Moms Thank You Notes and Follow Up

Mom’s Thank You Notes and Follow Up Mom’s Thank-you Notes and Follow Up Turns out, your mother was right! Sending  thank you  notes  is  the right thing to do. However,  in the job search process it  is  also  required.  The benefit  in conducting good  job search  follow up is  that it shows great persistence  and professionalism.  You can use the opportunity to  expand,  reinforce  or clarify something that you discussed in the interview.  Finally,  it prevents  the  interviewers  from forgetting about you  (which they  may) and  it  shows  that you really want  their  job.   As a former  hiring manager, I can tell you,  with certainty,  that one of the weakest parts of  candidates’  job search steps  is  their  follow up.  So, now that you know  better, there’s no excuse  for  inadequate follow up.     Start by sending  your  thank you  note  via  e-mail  24-48 hours after your interview. You want  the interview  to be fresh in your mind and  in  the company’s!  Address a note to each person  with whom  you met; no group  e-mails. Be  sure  you have spelled everyone’s names correctly  and write every e-mail with perfect grammar and a full signature with your full name, phone number and e-mail.     The Flow of a  Well-crafted  Thank  You  Note  Includes:   Thank them for the opportunity to meet  and acknowledge that they took the time  to do so.   Using bullets, highlight  between one and three  reasons  why youre the best fit for the role.  Your goal  here  is to  remind  them why you would be a good fit.     Close by  hitting  these three points:  Express your interest, commit to following up again  within a specified timeframe  (ideally in a week),  and thank them,  again,  for their time and consideration.     Now, you cannot sit back and wait for a response. Unless and until you hear definitively about the job, you will send  up to three follow up  e-mails. Yes, three.     Space them seven days apart.  Each follow up note should begin with pleasantries, then contain a sentence explaining where you left off in your last communication with them.  Something like: “You had indicated to me that youd be making your final decision during the week of, and I just wanted to follow up to see where you are in that decision.”  Then, rather than continue to  pester them about when the decision will be made, take the opportunity to  include something of value about you; mention training you  just completed, discuss a deal you closed, or highlight a project you finished.  Close  the thank you note  by indicating that you intend to follow up again in another  week.     3 Tricks to Great Follow Up:   Always appear gracious, positive, patient, and interested.  Minimize the use of “I, me and  my.”   When following up via  e-mail, always attached the  prior  e-mail  you are referring to.     Match your communications medium  to  the  one the  interviewer  has been using; return  e-mails with  e-mails, but if they call you, return their call.     Practice writing thank you note emails  and get a friend to read them for feedback.  It may not be second nature to send up to four thank you and follow up notes to a prospective employer, but  this could be the difference between  being forgotten and standing out. Join Dana Manciagli’s  Job Search Master Class ®  now  and get the most comprehensive job search system available!