Q TIPS:
Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Job-hunting tips from the September 30, 2002 issue of
QuintZine.
A job-search letter technique that can be effective
during tough times is what Marky Stein, calls a "Q" or
qualifications letter. "This document is a short letter that
compares your qualifications with the employer's requirements
for the job," writes Stein on the Career Journal portion of WSJ.com.
"It's brief and concise enough to catch the reader's eye with
highly relevant material within those first crucial seconds.
When you compose a Q letter, list only those qualifications
that you meet or exceed. Requirements that you don't meet
or exceed may be omitted from the letter. Q letters can be
especially effective for qualified candidates who haven't
succeeded with traditional direct-mail methods," notes Stein
in her article,
Strategies for Beating The Job-Search Odds.
The article provides a link to a sample "Q letter," though
frankly,
we like ours better
It's OK to send a post-interview thank-you note
to hiring managers via e-mail, according to a recent survey
of executives developed by Accountemps. Seventy-eight percent
of respondents consider e-mailed thank-you messages appropriate,
while just 22 percent believe e-mail notes are inappropriate.
Executives were asked, "How appropriate is it for
job candidates to send an e-mail thank-you message,
rather than a written note?" Their responses:
Very appropriate: 26 percent
Somewhat appropriate: 52 percent
Somewhat inappropriate: 14 percent
Very inappropriate: 8 percent
"Sending an e-mail immediately following a job interview
demonstrates initiative, but candidates should follow up
with a traditional, more formal letter," advises Max Messmer,
chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career
For Dummies (Hungry Minds, Inc.).
Writing a thank-you message can also give job seekers a
leg up on the competition: In a related survey question,
86 percent of executives polled said they consider a
post-interview thank you helpful when evaluating candidates.
But only 39 percent of job applicants actually follow through
with this simple courtesy, according to executives polled.
Cut down on sentences that begin with "I" and adopt
a "you" perspective. Note how ad copy is liberally
sprinkled with "you." Your cover letter, after all, is an
advertisement for your resume.
Use your cover letter to convey enthusiasm for the job you're
applying for. Enthusiasm sells.
Using a proactive closer in your letter, in which you
state that you'll follow up to schedule an interview will
set you apart from the crowd with its determination and
confidence.
Instead of just relating what you did in your
jobs, tell what the outcomes are. Impress employers
by telling them what positive things happened as a result
of what you did.
A job-search letter technique that can be effective
during tough times is what Marky Stein, calls a "Q" or
qualifications letter. "This document is a short letter that
compares your qualifications with the employer's requirements
for the job," writes Stein on the Career Journal portion of WSJ.com.
"It's brief and concise enough to catch the reader's eye with
highly relevant material within those first crucial seconds.
When you compose a Q letter, list only those qualifications
that you meet or exceed. Requirements that you don't meet
or exceed may be omitted from the letter. Q letters can be
especially effective for qualified candidates who haven't
succeeded with traditional direct-mail methods," notes Stein
in her article,
