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Thank You Notes
When my wife was hired for her first real job after graduating from college, she
was remembered and saluted by her new supervisor for one seemingly small step
she had taken during the interviewing process: She was the only applicant of
several interviewed who had sent a thank you note after her interview.
It seems amazing, but it’s true: A simple thank you note
after a job interview can wield considerable power and influence, and reflect
very favorably on your candidacy for the position. Why? Several reasons:
- By sending a thank you note,
you show your interviewer common courtesy and respect.
Unfortunately, in our busy and often impolite world, we
simply don’t acknowledge each other’s time, efforts and commitments. So
in sending a thank you note, you tell your interviewer in no uncertain terms
that you appreciate the time he has given you. After all, he had to give up
part or all of the day to be with you, and expend effort learning more about
you and what you have to offer.
- So few job applicants send
thank you notes that you automatically stand out if you do.
It’s shocking, but the majority of job applicants fail
to send thank you notes after their interviews. Why? Who knows? But the
bottom line is that you wind up in a position to shine simply by putting
forth the effort of sending a note. Strange, but true.
- A thank you note gives you an
opportunity to reiterate points you made during your interview.
Have you ever left an interview wishing you’d more
strongly emphasized a certain skill or experience the employer seemed to be
looking for? A thank you note gives you the chance to do just that. After
using the first paragraph of your note to thank your interviewer, you can
use a brief second paragraph to touch again upon the key points you made in
your interview. You can also use a similar strategy to clean up any
interview rough spots you might have had -- i.e., to expand upon or clarify
responses you felt were weak or shaky.
- A thank you note lets you make
points you forgot to make in your interview.
Sometimes after an interview, as you walk out to your car,
you smack yourself on the forehead and say to yourself, "Why didn’t I
talk about _____?" Frustrating? You bet. But you can take care of the
problem to some degree in your thank you note. Again, perhaps in the second
paragraph, you can say something to the effect of "After our
discussion, it occurred to me that I forgot to tell you about
_________."
- A thank you note demonstrates
your written communication skills.
In receiving and reading your thank you notes, your
interviewer will see firsthand how you handle yourself on paper. You’ll be
using similar skills every day with the company’s potential clients,
customers and vendors -- so the interviewer will be reading carefully to see
how you come across in print.
Writing thank you notes isn’t terribly difficult or
time-consuming. It can make a much bigger difference than you might think --
perhaps even the difference between the job going to you or someone else.
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