Hat Tip to WIRED magazine and Guy Kawasaki for this idea.
One of the more common memes now sweeping the internet is writing a story in only six words. It all started when Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words:
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
With about a million new blogs being created…daily…with their over-worded, lack of disciplined writing posts, it seems only natural that a company like Twitter would be the hot new company of the year, given their platform only allows 140-character posts. Plus we all know that most of us are not being medicated for our own A-D-D, so the shorter the article, the better. Know what I mean?
Couple all this with the knowledge that most resumes are over-valued and under-read, and you have the perfect storm: Announcing GL’s How Would You Create a Six Word Resume Meme?
Here are the rules:
1. Post your favorite six word resume ideas to your blog.
2. Link to this original post.
3. Email me that you did it.
4. Do it by january 1, 2009.
Popular demand has extended the idea, there is no deadline, Be sure to post on your blog, and make a comment here too, so all can see.
Here are a couple of thought starters for you:
“You know me, I can play.” Brett Favre
“Famous investor, trusted by many, but” Bernie Madoff
“You ass$#$, who the F**& RU?” Rod Blagojevich
You get the idea. Here are some more short six word stories from Wired to get you started.
New genes demand expression — third eye.
- Greg Bear
K.I.A. Baghdad, Aged 18 – Closed Casket
- Richard K. Morgan
WORLD’S END. Sic transit gloria Monday.
- Gregory Benford
Epitaph: He shouldn’t have fed it.
- Brian Herbert
Batman Sues Batsignal: Demands Trademark Royalties.
- Cory Doctorow
Heaven falls. Details at eleven.
- Robert Jordan
Bush told the truth. Hell froze.
- William Gibson
whorl. Help! I’m caught in a time
- Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel
Nevertheless, he tried a third time.
- James P. Blaylock
God to Earth: “Cry more, noobs!”
- Marc Laidlaw
Help! Trapped in a text adventure!
- Marc Laidlaw
Thought I was right. I wasn’t.
- Graeme Gibson
Lost, then found. Too bad.
- Graeme Gibson
Three to Iraq. One came back.
- Graeme Gibson
Rapture postponed. Ark demanded! Which one?
- David Brin
Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back.
- David Brin
Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot.
- David Brin
Temporal recursion. I’m dad and mom?
- David Brin
Time Avenger’s mistaken! It wasn’t me…
- David Brin
Democracy postponed. Whence franchise? Ask Diebold…
- David Brin
Cyborg seeks egg donor, object ___.
- David Brin
Deadline postponed. Five words enough…?
- David Brin
Metrosexuals notwithstanding, quiche still lacks something.
- David Brin
Brevity’s virtue? Wired saves adspace. Subscribe!
- David Brin
Death postponed. Metastasized cells got organized.
- David Brin
Microsoft gave us Word. Fiat lux?
- David Brin
Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower.
- David Brin
Singularity postponed. Datum missing. Query Godoogle?
- David Brin
Please, this is everything, I swear.
- Orson Scott Card
I saw, darling, but do lie.
- Orson Scott Card
Osama’s time machine: President Gore concerned.
- Charles Stross
Sum of all fears: AND patented.
- Charles Stross
Ships fire; princess weeps, between stars.
- Charles Stross
Mozilla devastates Redmond, Google’s nuke implicated.
- Charles Stross
Will this do (lazy writer asked)?
- Ken MacLeod
Cryonics: Disney thawed. Mickey gnawed. Omigawd.
- Eileen Gunn
WIRED stimulates the planet: Utopia blossoms!
- Paul Di Filippo
Clones demand rights: second Emancipation Proclamation.
- Paul Di Filippo
MUD avatars rebel: virtual Independence Day.
- Paul Di Filippo
We crossed the border; they killed us.
- Howard Waldrop
H-bombs dropped; we all died.
- Howard Waldrop
Your house is mine: soft revolution.
- Howard Waldrop
Warskiing; log; prop in face.
- Howard Waldrop
The Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit.
- Howard Waldrop
Salinger story: three koans in fountain.
- Howard Waldrop
Finally, he had no more words.
- Gregory Maguire
There were only six words left.
- Gregory Maguire
In the beginning was the word.
- Gregory Maguire
Commas, see, add, like, nada, okay?
- Gregory Maguire
Weeping, Bush misheard Cheney’s deathbed advice.
- Gregory Maguire
Corpse parts missing. Doctor buys yacht.
- Margaret Atwood
Starlet sex scandal. Giant squid involved.
- Margaret Atwood
He read his obituary with confusion.
- Steven Meretzky
Time traveler’s thought: “What’s the password?”
- Steven Meretzky
I win lottery. Sun goes nova.
- Steven Meretzky
Steve ignores editor’s word limit and
- Steven Meretzky
Leia: “Baby’s yours.” Luke: “Bad news…”
- Steven Meretzky
Parallel universe. Bush, destitute, joins army.
- Steven Meretzky
Dorothy: “Fuck it, I’ll stay here.”
- Steven Meretzky
68 users commented in " The Six Word Resume Contest, It’s a Meme. "
Here is the first entry: http://marketingtechblog.com/2008/12/30/my-six-word-resume/
Conrad Hake just left one at his new blog too. http://www.levintel.com/?p=125
I Can, try cannot exist.
This song’s just six words long.
– Weird Al Yankovic (or George Harrison)
When working , my shit doesn’t stink!
Shit happens, then I work it!
Why shit, when I can work!
For God’s sake, hire me now!
Work for shit, if-it is green!
Here’s my entry: http://www.ejly.net/2008/12/6-word-resume.html thanks for posting all those examples, they’re good!
EJLY’s was:
“As I live, so does Apple” – Steve Jobs
Priceless, Eva, priceless.
OK, OK. I know when I’m outclassed. I was going to add “very” to rich, but I think you have to give it to EJLY. You said you were going to send the winner 600 bucks, right?
Eva’s was very good, I think.
Now, I am even responding in six word bursts. And no, no prize money…yet. Maybe a free copy (pdf) of DIGYOURJOB. http://www.digyourjob.com, shameless plug.
From Douglas Karr’s blog, just to help out the readers:
Marketingtechblog: http://marketingtechblog.com/2008/12/30/my-six-word-resume/#comment-257365
“Tirelessly finding answers. And sharing them.”
And his commenters Robbie Slaughter: “Solving complex problems efficiently and elegantly.”
And Andrew Ball: “Work to eat. Create to live.”
Clever guys, you are the bomb. (six words always?)
From Conrad Hake’s Levintel.com blog:
“Going Bald. Rich. Try me.” Deduct points for using FIVE WORDS.
And his commenter, Corky: “Smart..willing to learn..available..blond!”
The above are all 6-word STORIES, but the idea for short resumes is a great one.
I loved ELJY’s entry about Steve Jobs, though it’s tragic.
Here’s mine:
Building reputations, growing startups, serial micropreneur.
Thanks for posting this!
______________
Stephen Abbott
Abbott PR
abbottpr.com
lol corky
here is mine “I stand alone, next to me”
Nothing left to screw up. Thanks. George Bush
Who’s hungry? Let’s eat. Let’s talk. Jeff Pulver
Fire it up. Ready to go. Barack Obama
Deb @debworks
These remind me of the old Burma Shave signs!
[...] Join the fun (http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2008/12/30/the-six-word-resume-contest-its-a-meme/): [...]
Here is Marc’s entry from his blog mountainblogs: “Buy Stock. Sell children. Greed’s good.”
From Sarah Hamilton on her blog:
http://sarahehamilton.blogspot.com/2008/12/6-word-resume-meme.html
“Rag Doll livin’ in a movie”
-Aerosmith in Rag Doll
“Fashion is made to become unfashionable.”
-Coco Chanel
“Eye contact is the best accessory.”
-Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata, Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005
“He who desires is always poor.”
-Claudianus
“Sports is human life in microcosm.”
-Howard Cosell
“An idea is salvation by imagination.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright
“Don’t find fault, Find a remedy.”
-Henry Ford
“I stand for freedom of expression…”
-Madonna Ciccone
“Good times never seemed so good”
-Neil Diamond in Sweet Caroline
“I’m a ballplayer, not an actor”
-Joe DiMaggio
“Commercials capture your attention, that’s all.”
-Calvin Klein
”Instant gratification is not soon enough.”
-Meryl Streep
Posted by Sarah Hamilton at 8:13 PM
Lisa Johnson over at http://www.twitterdoit.com left these two resumes:
I have two jobs, this site and as a studio owner.
Here goes:
Studio Owner: Get Clients. Teach Pilates. Manage Instructors.
Site Founder: Get Members. Enlighten Members. Be Happy.
Here is a good one from http://www.helpstuff.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/30/six_word_resume_meme_from_wwds
“Playing the hand I was dealt.”
From CarmaSez: “I Got A Degree For This?”
“Yes Sir. Whatever You Say Sir.”
“Jack of Few Trades; Mastered Some”
Brief, focused, connected, friend to all- Twitter
Me first! (I’m a team player).
dear mom,
“Good one. Generation X or Not?
Eric-
“Twitter, just like IM and popups?”
From radioGirl:
“Radio, hiphop, cardmaking are my passion.”
at
http://radiogirlradiogirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/six-word-resume-contest.html
“I made a meme go crazy!” – GL Hoffman
Time Avenger’s mistaken! It wasn’t me
From twitter.com/waynemansfield
This isn’t an entry – more of an observation. There is a typo in the article.
“You get the idea. Here are some more short six word stories from Wired to get your started.” The second sentence should read, “…to get YOU started.”
That’s all.
[...] through the 100 comment barrier on a post for the first time. Yippee! What a way to kick off 2009. G.L. Hoffman’s Six Word Resume Contest is underway. Fun! There’s no deadline on this meme. Here are my entries [...]
Hi G.L., here are a few entries –
http://www.wordsellinc.com/blog/blogs/odds-memes-and-ends/
Six words: harder than it sounds!
*Helping sell houses, despite down market.
*Moving Mountains. You won’t have to.
*Staging real estate. Help you sell.
Hey this is fun!
*Designing your dreams. Call Moving Mountains!
Staging it better. Selling it faster.
Staging, Mentoring, Blogging – Building a Business.
Now reverse in aging am I.
- Yoda Button
That yoda one is definitely a contender. How about:
Well I’m going for the trifecta now: a sequence of 6 line resumes from classic thespians:
“Why I ought ta slap you.”
Moe Howard
“Pick on somebody your own size!”
Larry Howard
“wiseguy, hey? Nyuk nyuk nyuk.”
Curley Howard
The only comeback I can even think of is:
“Eva, you are a worthy opponent!” or
“Eva’s trifecta, perfect for a collecta”
But, those won’t do it and I think it’s cheating to put something like:
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t giveadamn!”
My last word really is really a prediction:
“No one will beat your trifecta.”
Need Fresh Ideas? I can help!
Good one, Katie, Good one, Katie.
I rule the Twitterverse! I’m nice.
- Chris Brogan
Stop the clock! Timeout! I just detected a foul and want a replay. Re-examine the following two lines from Eva’s leading entry:
“wiseguy, hey? Nyuk nyuk nyuk.”
Curley Howard
Note that the first line is only FIVE (5) words. I recall having points deducted for that earlier in the game.
REFEREE!!!!
I heard about this about a year ago and came up with my phrase: Work to Eat. Create to Live.
From wayne mansfield: “Mozilla devastates Redmond, Google’s nuke implicated.”- Charles Stross Six Word Resume
Conrad, refer to section 3G, clause 42.2 of your rulebook. Compound words may be computed as either the sum of the words thereby compounded or as a single word, depending on metric requirements of the verse. Therefore, ‘wiseguy’ can be read as ‘wise guy’.
After review, the ruling on the field stands and you have been charged a time out. Timekeeper, please reset the game clock.
Eva, as Curley might say, “Oh, a lawyer, eh?” Of course, he wouldn’t say it here since it is only four words.
While you have in fact sited the correct rule, it also states that one must commit to the form of the word/words used in the phrase at the time of publication. You did, in fact, publish “wiseguy”, not “wise guy” and that is the source of the infraction. Note also, that “wise guy” denotes wisdom while “wiseguy” denotes a certain sarcastic bent. We know what Curley meant…
Methinks I have lost complete control.
Where’s the damn referee when you need him? Probably twittering again!
And just when I need to go spend the day with future in-laws. For the first time. I should get a judgment in my favor just on that alone.
This isn’t done, Eva.
I’m ready to submit to arbitration. You see, I absolutely missed the 46 warnings I had not to share my password online with a phishing site so clearly someone snagged my password, swiped a space out of my post, and has thereby disadvantaged me. Not since the Patriots were caught in clumsy espionage has there been so egregious a foul… not that I’m implying you did anything. I absolutely am not. And then you go playing the in-law card. Wow. Somebody get the commissioner on the line already.
(Note to WWDS: this is the internet. Any illusion of control is merely temporary.)
Dear Eva,
I’m willing to settle out of court. If you will go to this site I will direct you to, give me your password and credit card information (again), I am willing to drop the matter. I think you’ll find I’m actually quite a reasonable man.
You can trust me. I will hold your information in the strictest confidence.
Sincerely,
Conrad
Twitterer @waynemansfield has several he tweets…I am missing some, but here is the latest:
Corpse parts missing. Doctor buys yacht.- Margaret Atwood
Whoosh (sound of name going right over head)?
And the 50th comment goes to Mark: “Retired Electrician Discovers Shocking New Income” from
http://positivevisions.blogspot.com/
good one Mark.
another?
[...] If you’re a twitter fiend and into short sentences or looking for ‘Back to work postponement’ tactics then have a go @ http://blogs.jobdig.com/wwds/2008/12/30/the-six-word-resume-contest-its-a-meme/ [...]
My entry:
Project delivered, team happy, customer satisfied!
OK, here’s mine (I’m a web content writer):
“My writing turns readers into customers.”
From rizzo tees “http://www.rizzotees.com
“I should not have eaten that”
[...] December, 2008: The Six Word Resume Contest, It’s a Meme. Robert Himself first turned me on to the power of memes, and as luck would have it, I hit on a fun [...]
Here is a good one from far far away,Juliet Brain “born worker, creatively educated, artfully able”
She blogs at http://artsmonkey.wordpress.com/
Here is my meme
Being yelled at, I fix that!
company founder resume…
I usually agree with your article content, but in this case I am sorry to say that I do not share your views….
Get Rich. Keep Everything. And die.
George Herbert Walker Obama. Holy Shit.
[...] a new meme going around for a 6 word resume at G.L. Hoffman’s blog. The goal is to come up with a 6 word resume that captures the essence of who you are. This is [...]
[...] 4, 2009 in work | Tags: resume I read about a contest for the best six word resume and it got me [...]
Looks like I came late to the party, but I had to join in — what fun!
Mine is : Great Employee, Diverse Background, Works Cheap:(
(Seems to be the best way to get in the door nowadays.)
[...] What would you say to an employer if you only had six words. This is the question posed in G.L. Hoffman’s blog. As a resume expert and personal branding specialist I love this [...]
As a Personal Branding Strategist and Certified Master Resume Writer I absolutely love, love, love this concept. In your invitation to respond to this chellenge I’ve written the blogpost ‘Personal Branding meets Resume Writing – The 6 Word Resume’ (http://www.careeredge.wordpress.com) and outlined a few quick examples I came up with which include -
* For the Project Manager – ‘Project Glue, binding teams, building unity.’
* My own as a Personal Branding Strategist – ‘Branding Specialist, Expert in Marketing You’
*For the Personal Shopper – ‘Fashionista: Reinventing tired fashions’
* For the Mum – ‘Household CEO, where slavery meets leadership’
I can’t wait to hear more from others on this great concept.
I’ve refined mine now… Production Assistant pursuing film/tv career!
Here’s my quick little blog about it: http://katerees711.blogspot.com/ Thanks for the idea…
[...] “What Would Dad Say” that originally was published on Dec. 30, 2008 entitled “The Six Word Resume Contest, It’s a Meme.“ In it he challenges readers to “post your favorite six word resume ideas to your [...]
My entry – “I work, for you, to employment”
My blog entry can be found at http://cv4.biz/six-word-resume-contest/
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