After interview thank youI had a very good interview yesterday. I want to send a thank you note..... Should I hand write the note so it' s more personal using a quality paper thank you card or should I type it on nice linen paper? Any thoughts would be appreciated! If you have nice, legible handwriting and can write a brief note or letter then go that way. The personal touch is nice. On the other hand, if you' re going to recap some points made during the interview and bullet point some of your strong skills and fits for the job, the typed format is better. Either way, keep it brief and to the point. Go with typing it out. It is more professional that way. The personal touch is great, but may be viewed as too familiar for a job interview. Even the follow-up and.or thank you letter. Plus, my handwriting is really terrible and the neater I try to write, the worse it actually becomes. Good luck. I hope that you are successful. If you are just going to say thank-you, go ahead and write it. But a thank-you note should be more than that. It is another opportunity to sell yourself. Take one or two points from the interview that the interviewer felt were important to the job and remind the interviewer how well you match those: "You pointed out that knowledge of the semiconductor industry was the most important aspect of this position and I feel my five years in the semiconductor industry with firms similar to yours makes me an ideal candidate for this position." Type it or email it. The purpose of your interview was to demonstrate how your skills and experience are clearly differentiated from the rest -- how you are the most logical choice for the position. Now do something that once again will differentiate you from the rest -- sending a Thank You card. Remember that less than 5% of interviewees ever send any type of Thank You. So, take a little from all three responses to your posting on this board. Chet said to refer back to a key point mentioned by the interviewer, and once again point out how your skills and experience meet or exceed that qualification. I think Kelly suggested the bullet points to make the Thank You card more concise. But most importantly, as Love2Golf stated, hand write the note and mail it. No email or typed note. You want this card to stand out. I know a consultant who sends a hand written card to every business contact she makes -- every day! Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is a lot of work. And Yes, it REALLY pays off! And GOOD LUCK to you! I' d eMail, it' s quicker. Then again, if you want to make a big impression, have it printed on tee shirts, that will get your remembered. The point of thank you notes are 2 fold:
Give the conventional wisdom that a thank you card is one more "sales opportunity" 2/3rds of Job-hunting 101 Books will tell you that but I don' t buy it because in all my interviewing, across many years and several companies, the "who do we hire" decision is usually made before the interview committee walks out of the room at the end of the day. Everything after that is jumping through hr hoops and verifying backgrounds. Even if I do bring you back to a second interview, I don' t need you to tell me again that your "five years in the semiconductor industry" makes you an ideal fit for the position. I could not disagree with this more with comment that "The personal touch is great, but may be viewed as too familiar for a job interview." The primary thing a thank you card does is to build a relationship with me. Remember the tasks of an interview are CAN DO - What you have done similar to my need, WILL DO can you assure me that you can transfer what you have done to meet my needs and - HOW FIT - Can I see myself having a conversation with you in the lunch room... Thank you notes are a personal and says more about How Fit than anything else. To prove the point, last week I sent a thank you regarding a sr. manager position I interviewed for that would advance my career. I referenced NONE of my skills. I got back from the VP I would be working for a note that said, " Thanks to you too. You did a great job in the interview and we were all impressed. I' ll be in touch with you soon.Thanks" Bottom line is that there might be an insider and I will likely end up candidate number 2. But so what, FROM THE LONG VIEW, which is what interviewing is about, I now have another name in my rolladex. Thanks for your advice.... I wasn't sure which way to go and wanted to get it out as soon as possible. I recapped the interview and remembered that my interviewer ended the interview with this statement, "if you have any other questions about the position or the company, just shoot me an email." After remembering that statement, I thought it would be best to send an email thank you. However, in the subject block, I titled it "concerning our meeting on 3.13.07." I was hesitant about 'snail mail' because I wasn't sure if he actually opens his own mail, or how long it might take for him to open it. He had conducted both my first and second interviews that day, talked salary, benefits and vacation time, and he gave me lengthy questionnaires to complete (he read over my answers quickly but raised his eyebrows and shook his head several times). He said he had 2-3 other candidates in mind and wanted to bring them in again for their 2nd interviews. He also said he planned on making a decision within 1 week. I took it as a good sign that I received both interviews that same day, when the other top candidates had not. Hopefully, the email was the best choice. Guess I'll have to wait and see...... Thanks again to everyone who responded with suggestions... They were very insightful. Just hope I made the right decision! | |
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