It's been a slow week - on the blogging front that is, not on the recruiting front. Ironically, I have more time to write about recruiting when I'm not busy with actual recruiting.
Having a lot of interviews is a good thing. That being said, there is one big downside: having to write many MANY thank you notes. I detest writing thank you notes, not because I am an ill-mannered urchin, but rather because this task is a huge time suck that will not result in a job. Let's face it, no one has ever landed a job because of a kick ass thank you note (despite what books or your school's career development office may tell you). In reality, the thank you note is one final test: can this candidate manage to promptly send a brief but articulate note that is free from error?
No matter what I actually write in the body of the email, I am expressing the same point every time. Namely: "Dear Good Sir or Madam, please hire me. Love, Me"
So hiring managers, can we make a deal? Let's cut the crap and banish the whole archaic thank you note practice. It was fine back in the day when you interviewed for one (maybe two) jobs but today it is more like one of those wacky laws that no one ever got around to repealing (it is illegal, I repeat illegal, for a driver to be blind-folded while operating a vehicle).
Read between the lines: by accepting your invitation to interview onsite, I am implying that 1) I am sufficiently interested in your company to block out two full days in my schedule (one for travel and one for interviews), and 2) I am taking the time to engage in significant interview prep so as to come across as the competent and talented human being that I am. The thank you note is the recruiting equivalent of the last 0.2 mile of a marathon: painful and unnecessary. Running an even 26 miles is quite respectable and impressive so why continue on with this 26.2 miles nonsense? What I’m saying is that I am very appreciative of the opportunity to interview with your company, but would you please let me skip the thank you note pony show?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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At this point, it's not the presence of the thank you note but the absence that makes all the difference. At least it's a good excuse to buy adorable stationary...
ReplyDeleteAt my company all the interviewers read the notes out loud and compare to see if they got the same note... it does matter... and makes me wonder what they said about me!
ReplyDeleteI find that a signed, glossy, 8 x 10 works just as well, if not better, than a thank you note. It reminds employers how good I would look working for them and how good I look.
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