Oh, And Thanks!
Everybody says you should send a thank-you letter after an interview. Everybody is right.
People seem to be getting it because according to the Wall St. Journal about 90 percent of applicants send thank yous. Good news.
The bad news: Only half of those personalize their letters.
Ugh. People are sending form thank yous? That's worse than no thank you at all!
While we're at it, here are some other ways people are shooting themselves in the thank-you foot:
- Mis-addressing the letter (thanking Wendy's for your interview with Burger King)
- Sending a thank you with spelling or grammar mistakes ("I appreciate you're time. . .")
- Relying on email (okay to email but follow up with a "real" letter)
- Not typing the thank you (you ain't writing Aunt Sadie--this is a business letter)
- Procrastinating (send thank yous within 24 hours)
- Sounding desperate ("I can't wait to hear from you!")
- Sounding fake ("I am writing to thank you for the interview" is stilted--be sincere, be yourself, be enthusiastic)
- Sounding canned (obviously, no form letters--use your thank you to repeat the highlights of your interview and to remind the employer of who you are, what your skills are, and why you would be great for this job).
Thank-you letters are as important as resumes or showing up for the interview on time. Don't let yours ruin the good impression you're trying to make.
Article by Karen Burns courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
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