 Recently a couple of my friends asked me for some help revising and editing their resumes. I figured this must be a pretty common thing to be dealing with since at school they really only teach you the very basic way to make a "professional resume", not considering hundreds of applicants are fighting to stand out in order to catch the potential employer's eye, and ultimately take YOUR job opportunity. With that in mind, I decided to make a 'How To Make a Pimpin' Resume' post. I'm not going to say my friends resumes were terrible (well, one of them was). However there was some definite work to be done there. You see, they were going with what a formal, average resume looks like, but who wants to be seen as average? I've mostly freelanced and done work for which my portfolio and samples are what matters most rather than my resume so I never really thought about it too much. After going over the flashing images of good and bad resumes I've come across in my time, I figured a resume is the equivalent of the first impression you make when meeting someone, except you aren't there to guide the situation in your favor. Look at it this way, if you were just about to meet a potential employer in person, how would you like to be seen? Would you want to be average, not stand out and seem just like the rest of the contenders? Or would you like to be memorable? Do you want to come across as happy, serious, formal, playful or just plain dull? Resumes are your introduction to a new potential employer, so basically it has to be as appealing as possible and it should represent you and "sell" you to your employer prior to even making contact. With that in mind, here are the Ten Tips to Make a Pimpin' Professional Resume: 1- Establish how you want to be perceived. This is the first thing to figure out. If you are going to work at a Law Firm you obviously don't want to seem like a fun loving party animal, however, the opposite applies if you are looking for a job as a DJ. 2- Clear the extra info. Include contact information but unless it is job related, leave your personal address, age and details that are just taking up space OUT! To some people you'll seem too young and for others too old, so why not just let them wonder?! 3- Be direct and type in what matters. Under each position you've held, don't enter every lame detail of your duties. Only enter what might matter to your potential employer. Sure, jobs sometimes require us to do meaningless tasks, but you don't need to bore people with the details. 4- Figure out a strong design at a glance. Make the page design attractive as a whole. If you take a look at your resume from a bit of distance, does it catch your eye? or does it get lost in a sea of resumes? 5- Edit, edit, edit. Make sure to have an accessible file that you can lightly edit in order to fit your employer's expectations as best as possible. To them you must seem like a job match made in heaven! 6- Don't be afraid to break rules, follow your gut and show off your skills! Always include all your special qualities in there. Are you a leader? do you make a great team player? Blow your own horn and own it! 7- Have an accessible online version of it. Don't underestimate the power of the internet! Have an online version ready to share by link, should the opportunity to share it present itself. Either that or have it saved in your email so you can blast it at a moments notice! Also, if you have a website, make sure to include it on your printed resume! 8- Safe = Boring Enough said. Put some color in it! and don't be cheap when you print it. 9- Get personal and make sure to include a photo of your sexy self. So you are an accountant, and you think image doesn't matter, WRONG! Make yourself presentable and get some professional good looking pictures of yourself. Just make sure you look the part you are going for. And please don't be too sexy! I know this can be a challenge but please try. 10- Get it out there! the worst thing that can happen is they toss it! Share, share, share! Upload it everywhere, post it everywhere, email it to every semi important person you know. It might just fall into the right hands. I hope these tips help you land your next job, or if anything, help you get the foot in the door and land a few more interviews than your old boring resume was! ;)
Life in NYC can get extremely busy, and before you know it you have waaaaay too many responsibilities and time commitments to even realize the beauty and wonderful opportunities that are around us. In that sense, I do like getting to meet some ot the transient population of NY (the people that come for an internship and have an expiration date as to how long they'll be here for). They always seem so excited about everything and everything they do and everywhere they go is "the coolest ever". On the other hand however, I can find those people to be extremely annoying because they seem to not be aware what the reality is in terms of what making an actual life happen in NYC requires of you, and they always question why you aren't doing all these "amazing things" (to which I answer in my head "it's called I ave a real life, and i'm not just sitting there blowing through my or my parents money").. In any case, I do try to keep the magic alive, and to take in as much of New York City as i can, and as often as I can. Sometimes this just means a 5 minutes of sitting out at central park, but hey! at least its better than nothing ;) So here are a fe images from the last few days. I'll be sharing what i can, as often as possible ;)   Lately it seems to me that most everyone has lost the need to wonder. To ask questions. Wonder about life, about art, about thoughts, Is it just NYC? is it me?
 Decor at Bloomingdales in honor of the Chinese New Year Something I really love about living in NY is the fact that everywhere you go, you can find something to visually inspire you." Keep your eyes open, you never know what might be your next inspiration source!!" - DM A lot of people like to complicate things in life way more than they should, and so this week, I bring to you a simple guide i found on how to succeed in life, in just two steps.
Lose Weight in two Steps: 1- Close your mouth 2- Start running Successful Finances in two Steps: 1-Stop buying crap you don't need 2-Stop borrowing money Good self esteem in two Steps: 1-Love yourself, just how you are 2- Stop giving a f**k what other people think Self Improvement in two Steps: 1-Stop F**cking around 2-Get to work Happy love life in two Steps: 1-Realize there's nobody that'll fit your ridiculous demands 2-Don't be afraid to be alone Healing in two Steps: 1-Forgive yourself for your dumb sh*t 2-Forgive other people for their dumb sh*t Public Speaking in two Steps: 1-Don't be afraid to sound stupid 2-If you said something stupid, keep talking Good Grooming in two Steps: 1-Shower, do your hair, and brush your teeth 2-Stand up straight Etiquette in two Steps: 1-Be polite to others 2-Close your mouth when you eat Leadership course in two Steps: 1-Have some balls 2-Set an example for others to follow Ethics and Values in two Steps: 1-Don't f**k other people over 2-Stop talking and start helping others Self Knowledge in two Steps: 1-Look in the mirror 2-Tell yourself your truths even if it hurts Emotional Growth in two Steps: 1-Stop feeling sorry for yourself 2-Stop blaming others for your problems So there it is fellas, keep it simple, and you'll make it far! Living in NYC is pricey, and finding work in dance in the NYC area and staying in good 'ballet shape' in between gigs (at the wonderful price of $17 bucks per open class, which you should be taking at least 5 times a week to be ready to audition for a job) is pretty much impossible on a dancer's salary alone, at least for most people who are on our own and handling all the expenses of living in the big apple. While scholarships are available to some of us, they still usually require you to be there for anywhere between 4-6 hours per day, interfering with any possibility to have a full time job, which you probably need in order to pay for the unforgiving rents, transportation, and $4 coffees. Even for the lucky ones working for ourselves, there are still the questions of having to take class in a 'school environment' that you may not necessarily want to be in anymore, or even taking classes from teachers whose class you don't enjoy which could very well be required to. So, considering the fact that Manhattan is the most expensive city to live in in the US, saving $17 a day may put you in a position where you could consider potentially simply not continuing to dance. In my case, a combination of all those factors, as well as being lucky enough to work on other things that pay better than the few dance gigs available in the city, drove me to the decision to quit dancing. But then after just five months of absolutely no dance, I decided to go back. Which brings me to suggest from my own experience: DO NOT JUST STOP! Before 'quitting for good' or even taking a long break without dance class, you'd better be damn sure you're not planning to come back, or else you may face the awful consequences. After just five months, the padding on the bottom of my feet went flat, my flexibility disappeared, I built muscles that totally got in the way of turning out, and gained ten glorious pounds-- that since I was too out of shape to get through more than two classes a week, although I had been going to the gym and lifting weights consistently-- it seemed like I would never be able to get rid of them. So if you are facing the decision --or the need-- not to take class, I suggest you try to discipline yourself to do a few quick things that would save you from turning into a total mess in no time, and you can do it by doing these 5 Simple Ways to Stay in Dancing Shape While you're on break. Do a barre on your own If you make yourself a simple 'set barre' that incorporates every exercise in plie, flat, and releve, you can stay in pretty decent shape without having to go to a full class. You can get through this in about 15-20 minutes. Stretch You can multi-task while watching tv, doing computer work, or planning out your daily schedule. Keep eating sensibly Dancing burns roughly 500-800 calories per ballet class so you can figure out how much you need to adjust your eating when you aren't taking class. Incorporating jumps in your cardio training Jumps are one of the first things to go when you aren't using them, on 'cardio' days -or daily if possible- make sure to do at least two sets of 'warm up jumps' which should help minimize losing power. If you go to the gym, work out on things that can still help with dance Working out at the gym is mostly designed to 'look good' for -non dancer- standards, but not for being speedy, and flexible or move very fast, so if you follow 'normal' gym workouts, you might not only lose some of you ballet ability, but you can potentially build muscles that make it event harder to get back into the studio and just rely on your muscle memory and natural ability. Doing exercises using turn out, and lengthening may save you from having this issue, as well as help you stay strong.  Following these simple steps require less than an hour per day, cost barely anything -since gym memberships are extremely affordable nowadays- and will give you the freedom to get back into class at a moments notice, and allow you to go to an audition to book your next job or scholarship, not to mention it will save you from learning the hard way, like I did!
Daevid Mendivil is a NYC based multi-disciplinary artist in the visual and performing arts, creating expressive works through dance, painting, photography, film & design. www.Daevid.net |
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