Top 5 Career Videos!
 How to Ace a Job Interview? |
 Job Interview: Dos & Don'ts |
 Job Interview preparation Tips |
 Good & Bad Job Interview Techniques |
 Questions to Ask During a Job Interview |
What would you usually do after attending a job interview?
Sit back and wait for the job offer?
Or would you analyze how well you performed?
Or would you think about your mistakes and try to learn from them for your next interview?
Or would you go to tell your family and
friends how it went?
Well, whatever you decide to do, it would
be useful to send your interviewer a 'Thank you Letter" soon
afterwards. Why? Well, this helps you stand out from
other candidates who most probably haven't thought about doing
the same. Consider this step still as a part of your
job search; it could give you the edge over other job applicants.
Furthermore, it brings your name to the forefront of the
interviewer's mind and shows that you are seriously interested in
the job on offer. Sending such kind of letter also
demonstrates your
initiative, commitment and ambition.
Employers and employees have been asked
some very interesting questions in a recent survey on Job
Interview Etiquette, conducted by Vault, regarding Thank you
Letters.
"How often do you receive Thank you notes?
23% said most of the time, 33% about half of the time, 32% rarely, 3% hardly ever, 9% almost all of the time.
"Would you reject a candidate for not sending a thank you note?"
5% said yes, 95% no.
"Is it acceptable to send a thank you note via email?"
98% said 'yes', email is the norm these days and 2% said 'no', a note through a regular "snail" mail is the only way to go.
From the "EMPLOYEES" perspective:
"How often do you send thank you notes after interviews?"
55% said almost all of the
time, 17% most of the time, 9% about half of the time, 8% rarely
and 11% hardly ever.
"Do you send
thank you notes via email?"
76% said 'yes', that's
the norm these days and 24% said 'no', I always send a letter
through regular "snail" mail.
So, let me give you the Top 10 Tips how you should approach a thank you letter after attending a job interview.
Top 10 Tips:
Send the thank you letter 24 hours or at latest 2 days within the interview.
-
Show them that you are a
professional.
- Make sure you have the correct titles and names of all people who interviewed you. If you have their business cards, have a look at them. Double check your spelling and grammar. Proofread. Eventually, ask someone else to have a look at your letter, too. Just to make sure that there are really no mistakes.
-
Sending your letter via email
is acceptable, but you can
also send a handwritten thank you
note. In that case,
make sure your handwriting is legible.
-
If you think that
during the interview you have been asked some questions which
you haven't fully answered, then use this as
your last
opportunity to convince them that you are the right candidate for
them.
-
Let your interviewer know one more time
that you are passionate about the
job. Tell him/her why
you are so interested and why you think you are a good fit for
his/her company.
-
If you had more than one
interviewer, send all of them thank
you letters but try
to write them a bit differently.
-
Keep it short and
simple.
-
If you really want to differentiate
yourself then try to emphasize your
expertise one more
time by telling them that you can solve a
particular problem that the company is facing. That might
secure you a second interview or the job
itself!
- Don't stop looking for other jobs, until you don't get a job offer.
Now let me give you two
samples: a good one and a poor one.
The GOOD example:
Grace
Thompson
31 Old Kent
Road
London
SE14 5RP
Date …..
Mr Paul Lilley
Human Resource Manager
Goldsmith & Co.
82 Hamilton Road
Newcastle under Lyme
NL4
7TH
Dear Mr Lilley,
Re: Position of Marketing Assistant
Thank you for interviewing me on Wednesday the 8th September. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to meet your team and the tour of your premises. I was really impressed by the commitment and professionalism of your staff, and I would like to confirm my interest in this Marketing position and in joining Goldsmith & Co. I am confident that I would be able to contribute to maintaining your high standards.
Thanks again for your time and for considering my application.
Yours sincerely
Grace Thompson
The POOR example:
Charles
Simpson
31 Old Kent Road
London
SE14 5RP
Date …..
Mrs Grace
Peters
Human Resource Manager
Goldsmith & Co.
82 Hamilton Road
Newcastle under Lyme
NL4 7TH
Hi Graece,
It was great meeting you last week. Can you tell me what my chances are of getting this job preferably by today? I got plenty of other interviews lined up this week and would like to know if I would get this job asap. I would appreciate it if you let me know what competition I have.
By the way, what are you doing this Friday? Me and my friends are going out to see the new Tom Cruise movie. Let me know if you want to join us.
Later,
Charles
Why is it a poor example?
- The job applicant has chosen an informal greeting.
- The name of the interviewer has been spelled incorrectly.
- He shows himself to be disrespectful towards the interviewer.
- The job applicant is too pushy and demanding.
- He has acted inappropriately by asking the interviewer to go out for the movie.
- Abbreviations, such as "asap" for as soon as possible should be avoided.
- He asked for further favours and was disingenuous.
- He has not used proper salutation.
