The 6-Second Resume Challenge Answers Keep or Trash

The 6-Second Resume Challenge Answers Keep or Trash The 6-Second Resume Challenge Answers October 1, 2015 If youve taken our 6-Second Resume Challenge, youve come to the right place to see which resumes you should have kept, and which ones you should have trashed. Make a Resume in Minutes If you havent take the test yet, then click this link to get started, and come back once youre finished! Were going to cover these resumes in the same order they were presented on the test. We begin with William Thundercat Jameson. Resume 1: William Thundercat Jameson Keep or Trash? Click to find out. William Thundercat Jameson: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. Despite his obvious enthusiasm, William Thundercat Jameson would be a poor candidate choice. Using pictures is already frowned upon, much less using an unprofessional picture. And no matter how cool your nickname is, dont include it on your resume. Pro Tip: When you do get hired, you can slowly convince your new co-workers to use your preferred nomenclature. Until then, keep it under wraps. He further errs by using the unprofessional email address thesurferdude@gmail.com a silly email is a fast way to lose the respect of a hiring manager. Overall, Mr. Thundercats resume is bad. Even if it is also very cool. Resume 2: Valerie Dominic Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Valerie Dominic: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. Was Valerie Dominic drinking when she wrote her resume? Did she give up on life? Or does she simply not know how to use a computer? None of these questions are good omens for Valerie Dominics job prospects. Valeries resume could be most generously described as abstract art. Less generously, Kafkaesque. Notice the uneven columns, the mysteriously morphing  bullet points, the phantom spaces, the shifting indentation. It is a train wreck, and Ms. Dominic is the eternally jobless conductor. Tip RG TIP: Dont make the same formatting mistakes as  Valerie. Instead, stop by our resume formats guide to learn which style is best for you. Resume 3: Linda Phillips Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Linda Phillips: KEEP Click the resume to expand it. Linda Phillips is a great candidate for the following reasons: 1. Her resume is sharp and professional looking. 2. Her resume objective is designed to say what she can do for the company, not what the company can do for her. 3. She has had previous customer service experience. 4. She uses numbers to quantify her past achievements. She is a prime target for an interview callback. Resume 4: George Ticker Keep or Trash? Click to find out. George Ticker: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. By reading his resume, you can guess that George Ticker is the kind of guy who probably just wants to get through the day. He is blunt, serious, positively humorless, and answers your questions exclusively with grunts and one word answers. George Ticker may have been an exceptional employee at Spekscape and Jerrys Subs. Unfortunately its impossible to know, because his resume is so vague. What can we glean from his resume? We know hes able to move around and do things. However, hiring managers  have higher expectations of potential employees. To improve his resume, Mr. Ticker needs to be more detailed about his performance and the nature of his previous jobs, preferably using numbers to measure his achievements and describe his responsibilities. Resume 5: Daniel Richter Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Daniel Richter: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. If you were fooled by any of the resumes, it was probably this one. How can such a great candidate warrant a trashed resume? Daniel Richters resume is the equivalent of cooking an 8 course meal, setting the table cloth, taking out fancy silverware, uncorking an expensive bottle of wine, inviting the guests over, and then realizing that you forgot to turn the oven on once everyone arrives. Cold turkey for all. Cant see what the problem is yet? If you were an actual hiring manager, the problem would become obvious quickly he has no contact details, except for a home address, which is functionally useless. Poor Daniel, full of hope, full of fail. Resume 6: Donovan Long Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Donovan Long: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. Donovan Long is perhaps best described as a blah candidate. 1. His career objective is blah, it explains nothing noteworthy or relevant. 2. His work experience is blah, lifeguarding and construction work could have some transferable skills into customer service, but he failed to emphasize how on his resume. 3. His work history is blah, youll notice that he skips jobs frequently and has work gaps, which is never a good sign to a hiring manager. 4. His bullet points are blah, he certainly did some work, but its hard to know how well he did it, since hes failed to quantify his achievements. In addition, each job experience should, at minimum, have three bullet points. Donovan could create a worthy resume with some creativity and a different resume format. However, in its current state, its easy to ignore. Resume 7: Howard Lai Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Howard Lai: KEEP Click the resume to expand it. Howard Lai is another excellent candidate. He has directly relevant work experience in customer service, which he describes in detail with numbers. His resume is crisp, clean, and easy to read. Any hiring manager could immediately see that he has the necessary skills and drive to perform in an entry-level customer service job. Resume 8: Robert Bensky Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Robert Bensky: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. There isnt a single thing wrong with Robert Benskys resume in theory. He is quite obviously  a powerhouse of a salesman, and a consummate professional. His resume looks bold and aggressive. Unfortunately, Robert Bensky is absurdly overqualified for an entry-level customer service job. Its possible that he would have more knowledge, experience, and accomplishments than his own direct boss. This would put both Mr. Bensky and his boss into a rather awkward position, one that would be embarrassing for his boss and irritating for him. Overqualified candidates like Mr. Bensky tend to be short term, because theyre going to be looking for another job as soon as they get hired not a situation that is ideal for employers. Why did Mr. Bensky apply for this job? Welcome to the mystery of being an HR. Resume 9: Claire Romero Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Claire Romero: KEEP Click the resume to expand it. Claire Romero is another keeper. She has relevant professional and educational experience. Even her stint as a Resident Assistant (RA) at her college has been deftly described in terms of providing customer service, demonstrating that she has transferable skills. Again, her achievements and job duties are described in detail, with numbers, giving the hiring manager a clear idea of her skills and abilities. Claire is definitely a great choice for an interview callback. Resume 10: Barbara Staukas Keep or Trash? Click to find out. Barbara Staukas: TRASH Click the resume to expand it. Barbara Staukas needs a proof reader. Right off the bat, from the first sentence in the career objective, you can tell shes either not a native English speaker, or has issues with grammar. Spelling mistakes litter the resume. Shes done well at quantifying her past experiences, and is clearly a qualified candidate. Unfortunately,  her lack of attention to detail is a fatal flaw, and sinks  her application. The Final Challenge Out of these three good candidates, who  do you think is the best? Open Gallery Open Gallery Open Gallery Its a tough choice. Whats your opinion? Is 6 seconds enough time to judge a resume? Thanks for  participating in our challenge! Stay tuned for another blog post discussing the statistical results of our challenge. Were going to reveal if professional HRs are better than the average population at judging a resume within 6 seconds, among other findings.