Tease Employers with Snack Culture Queries

In the March 2007 issue of Wired Magazine, senior editor Nancy Miller leads off the magazine's look at what they call the "snack culture." Briefly defined (which is appropriate, considering the subject matter), Americans are increasingly absorbing media in packets and not smorgasbords. We're downloading one song instead of buying a complete CD. We breeze past commercials with TiVo. And who among us didn't use Cliffs Notes at least once during high school and/or college?

This snack culture has even made its way to how some look for work. Increasingly, job seekers are sending queries in lieu of three-paragraph cover letters and two-page resumes. Their rationale may carry some heft. Economically, "snack culture queries" can save on high-quality stock stationary and the resulting higher postage cost. Time wise (and time is the heart and soul of the snack culture), it saves precious minutes writing and precious seconds reading.

But are snack culture queries effective? And if so, do snack culture queries replace the tried-and-true cover letter/resume submissions?

They can be effective - particularly if they're sent to a company that hasn't advertised a job posting for someone with your qualities. Snack culture queries can notify hiring managers and other key contacts that you're wonderful and available. If they're interested, they'll get ahold of you. Also, they're more effective on paper. They might look like spam by email and be easily deleted.

A couple words to the wise: snack culture queries can also work against you. If you're applying for a job that's posted, use the cover letter/resume combo. They can also smack of cheese.

So what do they look like? A snack culture query's only paragraph might read something like this:

"Looking for someone with 10 years of IT management experience? Someone who's as adept at managing hardware as he is leading code slingers? Let's talk!"

- OR -

"I have 10 years accounting experience, a B.A. from Penn State, an M.B.A. from Duke and three interviews this week. Let's make you my fourth."

You probably noticed both of these examples have a few things in common:

Short. The point of your note is to pique curiosity. The key word in the previous sentence is "note" - not "letter." Two sentences - three tops - is all you need. With snack culture queries, less is definitely more.

Sales pitch. Highlight your strongest attributes relative to the job you're angling for. Also be sure to ask for contact - a "call to action" like "let's talk" in the first snack culture query example and "let's make you my fourth" in the second.

Sense of humor. A tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, that is. Don't try to be Jerry Seinfeld or Eddy Murphy. Keep in mind, too, that on snack culture queries, there's a fine line between "tongue-in-cheek" and "too cute for your own good." In both of the above examples, there's an implied wink at the reader.

IN A NUTSHELL: If you want to join the "snack culture" with a query letter, make it short, sales-oriented and tongue-in-cheek.