Reinforce your qualifications and show you have style

Thank you letter/email after the job interview

Why not?

• In today’s competitive market, why wouldn’t you do everything possible to keep yourself in the running for a position?
• A thank you letter is not just a gracious thing to do. This is yet another opportunity for you to reinforce why you are the right person for the job. You can also share something you forgot to mention during the face-to-face interview.
• You may or may not miss a “thank you“ after you take the time to talk with someone. I can assure you that you will feel like it is a nice touch if you receive one.
• Your recruiter or hiring manager may be someone who WILL “miss” a thank you letter/card, literally “expecting” a thank you.  As a recruiter, I talk with 10 people a week. Trends starts to show after doing this for a few years.  Trust me, you miss them when they don’t turn up from specific candidates or specific positions.
• Saying  “Thank you” is the right thing to do.
• A thank you letter reinforces that you know how to treat customers.

The right thing to do

I may be old school, but I do appreciate a thank you letter or email.  It’s not only the “right” thing to do. I look at it as another opportunity to reinforce why the candidate is the right person for the position. Reinforcing points discussed or missed in the interview via a thank you is a great way to solidify your position.  Ten years ago, a thank you would have been SOP.  Now, I honestly don’t expect one from someone in technology or applying for a technical position.  In my opinion, it is a sad reflection of the economic, political, and generational differences.

Shockingly, hiring managers will be excited about receiving a two-sentence email from a candidate.  That email is passed around to those involved in the interview loop. As a presell it is passed to the manager at the next level up. It is as if trying to say, “Look at what our candidate did!” “Aren’t they thoughtful and considerate?”  All the while getting excited about these 2 or 3 sentences that usually don’t say anything concrete.  But it is the complete LACK of any acknowledgment that we are used to that generates this enthusiasm. 

Missing the boat

This reinforces my point about how often people are missing the boat.  From the company standpoint, those in the interview loop who receive a personalized email / thank you DO get excited.  For that reason, take the opportunity and leverage it.  Identify new areas where you fit the job or reinforce previously discussed skills.

Remember, most correspondence with a candidate before the actual hire will be collected and put into the file.  If you transfer to another department, your future manager will review your file up and go over its contents.  A simple business email that says the following can be very effective:

• Thank you, I appreciate your time
• I am really excited about the position (you will be surprised how often this isn’t conveyed)
• Reinforce a new reason you are the right fit for the job OR send a link to an article that you uncovered that pertains to your interview. It will show interest.

I am regularly asked if I should send a handwritten card or an email. I like cards, but emails can arrive on the same day. It is expected to interview two candidates on the same day. If I receive an email from candidate number 1 by the end of the day I feel great. I may receive a handwritten card via postal mail from the other candidate 2, but I was thinking about candidate number 1. In the day of Amazon’s same-day delivery, email your thank you. 

20 minutes

Is this your third interview with the same company and the same person? Show consistency and send the thank you letter/correspondence.  It will take you 20 minutes.  Just do it.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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