15% of hiring managers dismiss candidates who don't send thank you letters

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Nearly 15 Percent of Hiring Managers Would Dismiss a Candidate Who Doesn't Sent a Thank-You Letter, CareerBuilder.com Survey Finds

(CareerBuilder.com)
Friday, August 19, 2005

http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23296.html

Writing a thank-you letter after an interview doesn't just showcase a candidate's manners - it can also make or break their chances of landing a job. Nearly 15 percent of hiring managers say they would not hire someone who failed to send a thank-you letter after the interview. Thirty-two percent say they would still consider the candidate, but would think less of him or her, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey. The survey, "How to Get in the Front Door," was conducted from May 17, 2005 to May 27, 2005 and included more than 650 hiring managers.

Although most hiring managers expect to receive a thank you note, format preferences differ. One-in-four hiring managers prefer to receive a thank-you note in e-mail form only; 19 percent want the e-mail followed up with a hard copy; 21 percent want a typed hard copy only and 23 percent prefer just a handwritten note.

"No matter which format you choose, it's crucial to act quickly when sending a thank-you letter to your interviewer," says Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. "Twenty-six percent of hiring managers expect to have the letter in-hand two days after the interview, and 36 percent expect to have it within three to five days. Sending the letter quickly reinforces your enthusiasm for the job, and helps keep you top-of-mind for the interviewer."

Haefner offers the following tips to make the most of your thank-you letter: Stick to three paragraphs. In the first paragraph, thank the interviewer for the opportunity. Use the second to sell yourself by reminding the hiring manager of your qualifications. In the third paragraph, reiterate your interest in the position. Fill in the blanks. Thank-you notes are a great way to add in key information you forgot in the interview, clarify any points or try to ease any reservations the interviewer might have expressed. Proofread carefully. Double-check to be sure your note is free from typos and grammatical errors. Don't rely solely on your spell-checker. Be specific. Don't send out a generic correspondence. Instead, tailor your note to the specific job and the relationship you have established with the hiring manager.

[davidinalameda]

1. Miss Manners says good for them

[meegbear]

2. I always send one ... got my current job becase I was the only one

to send one. And paper, not email.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. I'm self-employed, but always send them to potential customers...

...after first contact.

The only exception was a recent contract bid in which I met with the CEO, VP and Director in the same meeting. I know the CEO, and thought the meeting was going to be 1-on-1. I didn't want to send three identical hand-written notes, so I sent one e-mail and CCd the others. I'm still in the game, so it seems to have been an appropriate move.

For the client prior to that, I sent a hand-written note. When I went in for my second visit, I'd say the gentleman was at least 50% more friendly than he was on the first visit, and I got the contract.

:toast:

[meegbear]

9. Unfortunately, the first letter would be the same ...

For the second interview letter, I try to remember something that was said during the "idle chatter" of the interview and incorporate it.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

13. One rule of thumb I learned in the past...

...and I use this in my own business today, is to remember a need that the client had and to re-affirm my qualifications and willingness to meet that need. You have to be careful with this...some people go overboard and it doesn't sound genuine. It's a subtle thing, and it takes not only practice but the ability to read the hiring manager as a unique individual and not simply a generic cog in the wheel.

I said something like "I am definitely interested in working with your team," because the woman I interviewed with told me that even though she would be the "point person" for this project, pretty much everything in the company is done "by committee." In some situations, this would border on an empty platitude, but in this case, she made it VERY clear that she was looking for someone who would work well with her team.

ANOTHER thing that came out recently, also from CareerBuilder: MOST hiring managers will TOSS a resume if they think the candidate did a "cut and paste" from the job description. In the past, this kind of thing was ENCOURAGED, but apparently people have caught on.

:toast:

[meegbear]

17. I do ...

but the opening and closing are "boilerplate". Should have specified.

[meegbear]

18. I do ...

but the opening and closing are "boilerplate". Should have specified.

[ixion]

3. yeah, I always write thank you emails...it's just common courtesy

IMO...:shrug:

[Moochy]

4. In a tough job market

Hiring managers can use any random selection criteria to weed out candidates and seem "fair". I've seen some stupid shit done before in the tech industry like posting a question that requires a certain answer before the candidate will even be considered.

PSSST. hiring manager, just because your job is hard, and you have to see alot of candidates, you can't rely on random shit you just thought of or read from Miss Manners to disqualify good candidates arbitrarily.
If your job is to get the best qualified candidates, not to reduce your list of applicants willy nilly.

Feh.. More incompetence in Human Resources.. who woulda thunk it?

:eyes:

I always send a thank you email, but my industry is paper free these days with all but the actual contract, which is usually a pdf first.

[short bus president]

5. GAH!

"Thank you for bothering to take the time to meet with lowly little me. I truly hope to be chosen as the replacement cog in your vast machine." Not sure what the ending should be, but it better start with "I humbly beseech thee..."

Fuckers.

How 'bout just "you got an opening and I can fill it?" Works in the pornos...

[sui generis]

7. Hiring Managers? Which one?

I wouldn't want to work for a priss like that - that's just being passive aggressive and manipulative. Judge me on my interviewing skills and my qualifications, not my letterhead.

In a professional interview, you are generally interviewed multiple times by multiple people over multiple days.

Which manager are you going to thank? The HR guy who is horrified that you think people shouldn't piss in cups or need to divulge credit information to get a job?

I'll send him a note, but it won't be a thank you note.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. I'm surprised it's so low. Unless an applicant was truly stellar,

I would likely use the "thank you letter" litmus test to help reduce the candidates.

Only 15% of hiring managers doing so is rather sad.

If you can't be courteous, you don't deserve to work.

[TheDebbieDee]

10. $hit! I'm lucky if I can scrape enough money together.....

to put gas in the car to get to the interview. They expect me to have postage to mail a hard copy "Thank You" note?

[Bob3]

11. so 85% don't? - hell I'll take those odds.

Frankly I do letters but I really hate it - interviews are tedious and unpleasant enough -then I have to then thank them for asking weird and impossible to understand questions in sub human corporate speak and having to answer then in the same mind numbing gibberish - to have had to pretend that subsuming my needs wants desires and passions to the greater corporate good is my true life's desire. Oh yes yes I live to grovel - I want to come home late every night burnt out and hating existence - I want to lose my mind.

Yesh.

Sorry Bad mood - to many interviews.

[kick-ass-bob]

15. yes, but if someone else does and you don't?

I don't summarily reject them if they don't send one, but if someone else does, they get a little bump up.

[jandrok]

12. Speaking AS a hiring manager.......

I do look for things like thank you notes and/or follow-up calls to be an indicator as to how much effort that the candidate is putting into the job search. It may not disqualify someone if they don't follow-up, but it certainly enhances a candidate's chances if they take the time to send a letter or acknowledgement of some kind.

It's not sucking up...it's not a subservient gesture...it's not groveling...it's just common courtesy and common sense.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

14. I also worked as a hiring manager at various points in my career...

...and you are 100% correct. I ABSOLUTELY looked for "common courtesy and common sense"...GENUINE qualities, NOT a "dog and pony show"...and if I didn't see them in a candidate, that person did not get in the door.

A few of the "Golden Rules of Hiring"...

1). Employers want someone who will "play nice" with the other employees and get along

2). Employers want someone with creative ideas but they seldom want "mavericks"...it's the "No "I" in "TEAM" principle"...

3). If an employer thinks that the value of what you will bring to the company exceeds the value of what they will pay you, you WILL be hired.

4). Just like jandrok said, "common courtesy and common sense."

PLUS:

1). SUPERB grammar and NO SPELLING ERRORS on the resume.

:toast:

[jandrok]

16. Well said!

And I'm glad that you noted the need for good grammar and proof-reading a resume. WAY too many candidates disqualify themselves before they even get an interview because of their sloppy proofing.

To your most excellent point, a thank-you or acknowledgemnent letter sends more messages than a simple "thank-you". It's often an indicator of how the person will interact and work with others. Taking that extra time to send a letter may be the one thing that separates you from the pack.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

19. A question

What do you do if you receive a letter that the position has been filled before you get the thank-you out? I'm talking just two days after your interview. Should you even bother at that point?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

21. Here's another hiring secret from "behind closed doors"...

IF you make an impression...

IF the position is filled by someone other than you...

Your resume will be "shopped around" among the other hiring managers to see if they have any interest in you.

YES, it's a roll of the dice. But maybe there's a position coming up that hasn't even been advertised yet.

You should ALWAYS send a thank you note, regardless of what you think your chances are. Even if you thought the interview was a disaster and you didn't particularly care for the hiring manager. The point is for you to leave the most professional and favorable impression possible. Companies have a very hard time letting talent slip away, even in a rotten job market.

:toast:

[Misunderestimator]

20. Count me among the other 85%.

I hate thank you letters... makes me think they are trying too hard. :shrug:

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

22. Yeah, sometimes they are...

...I was involved in the hiring process in one of my former companies, and the applicant sent in a follow-up e-mail that was right out of the Miss America Pageant. He was a great guy, he had the qualifications, and we DID hire him...and for the year and a half that he and I worked together after that, I gave him non-stop grief about that e-mail. He had a sense of humor...I never would have ribbed him if he didn't...and he KNEW he went a little overboard, but he sincerely wanted the job, and we all sensed that.

Other times, it reeks of desperation if they go too far and you start asking all of the "What is this person trying to hide" questions.

:toast:

[Deja Q]

23. LOL! Thank them for the opportunity to add unreasonable stress, yeah...

That and uncouth clients and snotty coworkers... if only we all made money so easily.