Old Fashioned Thank You Notes in a Digital Age

It is obvious that one should write a thank you note following an job interview. In the digital, fast-paced age we live in, what is not so obvious is how to deliver said thank you note.

Case and point: I went on a job interview last week and dutifully wrote and mailed thank you notes to each of my interviewers within a few hours of the interview's completion. Note that I said, "mailed," not e-mailed, but actually drove to the post office and dropped handwritten notes into the big blue mail box outside. I was confident that my interviewers would get the thank you notes before making their final decisions as they had said I would hear back about the position early next week. However, decisions were made sooner than expected and I received notification that they offered someone else the job within an hour of going to the post office.

But what about my thank you notes?!?! I realize the notes themselves probably are not the deciding factor in whether I get a job or not, but the notes were now a bit irrelevant (I mentioned in the thank you notes that I looked forward to their decision and reiterated my interest and suitability for the position). So I quickly e-mailed my interviewers to thank them, adding that I had put handwritten notes in the mail just hours before and amending my "I look forward to your decision" to "I will stay in touch and hope to be considered for future positions." Since my e-mail was sent late on Friday, I haven't heard back yet, but I hope that my "amendment" is appreciated and not viewed as an "oops."

However, I can't help but wonder, 'what if I had just e-mailed thank yous to my interviewers?' It certainly would have avoided the need to amend my handwritten statements, but e-mail seems so impersonal to me. There's something about getting a handwritten note that seems so much more real and thoughtful.

Perhaps the solution is to still write handwritten thank yous, but perhaps within an hour of the interview send a quick e-mail thank you, too. Is this overkill? No, not if you make each version of your thank you a bit unique - for example, the e-mail could be a few short lines reiterating your interest and thanking the interviewer for their time; the handwritten note can include more specific information ("I especially appreciate you taking time to explain X and share more about Z").

Maybe the future is sending e-cards to interviewers and recruiters? Given that a lot of that kind of e-mail ends up in junk boxes or marked as spam, I don't know if that will ever take off. I also have yet to come across a real classy e-card. If you have, please share.

My personal criteria for sending thank you notes is more or less this: send electronically while still in the interviewing process, but always send a final handwritten thank you once the process is over. I've sent e-mail thank you notes while I was still interviewing (i.e. I made it through a first round and was moving on to the second), and later sent handwritten notes once the process was complete and decisions were being made. I've even sent a thank you to an interviewer via LinkedIn because I didn't have his e-mail address, only the generic company address I sent my resume to. But once I had been in the office for an interview, I sent a handwritten note. Moving forward, I will definitely include a third thank you via e-mail a short time after the interview - something concise, just to show the interview I appreciated their time and to avoid having to make amendments to handwritten notes.

How do you thank your interviewers? Are e-mail thank you notes the way of the future? Do any recruiters or interviewers out there care one way or another if you get handwritten or e-mailed thank you notes? Have you ever thanked an interviewer on LinkedIn or Twitter?

On being open to possibilities

Remember when you were a kid and you dreamed of being an astronaut? Then you grew up and became an accountant. Okay, maybe this post is not about such extreme changes in your job search. But it is about being open to different possibilities. For example, I went to college and got a degree in public relations. But my job search focuses on so much more than assistant account executive jobs at public relations agencies. It includes, but is not limited to: assistant project manager, marketing research assistant, marketing analyst, business analyst, project coordinator, B2B marketing coordinator, and a host of other job titles at public relations agencies, advertising agencies, branding companies, interactive companies, financial corporations, technology corporations, consumer products corporations, and the list goes on and on.

I think too often college students are conditioned into following one career path, so much so that they miss out on great opportunities or worse they end up with a career they hate. Throughout college I was – without it ever being explicitly stated by anyone – led to believe that after graduation I would go to work at a public relations agency as an assistant account executive. Sure there was the mention here and there about working as a communications coordinator at a non-profit or for a U.S. congressman, but the main focus always came back to writing press releases and developing communication campaigns.

Don’t misread my frustrations; if given the opportunity, I wouldn’t go back and change my major or my university. But I would have listened more to the voice in my head that said, ‘This is not exactly right for me.’ At the beginning of my job search following graduation, my focus was extremely narrow. Now, a year and a half later, I can confidently say that the skills I learned in my PR program are applicable to more than the “typical” entry-level positions taken by students of PR.

The recession and this dismal job market have probably also played a part in my willingness to seek employment in less traditional places – as I’m sure it has done for many people who lost their jobs. Heck, maybe the recession is a blessing in disguise for some people who have been stuck in careers they despised. Whatever the circumstances – you’re still in school, you recently graduated, or you’re looking for what’s next – don’t let yourself be pigeonholed by what you’ve done (your major, your internships, your 15-year career as a financial planner) and be open to opportunities where your skills are transferable and maybe even highly desired.

And since I don’t want to leave you wondering, ‘what does she mean? How is my science major transferable to anything other than being a scientist?’ Here are a few examples:

• Psychology major – understanding human nature is a huge part of being a financial planner or a stockbroker, if you like numbers, too, why not try something in this industry, or get involved in marketing research
• Performing arts major – coming across movie roles is tough, but I bet schools in your area are always looking for great drama teachers or directors for after school musical groups, or if you’ve got one of those great voices, why not get into voiceover work for radio or TV commercials, or maybe you’re a great storyteller, that’s good for copywriting
• Business major – I know most people that study accounting go on to work for one of the big accounting firms, but why not look into consulting, financial planning for a non-profit, or if you’re not a suit kind of person, accounting for a marketing agency
• Engineers – so you’re great with all the technical stuff, but maybe you like writing or events planning, too… why not get into a technical industry through a large company’s communications department or write for a technical magazine
• History major – so you spent most of college writing excessively long papers and decided you don’t want to write history books for a very long time, there’s teaching, working in a museum, your local historical society, not to mention how much government agencies love a history major
• PR/Marketing/Communications people – cross-over! It’s amazing how much we learn to love one aspect of marketing communications when we’re devoted to studying or working in it. Been an account exec at an agency? Why not get into account management at a research firm. Wrote a lot of press release and pitched a lot of media? Why not look into becoming a media buyer?

The possibilities are – supposedly – endless, so explore beyond what you think or what you’ve been told to explore.

On the job hunt: Amanda’s List of Useful Tips

It’s hunting season here in Minnesota, but I’m not much of an outdoorsy kind of girl. I am, however, on the job hunt. While I’m no expert, I’ve found some activities are more useful than others, and I’d like to share that information with fellow job hunters.

There are millions of lists online – everything from finding a job, interviewing, writing thank you notes, etc. is available in someone’s list of skills, pointers, and myths. It can be argued that adding another list to the pile is just going to confuse the already overwhelmed job hunter. But I like to get different perspectives and judge which pieces of information are most useful for my own situation (you can’t expect one list to have every bit of information you ever wanted to know on it).

So here it goes… My list of useful tips for job hunters. I engage in some form of the following activities each time I approach a new job hunt (and some even when I’m not actively applying for jobs):

• I’ve already discussed setting up a job search schedule, so I won’t rehash that information here. Just know it’s important to research open positions, research your industry, network, use social media, do personal branding, and engage in personal activities (I cook and read almost every day) to varying degrees throughout your week.
• (Re)-evaluate my passions and career direction: using some of the tools mentioned below and some personal inventories of my interests and skills, I take a look at what I’m doing, what I want to be doing, and how I can make it all happen.
• Get in contact with my network: I have mentors and people in the industry that I go to when I’m in transition (a nice way to say unemployed). To some of these contacts I simply write a quick e-mail to let them know the situation and politely ask them to pass along any opportunities they might know of. The other contacts I meet-up with or engage in on-going e-mail conversation to get ideas and/or help in furthering my career. Past supervisors and professors love to hear how you’re doing and to help out where they can, so don’t hesitate to remain in contact with them.
• Research, research, research: Being that I’m towards the beginning of my career, I’m always looking for more information on the industry and companies in my metropolitan area. I have spreadsheets for different types of companies (agencies, non-profit, corporations) that list information like company size, major clients, values and mission statements, hiring process, and my connections to the company. I also set-up Google alerts on companies that I am interested in working for so I can stay on top of what’s going on with their businesses and/or clients. This is really helpful when you actually get an interview somewhere because you’ve been following the company and already have a base to work from when preparing questions for the interview. 
  
• Informational interviews: This step sort of combines the last two – reach out to your network and see if they have contacts who would be willing to meet with you and discuss the industry and their companies so you can build your research file (and your network). I love learning about people’s experiences because it gives a personal perspective on business. Googling informational interview questions turns up lots of results if you’re at a loss for things to ask. I like informational interviews over networking events because it’s one-on-one and you learn a lot more quality information. It’s my preference, but extroverts may find networking events better suit their personalities.

Finally, there’s the obvious applying for open positions, follow-up, interviewing, and writing thank-you notes. I won’t get in detail here because these are pretty basic activities, but my best advice is to be positive and gracious throughout the hiring process. Even if you’re not a good fit for the position or company, being friendly and leaving a good impression on people can help out in the future. Marketing communications communities are small (at least in markets outside of New York and LA), so chances are a good impression will carry itself into conversations down the road (and likewise so will a bad impression).

I’m going to tack the following links below because my list is neither comprehensive nor the be-all end-all of job-hunting lists. These are lists and resources I find useful in my own job hunt:

20 Steps to Successful Job Hunting: I just found this list today. I especially like the author’s advice to Recount Your Successes. Being unemployed is stressful and can be depressing, so be sure to think about the good things. Give yourself a pep talk! And do this early on in the hunt. Don’t wait until you’re feeling down to pump yourself up.

Six Steps for First-Time Job Hunters: An older list I referred to back when I first started job-hunting after graduation, this is pretty basic, practical information. It serves a nice reminder. I especially like that the first step is pinpointing your direction. It is important to focus and think outside your logical “I majored in X so I’m going to work in X industry as an X-er.” With most liberal arts degrees, you can major in X and end of working in B industry as an Z-er – it’s about matching your skills and your passion(s).

Going along with the last item, here is a useful start on finding a career direction. This is a very comprehensive exercise with really great, thought-provoking questions. Changed my career outlook.

Finally, Wet Feet has tons of lists for job hunters at all stages of their career lives. I reference information here all the time.

Take from this list what you find helpful, re-tool and integrate it to fit your own situation, and keep refining your search to make it successful.

Happy Job Hunting!

On the job hunt: Schedules

Creating a schedule for finding a job is something I have found extremely useful and motivating. This goes beyond setting goals and making lists - although I recommend doing those things, too. Creating a schedule helps keep you on task and prevents you from spending the entire day watching daytime television (which I condone only if I've first done everything I could possibly do in support of my job search for that day, you've got to reward yourself!).

My first step in creating a schedule is listing everything you want to accomplish during your unemployed-free time. Here is a sample of the things I included in my "must-do" list:

1. check job post sites (will post my favorites at a later date)
   
2. check companies' career web pages
   
3. read Google alerts on targeted companies
4. read industry news every day
5. networking - examples include: e-mail my contacts, connecting with people on LinkedIn, setting up informational interviews, attending industry events, etc.
   
6. Twitter - both posting and following (I use TweetDeck to organize and follow important topics/people).
7. Read for fun at least 1 hour each day
8. Cook 2-3 times each week (which also entails finding recipes and planning the meal)
9. blogging
10. miscellaneous personal branding (includes improving resume, updating LinkedIn profile and Twitter account, commenting and connecting on Brazen Careerist, blogging, etc.)

Then decide how often you need to do each task. Frequency depends on not only your schedule, but also realistically how often should you be doing each task? For example, I don't check the same job posting sites everyday because realistically I can afford to find a posting a day or two after it is posted. It is easier - for me at least - to search job posting sites a couple times a week to make sure I'm on top of recent postings than to search everyday and maybe waste time doing so because there are no new posts.  This is how I break down the frequency of doing all these activities:

• 3, 4, 6, and 7 are things I do everyday
• 1, 2, and 5 are things I do 1-2 days per week
  
• 8, 9, and 10 are flexible depending on my schedule
  

It's also important to remain flexible. If you have a meeting or need to run errands, scale back on activities for that day and beef-up your efforts the day before or day after.

Here is an example of a typical Monday for me: read Google alerts on targeted companies, catch up on e-mails, check LinkedIn and Agency Spy for new job postings, read industry news,  break for breakfast/lunch, work on some personal branding or job applications, read for fun, and cook a meal for dinner before watching House and Monday Night Football. And I'm on Twitter throughout the day.

I'm a visual person, so here is an example of a schedule:

 

I find it's easiest to create a separate calendar for job search activities (I use Google Calendars, which I love because I can assign a different color to each of my calendars - personal, job search, sports, TV, etc).

Hope this is helpful. Really it's about forcing yourself into a routine so you don't become your former college-slacker self. Once you set-up a schedule and stick to it for a couple of weeks, these activities will become a natural part of your day. You may even get so good at it that you find you have time to squeeze in more activities! Remember to be flexible, but stay on-task. If you get in the mind-set of holding yourself accountable for completing all your tasks it will certainly be rewarding in the end.