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Handwritten Notes After A Job Interview? February 10, 2006

Following up both on my post yesterday, and on Doug’s post “10 things to help you get hired“, because of this comment:

Doesn’t a hand written thank you card make you look like an incredible suck-up? Sure maybe some hiring managers get off on that sorta thing, but… I’d consider that overdone.

I’d send a hand-written note. I do that for a few different things anyway though - I like pen-and-paper, as a change from the electronic life. That said, if I was interviewing now, it would be for a manager/director/VP type role, and that sets the expectations somewhat. If you’re fresh out of college, and you’ve just interviewed at Yahoo! for instance, would a note be appropriate?

It’s really going to depend on your own level of comfort with these things, as well as the “vibe” you got from your interviewer. I don’t believe it’s ageist to say that you might get a different reaction to the note from a fifty-something manager than you might from a twenty-something one.

Think about this though - one of the key points in what Doug’s writing about, and what I was touching on as well, is that you need to differentiate yourself.  Initially in your resume, and then in your interview, and then finally in their memory of you while they’re deliberating.  If the interview process has run over four or five days, and they’ve seen ten, fifteen, twenty candidates, and in the middle of this your note turns up - think you might stand out a little bit from the rest of the crowd now?

Not directly related to job hunting, but on paper notes in general, there’s an article from early January over at “paper notes in a digital world” that might be worth a read.   It’s worth taking a look at the comments on that as well, and then judge for yourself how a handwritten note might be received.

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