Page 97 - Marky Stein - Get a Great Job When You Don't Have a Job-McGraw-Hill (2009)

Get a Great Job When You Don’t Have a Job

Can you picture yourself saddled with the task of reading up to
1,500 résumés for one job opening? Well, you can be sure that
someone is in the middle of doing just that right now. Let’s say
that you are the hiring manager. Imagine that you’ve reached
résumé 809 out of the 1,500 you’re responsible for reviewing.
You’ve got to admit that, up to now, you’ve gathered a couple of
“maybes,” but no one résumé has really struck an emotional chord
with you.
Suddenly, holding number 809 in your hand, you get a feel-
ing in your gut the second you lay eyes on it, and you are eager
to read more. This (Fearless) résumé conjures up vivid and clear
images in your mind of the writer doing detailed, engaging, or
even colorful tasks.
Even better, these tasks have consequences. They could help
you as a manager! They could help the company!
Would you keep reading that résumé? Would it put you in a
different mood? Do you think you might be relieved, hopeful,
and happy?
Do you think that, if the descriptions of this person and her
skills were closely enough matched to both the job requirements
and your own personal preferences, you might even want to meet
this person?
If you were a hiring manager, you bet you would. Hiring
managers aren’t robots, you know. The person reading your
résumé is a real person, just like you. Just as you don’t want the
drudgery of reading a lot of dull documents, neither does he.
That’s where Q statements come in. Q statements are more
than just phrases about your job duties. Instead, they are
dynamic and often measurable sentences that give rich sensory
information.

• Because a Q statement is so specific and detailed, it
causes readers to form pictures in their minds of you
doing tasks and reaching goals that spell out “hire.”

What Is a Q Statement?

A Q statement is a phrase or sentence that actively and vividly
describes something that you have accomplished.

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