Don't Forget the Thank You Letter After an Interview

The Thank-You Letter

A thank-you email is imperative after an interview if you want to make the cut. A thank-you email can set you apart from other candidates because 57% of job seekers don’t make an effort to send one, which could result in them not getting hired. According to a recent study, 68% of recruiters said that receiving a thank-you note influenced their decision-making process,and one in five recruiters will dismiss a candidate if they haven’t received a follow-up thank-you. Furthermore, saying thank you is just good manners.

Six easy steps to write a thank-you email

1. Thank in the subject line. Create a simple “thank you” subject line:

   [Interviewers Name], thank you for the opportunity Thank you for the interview
   Thank you for your time and interview

2. Be personal. Use a personal greeting to send a personalized email to each interviewer:

   Dear/Hello first name,

3. Express your appreciation. Start by thanking the interviewer for their time and the interview. Express how much you enjoyed learning more about the details of the position, the team, the company, or any other information the interviewer shared.

4. Show enthusiasm for joining the company. Tell them why you are excited and eager to join the company. What interests you about the position?

5. Why should they hire you? Reiterate why you are a good fit for the job. Tie this into something that was mentioned during the interview. Talk about how your skills and experience could be an asset toward meeting the company’s goals.

6. Close professionally:

   • Offer to give additional information if needed.
   • Mention the response deadline by which you are

   expecting to hear from them.

   • Use a professional signature such as “Sincerely,” “Best regards,” or “Regards.”

   • Include your contact details and links to your per- sonal website, LinkedIn, or other applicable sites. Impress them further by using a customized signature platform, as discussed in Chapter 2.

   7. Before you send ... Take the time to proofread your note to ensure that the tone is correct and there are no typos. A good idea is to have another person read it to double- check it for accuracy. Then, you can send your thank-you by email or mail.

  Taken from Get a Job, Keep a Job; The soft skills they didn't teach you at school

Is Your Online Reputation a Liability

Courtesy of Coggno

Have you Googled your own name recently to see what comes up? If you did you might be surprised or even unpleasantly surprised. Today it’s easy to gain insight about who people really are due to the internet and social media.

Your online reputation is becoming increasingly important as more and more corporations and universities are doing social media background checks. A survey done by Microsoft found that 70% of Human Resource professionals have eliminated a potential employee based on what they found online. The reasons were unsuitable photos and videos, badmouthing people and past employers, inappropriate comments and drinking and drug abuse.

Students need to be aware of how their actions online can hamper their chances of getting into university. If a student is irresponsible online they run the risk that the university they apply to will place some of their metrics on that profile. Roughly 24% of admissions officers say that they do look at prospective students’ social media profiles. While 24% may not seem like a very high percentage considering that in 2008 only 10% of admissions officers used social media, it is easy to see that the number is rising.

The bottom line, keep your personal life private. What you rant or rave about today may come back to impact you in ways you never imagined.