Interview

Should you send a thank you note?

by Fabrice Calando on December 5, 2011

Should you send a thank you note?

After each interview, after you’ve met with everyone and gone home, one question always pops-up, “Should I send a thank you note?” A note to thank the people for taking the time to have met with you. The simple answer is, ”Why wouldn’t you?” More specifically, you should send a note if you really are thankful. A thank you note is a great way to stand out and show that you really are interested in the job. Not many people send them so they’ll help you stand out, but if it’s cheesy and doesn’t really go anywhere, it could be point against you.

Some tips and advice that have helped me

  • Be authentic: Only send a note if you really are interested in the job. Don’t waist peoples’ time if you aren’t interested in the job. A thank you letter can set you apart so why would you want to stand out if you don’t want the job?
  • Please only send email: No post cards, letters or whatever, this is 2011. By the time they receive anything other than an email, the job will be someone else’s.
  • Sending it to one person is enough. If you don’t have everyone’s email address, that’s OK. Just send the note to the address you have and thank the others in it.
  • Try to thank everyone. I’m really not that good at remembering names, especially during interviews. If you don’t remember all of them, that’s OK. You’ll know the name of the person you’re sending the email to and make sure to mention something like “I would like to thank you and the rest of the team that took the time to meet with me.”
  • It’s OK to not send a note if you’ve been dealing with a headhunter. The job of a headhunter is to find candidates and manage the recruitment process. Sending a thank you not through them won’t sound as authentic. However, if you really want to, go for it…
  • If you don’t have contact information, send the note to the person that contacted you for the interview (even if it’s an assistant). If you REALLY want to send a note, call the front desk and try to get an email.
  • Be confident, but not cocky. You really don’t want a note that reads like “I’m pretty sure I would perhaps, eventually be a great fit with the team.” Isn’t “I’m confident I would be a great asset to your team” much better?

5 recommended elements to include in a thank you note

These elements are a must for every thank you note:

  1. Thank the person or persons for their time. If you have met more than one person, make sure to note that.
  2. Tell them why you were impressed with them, the job, the company, the team, the corporate philosophy…something. In other words, make sure to mention something that you saw and heard that you really liked.
  3. BRIEFLY reiterate why you would be a great fit. One sentence is enough.
  4. Add in stuff like strong qualities or examples that you might have forgotten to mention in the interview. Again, be brief and move on to the next point
  5. The ending is up to you, I usually finish with something like “I hope to hear from you soon”, but feel free to end with a question or by asking for permission to follow up, etc.

The whole thing shouldn’t be more than a few sentences and paragraphs — a quarter of a page is great.

Thank you notes are quite powerful. I’ve had some great success with them because I don’t think that many people send them. That being said, a thank you note will not save a bad interview or make you a great fit for the company. It’s a nice add-on. So keep them short and honest for maximum impact.

Any other advice to give?

(Photo credit: Lindsay)

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Tagged as: elements, honest, Interview, letter, lindsay dee bunny, note, short, should you send a thank you note, sweet, Thank you, when to send a thank you note

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Growing influence

by Fabrice Calando on November 1, 2011

Growing influence

Last week I visited the offices of acquaintances of mine. A few years ago, they opened an IT management business (managing IT infrastructure and whatnot). From what I understand, it’s the type of story we often hear about start-ups. They started from nothing much — a parent’s basement — and have grown to be a fairly successful with 3 offices across Canada and named one of Canada’s 100 fastest growing companies of 2010. I find it’s a great story.

Small grows into big

In their book Trust Agents (affiliate link), Chris Brogan and Julien Smith mention how important it is to help out and pay attention to up-and-coming bloggers. One day these up-and-comers will grow to be the mainstream and you will be happy when they think fondly of you. In other words, treat an up-and-comer like you would someone established. Just like the guys who started their IT business, those of us who continue to work hard at what we do (whatever it is we do), end up growing and gaining influence.

How do you treat your junior candidates?

It’s something you need to think about next time you’re interviewing candidates for entry-level positions. Those kids that are straight out of school and completely innocent. Usually the higher up the ladder the person you’re interviewing is, the more you pull out all the stops. You may feel the junior candidate has less of an impact on the business, but that’s a thing of the past. The impact is just different. You don’t necessarily need to call a limo to have a Junior candidate picked up. But be mindful of your interview procedures, your body language. Make sure you help them, advise them and have them leave the interview with a positive attitude, no matter if they get the job or not. It really doesn’t take much to make someone feel special.

How you treat them today will impact their perception of your company tomorrow. You’ll want to make sure you’ll be on their good side.

Actually…come to think of it…worrying about tomorrow might already be too late. They probably have more influence TODAY than the Sr. VP you’re interviewing later on.

Your thoughts?

(Photo credit: Giles Cook)

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Tagged as: #hrtoday, Chris Brogan, giles cook, grow, hr today, influence, Interview, Julien Smith, junior candidates, online influence, positive attitude, respect, s3 technologies, treating with respect, trust agents

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What is this about?

by Fabrice Calando on July 12, 2010

Last week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Frédéric Harper for his relatively new project – Portrait de blogueurs.  It’s a great little initiative where he interviews a whole bunch of bloggers from the province of Quebec.  It’s a win/win situation for him: he gets to meet a whole bunch of new people every week and bloggers get another platform to promote their blog…

Here is what it looks like, what do you think (it’s in French)? If you can’t see the video below, click here.

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Tagged as: Interview, Me

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