Recently in Thank-You/Followup Letter Tips Category

We bring you a final excerpt from an excellent blog post entitled Never underestimate the importance of your companions by Kelly Blokdijk of TalentTalks, which discusses — by offering real-life examples — the important role that cover letters and thank-you letters can play in the job search:

You might want to start writing a thank-you note as soon as you have an interview scheduled. You can add the custom touches after your meeting. That is when you take the time to recap the critical skills you bring and reemphasize any pertinent discussion points. Don’t delay building the foundation of your thank-you note until after you’ve interviewed.

Blokdijk goes on to describe a job-seeker who contacted her in a panic, having still not sent a thank-you note a day and a half after her interview. Planning out the framework of a thank-you letter before the interview is a great idea so that right afterwards, you can add some quick (but thoughtful) customization and send the letter right away — within 24 hours of the interview.

We know that thank-you letters are an item that job-seekers truly struggle with because — of all the content on Quint Careers — thank-you letter samples are the second-most searched for item.

Our Thank You Letter Worksheet can be a big help, too.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

In response to yesterday’s post on thank-you letters, we heard from Kenny McAllister, practice director at an international search girm, London:

An easy, low-hassle, and uncontentious way to lodge yourself in the hirer’s memory and set yourself apart from the other talent. I’m amazed more folk don’t do it. I remembered to email or write a thanks to everyone who interiewed me during my own recent job search. People were genuinely pleased (and surprised) a candidate took the trouble.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

The writer of Ask a Manager recently responded to a reader who was disappointed to be rejected for a job after sending a thank-you letter.

Ask a Manager’s response aligned with everything we know to be true about thank-you letters. Here are the main points:

If you’re not the best candidate for the job, a thank-you note isn’t going to change that. No one is going to hire the lower-tier candidate just because of a thank-you note.

If you’re the undisputed top candidate, the lack of a thank-you note probably isn’t going to stop you from being hired.

However, when the decision is close between you and another candidate, a thoughtful thank-you note can tilt the scales in your direction — especially if the note isn’t just a perfunctory “thank you for your time” but contains substance that builds on the conversation you had during the interview.

A thank-you note contributes to the overall picture of a candidate. It’s not generally make-or-break, but it’s a piece of the picture. It serves two functions: (1) It signals that you pay attention to the little things and care about presenting the best possible face to your candidacy. (2) It signals interest, by showing that you went home, digested everything you learned in the interview, and concluded that you’re still enthusiastic about the position. That can matter.

That show of enthusiasm and thoughtfulness is so important.

We offer a Post-Job-Interview Thank-You-Letter Worksheet that shows a number of ways to leverage an interview in your thank-you letter.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

Despite consistent advice from career experts that job-seekers send a thank-you note after an interview, few job-seekers do so. With most employers, the lack of the simple common courtesy of a thank-you note will probably not make or break the job offer.

But are you willing to risk losing the goodwill of the 22 percent of hiring managers who say they are less likely to hire a candidate if they don’t send a thank-you note after an interview?

Job-seekers who are not following proper etiquette are hurting their chances of landing a job, even if they may be a good fit for the position. More than one-in-five hiring managers say they are less likely to hire a candidate if they don’t send a thank-you note after an interview, according to new data released by CareerBuilder. Of those who would dismiss a candidate for the faux pas, 86 percent say it shows a lack of follow-through, and an additional 56 percent say the lack of a thank-you letter sends the message that they aren’t really serious about the opportunity. This national survey was conducted among more than 2,800 U.S. employers between February 21 and March 10, 2011.

What’s best, regular mail or email? The majority (89 percent) of hiring managers say it is OK to send a thank-you note in the form of an email, with half saying email is actually the way they prefer to receive them. When it comes to industries, the bulk of IT hiring managers say they prefer to receive email thank-you notes more than any other industry surveyed, while the majority of those in the financial services say it’s not preferred, but still OK.

Occasionally you’ll come across an employer or career expert not gung-ho about thank-you letters. But it’s unlikely that a hiring manager would eliminate a candidate for sending such a letter.

Our Post-Job-Interview Thank-You-Letter Worksheet guides you through a thank-you letter, including several content aspects of the interview to consider integrating into your letter.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

Teena Rose of Resume to Referral offers these final ideas for writing a strategic follow-up letter:

4. Address new information that wasn’t originally brought up; e.g., you may have recently learned the company plans to expand marketing efforts in France. If you speak French, noting that in your follow-up letter would definitely be a smart move.
5. Sometimes small gestures open a door to bigger rewards, such as a second interview. Receiving follow-up correspondence from a jobseeker can keep the line of communication open between the hiring company and the jobseeker.
6. Spell out transferable skills not brought up in the interview. If you sat through the entire interview and left with a less than favorable feeling about the outcome, then detailing how your current skill set is relevant to the open position can build a bridge between your current, or most recent, position and your target position.

Don’t overlook any opportunity you have to increase your chances for employment. The hiring process is much like a dance. Fail to dance (and dance properly) to woo the judges, and your chances of winning diminish. It’s always best to stray from what the bulk of jobseekers are doing, so that you draw attention to yourself whenever the opportunity arises.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

In an article by Teena Rose of Resume to Referral the power of a post-interview follow-up letter is revealed.

A follow-up letter seems like a last-ditch effort on the part of a jobseeker, am I right? Ah, but wait! The act of sending this kind of letter can actually sway a company in your direction. Companies don’t always make hiring decisions when expected. Sending your follow-up letter a few days or a couple weeks after the interview can actually reflect your ambition and dedication to the employer. In some cases, it will reflect you as a more viable, dedicated, and persistent option to employers. List new and unique content, and avoid regurgitating exact details contained in your original cover letter or those spoken in the interview whenever possible. Instead, keep it fresh by expanding in directions that put new angles or views on your work history.

Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.

This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:

Greg writes:

I am in the process of locating a position after being employed for nine years with one employer. I have my resume completed, but I need to know what information to include on my references for the interviews.

The Career Doctor responds:

References are a funny thing. Most employers ask for them, but depending upon the position, only a small percentage of employers really bother to call all the people on a job-seeker’s reference list.

Here are a couple of tips regarding reference lists:

1. Never put references on your resume. Make a list on a separate sheet of paper that matches your resume (and cover letter).
2. Never include references with your resume and cover letter, unless specifically asked by the potential employer.
3. Choose people who know you professionally and can speak well of your skills, abilities, and accomplishments. Always list your strongest reference first.
4. Make sure you ask people if they mind serving as a reference for you — and then contact them again when you think they may be contacted by a potential employer.
5. Try to use people who know you professionally, but if you are a recent college graduate or someone returning to the workforce, you can list a personal (character) reference.
6. Make sure you completely identify each reference, including name, title, company, address, phone number, e-mail address.

 

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Not sure how you could benefit from a professional resume writer? Check out Joan's experience: "I cannot believe what a difference this made. I have had 3 calls for interviews and just accepted a job that pays me 15% more than I made before!" See Joan's resume before -- and after -- the pros at Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters transformed it into a powerful marketing document. Get a FREE resume evaluation from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service. Or order a resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document.