Sending a Thank You Letter
Does this help? I saw the recent post about "Interviewers calling back to let you know whats up", and not getting call backs. I have heard that if you send a "Thank you for the interview" letter, it could help increase your chances, is this true?
I thought it did, but then I read comments from several people who said it made no difference, and even one who said it could irritate the hiring manager. So who knows. Not sure how anyone would know it would irritate the HM...but, hey, you got nothing to lose if you think about it. I mean, if you' re not working, what have you got to lose?
I see myself as a salesman when it comes to interviews. If I felt that I had sold myself adequately in the interview, continuing to pitch after the product is sold would only hurt me. If I haven' t then yeah, I' ll send an email with a very brief and sincere thank you. I totally disagree with the advices of "experts" on long winded explanations of how you are fit for the job. Personally, my bias is that most hiring managers are too busy to read through your long winded plea for attention. Sounds like we' ve come quite a long way from being "proactive/go-getter" job applicants to just plain nuisances. It' s situations like this, where you' re better off going and getting your own business. I have to say, as you have seen in my previous posts, that I agree with you on the "Thank You" letter subject. I has done absolutely no good to send them, in my case. If you are the right person for the job, they will hire you. Period. I just posted this on the "old" boards, but seeing as we likely will not have access to them any longer, I' ll repost here: ....despite many opinions to the contrary, I DO believe sending a thank-you note CAN make a difference in whether or not one is hired. Even if you send a plain old thank you and don' t keep trying to sell yourself with it. Just think: if you' re a hiring manager and you interview 6 equally qualified candidates, and, if stats are right, only 2 of them (30%) take the time to send you a thank you, who are YOU going to assume wants the job more--the ones who wrote, or the ones who didn' t think to take the time, or felt it wasn' t necessary to take the time? I personally would rather hire someone whom I felt wanted the job more than the next person in line. If I get a "I don' t really care whether or not I get this job" intuition about somebody--and not getting a thank you note might foster that opinion (maybe, maybe not; depends on the person and what was said/transpired during the interview)--I won' t hire that person. I have been a hiring manager, and I have done just that. I want someone working for me who WANTS to be there, and who lets me know it! (Not by "begging," but by being enthusiastic and assertive (not aggressive, mind you). I was told that one of the reasons I got the job I just started was due to my enthusiasm for the position as well as because of my skills & experience. My thank-you note was one more #### of that enthusiasm. In today' s world, people would be extremely foolish to believe that they are "the" best person for a position and that it should be evident to the interviewer. For any one job opening, there may be a dozen equally qualifed candidates, whereas in the "old" days, there may have been three. Everyone knows you absolutely need to set yourself apart. When your skills and experience won' t do it--not due to any shortcoming on your part but simply to an abundance of qualified candidates--then look to your enthusiasm, your personality, your grasp of good manners (sorry, but sending a thank you note is just good manners--nothing more, nothing less), etc. I know people who have not gotten jobs because they did not exhibit a real desire for the position--do not put yourselves in this position. If you don' t want the job, take your name out of consideration. If you do want it, then send the damned thank-you note!
Did you have your interview today? How did it go? My first couple days at work have been very good, though very busy just with meeting people and getting oriented. But, I have to say this is the best, most organized & thorough orientation I' ve ever been through! Most of the time I' m shown a desk, and basically told, "Ok, to to work!!!!" So far, I' m really impressed with this organization.... | |
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