culturefit.com: You have just finished a job interview you believe will be a perfect fit professionally. Now it’s time to sit back and wait for the phone call stating you’ve been chosen over all other candidates for the position. It’s that simple, right? Wrong. You can’t afford to be one of those individuals who believe once the interview is over, your job is done. You still have one more powerful and essential tool to use to strengthen your chances of landing that position. It’s the ‘thank you’ letter! Oddly, only 20% of job seekers use this tool. Why is this significant?
14 comments:
This is something that I need to work on employing more. I'm always big on saying "thank you for your time" in emails that I address to professors, employers, and other potential connections because not only are they actually very busy a lot of the time (and therefore do deserve the thanks), but it's a nice reminder to them that you care. I believe in sending or saying thank you not only post-interviews, but really anytime sometime goes out of their way to help you. I remember during Playground I needed some help from one of my teachers and I knew he was very busy, but mentioning how I was grateful for his time demonstrated to him that I know I'm asking a favor but that I was thankful. Branching off of thank you emails, I also always save any hand-written letter that I receive. There's something special about getting a hand written thank you-- knowing that someone's hand grazed over the surface of the paper is special.
This article drove home the point of how important thank you emails are and give good advice for what to include. I often struggle at figuring out what to say for a job interview because I don’t want it to be to long and repetitive to what we just talked about, but I want to include something more personal than a surface thank you. Talking about how you will fit within their organization and why your so well equipped serves to remind them what you talked about when they read it. As an employer interviewing so many people every day, I can imagine that it would get hard to tell the people apart even if you take notes. They wont have your exact words- only fragments. By telling them again in an email, it gives you the chance to word it even better and remind them who you are. As for handwritten thank you’s, I think they still are very important, but not as much for job interviews. Snail mail takes too long. But if a person has been going out of their way to help you, sending a handwritten thank you is an even more personalized way to show your appreciation and shows you really care because, if you're like me, you've rewritten the thank you four times before your handwriting looks nice without any mistakes so you’re really dedicated to the thanks.
Dear Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Admissions Board,
I'd like to start this note off with my sincere and abundant thanks for your decision to let me in to your prestigious program. I'm not sure of the methodology by which you made your decision, or even the names of the people involved. For all I know, you could have simply picked my name out of a hat, or accidentally misplaced the applications of my competition. For all I know, you intensely regret your decision. This is of no concern to me, however, as this article instructs me to "be VERY specific". So, on that note, thank you for seeing a competent working professional hidden somewhere in the shit-scared public-school student who handed you her portfolio, labeled with fluorescent post-its and ball-point pen just 20 minutes before. Thank you for looking me in the eye when I talked, so I'd feel rude if I assumed my normal anxiety hunch, staring into my lap.
I'm instructed to "make it personal" as well. I don't know how much more personal I can make this, so we'll skip that for now.
Onto the next tip: I am to show that I am "a good cultural fit within the organization." This is the tricky, because it's not true. I'm from duct-tape theater, where the set creaks ominously, and the leads were blazing sticky in the dressing room 5 minutes ago.
But that’s not my main reason for thanking you. You see, I'm from the land where we swing our cars (to quote Clyde Carson). I'm from one of the lowest-paying school districts in California, from malnourished arts programs and astronomical drop-out rates. The halls of a $70,000/year private college in the Northeast are the farthest thing from my native culture. I don't fit in here, and I don't care. If anyone thinks for a damn second that I'm not grateful to be here, that I’m going to make this culture work for me somehow, they're dead wrong. I made it, bitch. Only half of original high-school friend group made it to any sort of college, but here I am, and I thank someone every damn day for it.
So thank you. Whoever you are who made the call to let me in. Thank you.
When I go home to gaze at the teenage wrecks, lives over before they began, I thank you, whoever you are.
When I hear about someone I know going to jail, getting pregnant, getting shot, falling off the radar, getting stuck, what have you, I thank you.
I thank you from the flats of West Oakland where gunshots echoed around me as a young child.
I thank you from the affluent hills of El Cerrito, where I could never be a native.
I thank you from the halls of my high school, which I once ran through sobbing, with the intention of never returning.
I thank you from next to the metal bookcase in my theater classroom, where I spent a few hours because of a gang-related shooting outside.
I thank you from there, because as I sat on the floor, sandwiched between bookcase and wall, I realized that the letter I'd received a few weeks before was about to change my reality.
I thank you, because I've built worlds to escape into for my entire damn life, and after 17 years, I'm an outsider looking in, my old reality encapsulated in a grimy bubble, that I've broken out of at last.
I thank you, whoever you are, because I’m on my way to something good, possibly great.
And as someone who spent years thinking that I couldn’t do great things, I can’t express how much that means to me.
I think that sending a thank you note to an interviewer after an interview is a great idea that I had really never bee taught to do or even thought of myself. It was interesting to find out that most companies expect thank you notes and that even in some cases, they can have an affect on weather you get the job or not. I can also see how sending a thank you note can be tricky because it is difficult to distinguish the line of a professional note and one that is a little to unprofessional. This article surprised me with how detailed it wants you to be in a thank you letter and how much information it thinks you should out into your letter. Another thing that surprised me was the fact that more employers like receiving e-mails rather than hand written notes. Overall, I think that this article included some great tips but I also feel like the article should warn you against restating everything that you said in your interview or that you wrote on your portfolio. I am new to this, but I think that a thank you note should tie up the process of interviewing with an acknowledgement and appreciation of the interviewers time and not just a summary of what they already know about you.
Well I think it's terrifying that 75% of interviewers expect a thank you note and only 22% of people actually send them. Someone should let those other 78% in on the secret. I think that the importance of the thank you note can not be over stated. It lets someone know that you are still thinking about them/their company and that you value them. Also it never hurts to be nice. That is super cheesy, and a little silly but its absolutely true. No one ever notices the absence of extra kindness but when it's there it makes a huge difference. I sent thank you notes to al the colleges I applied to, and the ones that I spoke to again after getting in almost all referenced it. People want to feel like they are valued, and you value the work they do, and the thank you note is the perfect way to get that across. Also it helps the interviewee remember the specifics of the place, and the name of the person who interviewed them. Everyone should do this, all the time.
Thank you notes are very often overlooked. There's a million and one articles and classes and seminars about how to interview well, but very few stress the importance of sending a thank you note afterwards. If it is mentioned, it's almost always an afterthought or a sidenote. While it certainly isn't the single most important thing to a successful interview, it is definitely a huge help. Obviously, it shows politeness and and manners, which is always a good thing. Aside from that, it shows that you're actually interested in the company and in the job. It shows your interviewer that you actually care about the position. In addition, it solidifies you in the interviewer's mind. It sets you apart from other applicants, especially since so few people actually take the time to send thank you notes.
This article was very helpful right now because it is summer internship applying season. There are so many college students with very similar credentials and schools applying to the same internships. If you are lucky enough to get past the first stage and actually get an interview it is very important to do everything you possibly can to make the best impression. If you have a great interview and then just ignore the employer after that, it may hurt your chances. A thank you email will show them that you are actually interested in working for them and it reminds them of who you are. They may forget a few small things you said in the interview but if you remind them in the email then it will really help. Now they have your email sitting in their inbox, which will remind them of your interview and your name while making a decision on whom to hire.
This is something I’ve been raised to do but have never felt particularly good at. My parents always stressed the importance of writing thank you notes but I always felt they were too stilted and to convey actual genuine thanks for something, even more so when in relation to things like interviews. Clearly writing notes like this is a habit I’m going to have to get back into and this article helped find a way around that stiltedness that would always bother me in the past. Also knowing that the majority of employers find email acceptable is a huge relief since my handwriting, even at the best of times, could be charitable described as looking like a deranged lunatic wrote it (seriously at my old school when we need props that looked like a crazy person had written stuff on them we just had me write on them with my natural hand writing).
This is definitely a very practical and helpful article. A lot of times, it is the little details like a thank you note (which are often not really taught in class) that makes the difference between you and someone else with equal experience both seeking the same job. I've written thank you notes before, but after reading this article my thank you notes are definitely going to improve. It can be a bit tricky to keep the right balance of making it personal, specific and professional; this is what makes the difference between a good and thoughtful thank you note versus a thank you note that looks like an afterthought. There are a lot of these external factors apart from one's resume and professional experience that people can often forget/not pay attention to because they don't seem "important", but they can make the biggest difference.
I think this article could not come at a better time. I know that we, the freshmen, are currently scrambling to try to figure out how to write resumes and cover letters, as well as find jobs to apply for. It's turning out to be a daunting task as the class is quickly finding out just how little we know about the industry. The school does provide some help with this. Thank you very much to Tina S., who stopped by 33 last Thursday to answer some of our questions. We also have a few classes with Molly on this topic, and honestly those classes can't come soon enough (in my opinion, it would be wonderful if Molly talked to us about this earlier, perhaps before winter break?). This article is yet another example of how incompetent and ill-informed I am about how this business (and really work overall) operates. I had not heard about thank you notes before reading this. I'm blundering my way through a resume. I've started a, most likely, bad cover letter. I can't wait for Monday.
Thank you notes are one of the hardest things for me to write (right up there with cover letters), because for me it always seems short and awkward and repetitive. But I think one of the things about thank you notes is that everyone assumes the person it’s being sent to is going to read it in super fine detail. The truth of it is that they will probably skim it once they realize it’s a thank you note, and look straight for the name at the bottom. So I think for me at least, I need to stop being so picky and just send the thing. I know it can be difficult finding the right way to convey your gratitude without sounding creepy, and even more difficult talking about your good qualities without sounding repetitive or, even worse, like your bragging. It’s a hard balance, but article’s like this one really help establish some boundaries and guidelines.
I liked all of this advice, and I will certainly be implementing it when communicating with organizations for summer work. Sometimes, the smallest things (and those that only take a small amount of time to do) can help you out the most in a job hunt. Potential employers or candidate reviewers can be weird like that. I’ve heard many stories of people tossing resumes after a few seconds of review. I’ve also had many business professionals tell me about the importance of making a good impression. Sometimes, you might not be the best qualified candidate for the position, but if an employer likes you better, they might take you instead of that more qualified candidate. I can only imagine that our industry takes this to the nest level. As such, I will be writing thank you notes.
These are the types of articles that I find extremely relevant. In class, Molly goes over this, however, sometimes our notes don't serve as enough as a reference, as we move quite quickly. These types of articles are helpful when moving through the summer application process, and moving into formal communications as a young industry professional.
I understand that nowadays, most consider an email a viable form of formal communication, but, what about that small percentage of employers that still appreciate a hand-written letter? How do we know who those people are? Or as a safety, should we always send a hand-written note?
The contents of the note are what becomes a little more difficult. Some of the article's suggestions, if all put into one note, seem like it would be a reiteration of a cover letter... It seems that a concise version of this article's suggestions would be just enough.
Sending a “Thank You” note or email after an interview (or any time someone has given you their time or help in a significant manner) is extremely important, as this article emphasizes. I think the main reason everyone should send thank you notes is that it is easy! These days, an email is usually sufficient for a thank-you. Having said that, a hand-written note is much more meaningful, but I am of the opinion that it should be reserved for the most important occasions. If someone helped you considerably on a project, you should definitely take the time to hand write a note. After a job interview, a handwritten note might seem a bit excessive. In this case, an email is a perfect fit. The main reason it is important to send a thank you after a job interview is that it conveys your interest to the employer and ensures them that you are serious about wanting the position. In addition, it conveys your appreciation for their time.
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