Thank You Cards and today’s job market
As a hiring manager, you tend to be pressured to hire the best your industry has to offer, at a reasonable price no less. And when posting up a wanted ad for hire, I find the selection of candidates can be intimidating. At times, the quantity of applicants is so vast, that most candidates begin to blend together.
I have been in that same situation myself before. I have applied to a highly qualified position, and had hoped that something will stick out compared to all other candidates that are just as qualified as I was, or even more so. It is a mighty feat to get the proverbial foot in the door. Even landing an interview in the today’s economy is precious.
So, how do you stick out from all the other fish in a small and delicate sea of job market possibilities? For one thing, your enthusiasm for a prospective career can help. Another helpful tip……personalized stationery like thank you cards. Just like that common cliché we all know, it’s the little things that count.
As a hiring manager, going through several resumes and cover letters, I eventually find the best four or five to interview. Most statistics will inform you that employers could decide if they want to hire you within the first 30 seconds during the initial interview. But something can be overlooked, and it is what can happen “after” the interview that can seal the deal for me.
A post-interview thank you phone call or even an email is appreciative. But I have received a personalized thank you card only a few times, and those are eye openers. Opening up your mail and finding personalized stationery addressed to you, with a personalized note that thanks you for taking the time to interview…..now THAT is something that will never be taken lightly. It shows they care, it shows the energy and excitement that your company has been looking for.
So, if you need to know what can land you a job, follow the steps that you hear all the time: Smile, be polite, dress for the job and shake hands. But the frostings on the cake are post-interview thank you cards. Nothing will tell a hiring manager how much you appreciate their time to interview than personalized stationery addressed to the ones who might be signing your checks.
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Inez
What Barret writes is so true, but I wonder how many job candidates think of using such simple tools as thank you cards to make a second contact with the interviewer, and strengthen the relationship that was begun in the interview …
24 March 2010, 11:11 amConnie
I agree with Barret. Personalized stationery is one of those so-called luxuries that becomes very important very quickly. It is important to offer thank-you’s at the right time, and in the right way…and very often the email thank-you is the wrong gesture. A written thank-you carries a lot of weight and it makes a difference.
26 March 2010, 3:40 pmElise Mouzon
Having a set of stationery at-hand is more important than ever, despite what they say in the news media… yes, everyone has migrated to the use of email and cell phones … except the people who are genuinely courteous and want their written words to be noticed and remembered…these people write the note, however short, and put it into the U.S. Mail.
30 March 2010, 8:07 amAlicia Calderon
I have followed up meetings with written summaries, and printed them on the company letterhead and mailed them to my client. Yes, in the modern day, this is no longer necessary. But I want my clients to understand from the beginning that I do more than is necessary. Sending the written word (or laser-printed word) on paper is just as much a symbol of communication, as it is a literal communication. The same is true of the hand-written thank you’s that I send. They are a symbol of the importance of saying “thank you.”
30 March 2010, 8:15 amDeron Sue Lee
Thank-notes for business or social purposes are ALWAYS a nice gesture ! Although I don’t receive many these days, I remember every one of them.
7 April 2010, 1:44 pmDee Piper
People notice handwritten notes that arrive in the mail via U.S. Post.
17 April 2010, 6:32 pmGary
I agree that it makes sense to send a thank-you a person that you’ve a had a job interview with. People forget the simple things in life.
3 May 2010, 2:34 pmM Greco Bloomington IN
Go ahead … try it … send an old-fashioned thank-you note to a customer or client… you might be surprised by the positive reaction…
10 July 2010, 11:38 am