For job candidates seeking an edge, sending interviewers a customized thank-you
is critical.
"You're helping to jog their memories of you," says Heather Hamilton, staffing-programs
manager for marketing and finance at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. Recruiters
typically interview several candidates for a position, she explains, noting that
in one week she might meet with 10 applicants.
Simply sending a thank-you isn't enough to stand out from the competition, adds
Frank Heller, recruiting manager at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in New
York. He estimates that 90% of the candidates he interviews make the effort, while
only about half personalize their letters.
Here are five tips to help you write a tailored thank-you.
1. Proofread beyond spelling and grammar.
If you're interviewing with several employers, check that each thank-you shows the
correct company and recruiter name, advises Theresa Lenczewski, a human-resources
specialist for New York-based international advertising agency JWT, a unit of WPP
Group PLC of London. She sometimes receives thank-yous addressed to competitors,
a gaffe she says costs candidates a second interview. "The positions I recruit for
involve a lot of corresponding with clients through email so paying attention to
detail is very important," she explains.
2. Reiterate your best qualities.
"I've had candidates get lost in the shuffle, only to rediscover them when I received
thank-you notes that restated their strong points," says Kevin A. Mercuri, associate
vice president at 5W Public Relations, a New York-based agency. "A thank-you is
literally the last chance candidates have to sell themselves to an employer." A
candidate for a senior account-executive job once sent him a letter restating her
connections with editors at trade publications that Mr. Mercuri frequently pitches.
"I forgot about that and it immediately put her at the top of the list again," he
says.
3. Show off your listening skills.
In 2003, a candidate for a position at ADT Security Services Inc. included a photocopied
article from a trade magazine in his thank-you to Michael Esposito, then vice president
of human resources for the Boca Raton, Fla.-based security-services company. "It
spoke to the very issue we talked about in the interview," he says. "It told me
that this person really was focused on what was going on in our conversation and
that he was really serious about the opportunity."
4. Tap into the employer's culture -- but keep it professional.
Scott Barnum, president of Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures, says he favors candidates
who reference the food company's sense of humor in their thank-yous. He's received
thank-yous with "Sweet 300" for the Campbell, Calif.-based company's address, while
others mimicked Mr. Barnum's email signature, "Have a sweet day." "It's definitely
a plus when candidates show they're aware of the culture," he says.
But no matter how laid-back a company appears, keep your thank-you professional,
advises Bernt Ullmann, president of Phat Fashions LLC, a New York-based designer
and marketer of hip-hop fashions and a unit of Kellwood Co. He's unimpressed by
thank-yous with slang or funky spelling. "It comes across as contrived," he explains.
"It's OK to express some individuality, maybe by choosing an artistic card, but
what an employer primarily wants to see is that the candidate knows proper business
etiquette."
5. Write to every executive you meet.
If you interview with more than one person at a company, send each a customized
thank-you, recommends Dean Fechner, senior manager, U.S. recruiting, at Booz Allen
Hamilton Inc. The McLean, Va.-based management-consulting firm hires between 70
and 100 business-school graduates annually following interviews with four senior
executives. "Partners have forwarded thank-you emails from candidates that were
identical to the ones they'd sent me," he says. "A letter that's not well-thought-out
can only hurt you." For ideas on what to write, think back to the topics discussed
during each interview. "You might say that it was really interesting to learn about
a particular client," suggests Mr. Fechner.
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