and it wasn't much at all. When first being accepted into University of Dreams, you are given a placement agent. Lindsey Kane, a former "dreamer" and now an employee with the program, contacted me right away and started the building of my resume. The resume tutorial the program uses was designed by the world-renowned resume guru, But Nadler. With years of experience as a career center director and with career guidance, University of Dreams has worked with him for several years. Here are tips from the program's website on how to correctly build a resume:

On top of your resume, centered, is your contact information. First you put your name, then below your name, your address. Below your address is your email address and a phone number you can be reached at. You should only put one address, one email address, and one phone number because en employer may be confused if there is too much information.

The first section of your resume is one that is titled "Qualifications." Nadler says on the website that this section is "a way to cut through the standard clutter of generic resumes...Employers instantly note - by reading the header alone - that you are both interested in and qualified for their industry." For this section you want to be industry specific, but not too specific. According to the website, "Entertainment and Media Qualifications" and "General Management and Marketing Qualifications" are good, but "Independent Film Studio Qualifications" is too specific. You then would list 3-5 bulleted items identifying key skills, abilities or qualifications that you have underneath this header.

The next section is Education, but like before, don't just write Education, write a header that describes your education like, Journalism Education. You will need to include your current university, major, dates, and degree progress. You should include your GPA if it is higher than 3.0. Or if your major GPA is higher than your cumulative, then just write Major GPA and the figure. Special awards like Dean's List should be included as well.

The next section is Experience, which is optional. It is optional because employers are really only interested in work experience that is relevant to what you are applying to. So you wouldn't put that you worked at McDonald's for five years in high school if you were applying to work at a record company or a magazine. If you do choose to add this section, then like before, you describe your work experience with a not too specific header and then add 2-3 bulleted items describing what you achieved at your job.

The section that follows is Courses. This section is also optional. If you have taken courses at your university that are relevant to the job or field that you are applying to, then add each one, followed by 2-3 bulleted items of the most impressive tasks you performed in these courses.

The next section is Leadership/Community. This is also optional. You may not have enough information to put here. This isn't the place to list all the clubs you may be involved in and as a rule, don't include a Fraternity or Sorority unless you had a leadership position within your organization. You should include leadership positions that may have to do with the job you are applying to.

The last section is Awards. Like the others above, it is optional because there may not be a lot to put here. Impressive awards can be helpful and add to your resume's content.

After completing the last section, you are FINISHED! Thanks to the help of the University of Dreams' Resume building website, I hope all of you find this as helpful as I did and I hope that it gets you many places in life!