Chayla Handley
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Laura Lazewski, a recruiter in the Nashville area for a midsize healthcare company.
Of the thousands of job candidates I’ve interviewed over my 11-year recruiting career, only a fraction have sent a thank-you note to me or the hiring manager afterward.
That’s a mistake.
Candidates who take this step will have an edge over those who don’t — as long as they do it right.
• The ultimate guide to getting a job: Recruiters, job seekers, and execs reveal top tips
• I’ve been a recruiter for 38 years. This is the one cover letter I’ll never forget.
It’s really easy to get off an interview and just move on to the next thing, but consider that hiring managers often interview multiple candidates. If you’re one of the first out of a group of five, you don’t want to be forgotten as they continue to meet the rest. A thank-you note can help keep you top of mind.
If you sense you bombed a question, a thank-you note is an opportunity to strengthen your answer. You might say that you thought about the question after the interview and would like to share additional context.
Expressing appreciation will also display your character. It tells the interviewer that you are polite, that you’d likely be grateful to receive an offer, and that others would likely enjoy working alongside you.
In addition, a thank-you will show you are resourceful. You should have the recruiter’s email address or phone number, and you should be able to figure out — or at least make an educated guess — as to what the email address is for the people who interviewed you. Don’t just ask the recruiter for their email addresses unless your emails to them bounce back.
If you meet with multiple interviewers at once, it’s fine to thank them together in one email. But if you meet with them individually, absolutely send each one of them a personalized thank-you note.
What I love and hate to see in a thank-you
One thing I love is when a candidate shares something they learned in the interview that makes them excited about the job or the company. This should be new. Don’t just pull from the job description.
Another is to thank the interviewers for their time and for considering you. This seems obvious, but not everyone does it right because they don’t actually say it. They just say that they’re following up.
The third is to remind whoever you met with how you can solve a problem or meet a need that was raised in the interview.
What I hate to see the most in a thank-you is when the candidate gets the interviewer’s name wrong. I cannot tell you how many thank-yous I have received that say, Dear Lauren. Lauren is not my name.
Another turnoff is when the thank-you is just a retelling of the candidate’s skills. I don’t need a new cover letter from you.
The third thing I don’t like to see is when it’s all about the candidate — the thank-you is used as another selling tool, and it’s just really not about being thankful. You don’t want to come across as arrogant or slimy by saying something like: “Thanks for meeting with me. Here are 10 reasons why you should hire me. Have a good day.” Instead, you want to personalize the message. For example: “I really liked hearing in the interview about …”
Email, text, or old-school mail?
Most people use email, which makes sense because hiring decisions are often made within 24 to 48 hours.
I don’t mind a text. I’d rather hear from you than not hear from you.
One exception is if the interviewer says they have a long turnaround time to make a decision. In that case, you might send a handwritten thank-you note in the real mail.
If you go old school, you’re really going to be memorable. You should also still send a thank-you by email, though, in case your letter gets lost in the mail.
Be sincere and keep it brief. I’ve seen thank-you notes that I thought were very nice and genuine, and they were maybe four lines.
I’m not going to say a thank-you note will get you the job. But when it’s a tough hiring decision and one candidate sends a thank-you note and the other doesn’t, you want to be the one who does.
Future benefits
Something I’ve learned in my career is how small industries are. Even if you don’t end up working for the company at this time, in this role, you never know what the future holds.
Maybe the hiring manager knows of a different role within the organization. It would be very easy for that person to forward your thank-you email to their colleague, along with a quick message that says: “Joe Smith wasn’t a fit for my role, perhaps he’d be for yours?” You’ve already started off positively with your potential new manager.
Or perhaps you’ll apply for a job at the same company in the future. If the recruiter takes notes like I do, your thank-you will be in your candidate profile, and that will set you apart for the new role.
It’s also possible that a few years from now, the hiring manager you thanked is at a new company, and you apply for a job there. You already have some goodwill built up because you’re one of a handful of people to have ever sent that manager a thank-you in his or her entire career.
The post I’ve been a recruiter for over a decade — most candidates skip this step, and it’s a huge mistake appeared first on Business Insider.
