The Job Hunt
Most of us know from experience that trying to land a job is difficult. It can be hard to track down any leads on jobs that you qualify for, especially when you’re first starting out in the job market or in a new career. Even entry level positions seem to require years of experience, and it can be difficult to find anyone willing to so much as give you a look.
Polishing your resume is very important, but it’s not enough. Again, if you’re starting out then you may not have very much to pad out your resume. On top of that, most employers only look at a few of the resumes they receive; many candidates get eliminated from the selection process before their qualifications are ever really looked at. Many other considerations besides the contents of your resume come into play.
Even if you’re called in for an interview, it’s important to do everything you can to separate yourself from other applicants. Arrive early, dress sharply, be courteous and respectful to whomever you speak with, and thank the interviewer for calling you in. In fact, sending a personalized thank you card to the interviewer is a great way to remind them of who you are and keep your name in consideration for the position.
Thank you cards are important in many parts of life, but sending them to prospective employers after an interview can help make the difference between getting hired and having to keep looking elsewhere for a job. When searching for employment you have to use every tool at your disposal, and a great personalized thank you card sent to prospective employers can definitely nudge the odds in your favor.
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Jonathan Price
Unfortunately I have a lot of experience looking for jobs, and most of it isn’t good. But then that’s how it goes, isn’t it? You apply to a bajillion places just to get a couple of interviews if you’re lucky.
Anyway, this is a good point. You want to stick out in the minds of prospective employers, and sending a totally awesome personalized thank you card is a great way to help with that.
7 May 2012, 12:32 pmMRLove
At my office, we notice that several of the best job applicants have followed up their first interviews with a thank you note… usually written on personalized stationery of some kind. It does add a little extra personal appeal to the applicant’s image.
7 May 2012, 1:39 pmTherese 2010
We’ve had the same experience in my company. Personalized thank you notes sent after the interview have been sent by (usually)the best applicants.
7 May 2012, 1:56 pmL.W.Laskin, Portland,OR
The whole marketplace of personalized people’s names has been an area of artistic interest to me. You can tell quite a bit about a person by how the want their name to be portrayed on their stationery. I have some friends who can only see their name as being typeset in large Roman uppercase letters. i.e. Big and conservative. As in: Stodgy Other friends see their name in playful scripty letters: Sporty and playful. Some people can only think of themselves in terms of personalized monogrammed notes. Others tend to order their name in childlike typefaces so their personal notes symbolize their (hopefully) childlike personalities.
7 May 2012, 3:11 pmValerie1979
I have a little problem with people who order the children’s personalized notes with the idea of appearing youthful. The result is that their stationery looks childish, not youthful. And there is an awful lot of that look that’s marketed at the personalized card websites, even by the supposedly tasteful companies. I don’t get it.
7 May 2012, 3:16 pmJeff Harvey
L.W., I’m intrigued by this idea of being able to tell character traits by the style of stationery they choose. Do you think that the style of stationery or personalized thank you card that you use to send a thank you note to an interviewer might give them a clue as to your personality? In other words, is the choice of which style of thank you card to send capable of influencing your chances of getting the job any more than simply sending a card?
7 May 2012, 5:15 pmHilma Conger
I have seen thank you notes make the difference between getting hired and not getting hired, so I can vouch that this works. It’s definitely important to do anything you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd, and sending a personalized thank you card is one way to go about it. Is it enough by itself? Usually not, but every little bit helps and you should always send a thank you note after an interview, even if you don’t think the interview went very well.
7 May 2012, 6:41 pmPaulette Leto
I’ve been thinking of looking for a new job soon, so maybe I should follow this advice. I’ve been hesitant since looking for a new job is such a hassle even in the best of times, but I could really use a change, you know?
I thought I had some leftover personalized thank you cards sitting around after I finished sending out my post-holiday thanks, but I can’t seem to find them. I guess I’ll need to order some new ones so that I will have some ready to go when I land some interviews.
Is there any kind of etiquette as far as what kind of thank you cards are the best to send to an interviewer? I tend toward the more fancy, flowery designs myself, but would it be more appropriate to use something more businesslike instead for something like this? I’m just not sure.
7 May 2012, 7:42 pmBigWin12
I liked L.W.’s remarks about how people like to see their names personalized on paper. Yes, you can tell a lot about a person by which typeface they choose and also, by which ink color and paper color they choose for their personalized cards and notes.
8 May 2012, 7:41 amHenry Springs
Wherever you go looking for a job nowadays you want to put your best foot forward. You want all the work you put a written presentation to shine and take you onto to the next step, the interview. If you’re going to redo your resume or cover letter specifically for a new position make sure you are delivering what the prospective employer wants. There are certain niche groups, markets where introductions in anything less than industry protocol aren’t viewed , aren’t acceptable. That is why it so important you take time to quickly give a prospective employer the germane information they need. It may require a little more work on your part but it should give the employer the impression you’re sincere, serious and affable about the job. The time you took to really key in on points asked were above and beyond what was expected and you left everything in a neat little pile along with a handshake and a professional Personalized Calling Card. You’re waiting to bowl the interviewer over with your honest professional appeal. Then you’ll leave a Thank You Note for the interviewer. You’ll snugly smile because you’ve figured out key ways to stand out, come off as a really competent personable professional. You’re not worried about the extra time you took with the Thank You Card. You figure it will eventually pay off.
A little Thank You Card can go along way. Make a professional thank you with our Classic Thank You Cards and Notes. Colleagues, friends, families and and prospective employers will get a greater sense of who you are and what you stand for. Send Thank You Cards at all the right moments. Say Thank You with Traditional Monogram, Estate, Glory Cards, Banner, Bordered, Colonial, Cambridge Correspondence and Bishop Studio Cards. They become recognizable gestures of style and gratitude. Classic Personalized Thank You Notes and Cards are great ways to show people you appreciate them, you’re professional and that you have a standard to live up. to. Our Classic Cards and Notes engage people to build bridges, create new encounters and let old friends know they are grateful for whater reason, small or large.
8 May 2012, 4:25 pmHenry B Springs
BigWin12,
Yeah, I think people get a kick out of seeing their names in lights as well. That’s why stationery monograms have come to be such a great way for other people to experiment with their own brand image. There are too many fonts to mention and we offer 50 kinds of Monogrammed Personalized Stationery for personal and business options. Of the 157 Personalized Notepads the majority are personalized with your full name, initials or unique Personalized Monogram that make a unique difference. The point of personalizing a message, cards, notes, letter heads, wardrobes, attaches, luggage, binders, party favors and wedding napkins is to have your name mean something. A lot of fonts like Helvetica, New York Times and Courier actually create a bold or omnipotent brand identity when they meld with all the things you’ve initialized with your monogram. The biggest kick I think that people get out of seeing a branded image is how their name evokes quality, comfort, audacity, strength and professionalism. Once you get a monogram your name becomes chic and the monogram says all of those things you might want to mention about it you no longer have to because the monogram says it for you.
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. ” Can they see all that in your monogram?
Writer: Jeff Bezos
8 May 2012, 7:29 pm