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In response to Maggie Secara's question about writing thank-you
letters after an interview:
> I've looked through the archives and found a good deal on how
> effective
> thank-yous can be, but not much about the text of such
> letters themselves.
> So my question is: when you do this, what do you write?
>
I agree that sometimes a "thank you" can make the difference, assuming
that the interviewees have roughly equal skills and experience. If you
interview a lot of people who act as if they are doing you a big
favor by interviewing, it's nice to hear from someone who actually wants
the job. It sounds as if the things you write are fine... their purpose
is to refresh the interviewer's memory and make them realize that you
are thoughtful and follow up on details. I was once unable to hire someone
who did write me a thank-you note. I later called him when we had another
opening. He was qualified, although not quite as much as the person
we did hire, but the fact that he sent the letter obviously made an
impression on me.
What I find really makes a difference is a telephone call, both in
landing an interview in the first place and getting a second interview
later. We're all busy and sometimes we push off making a decision about
candidates. A candidate who follows up with a phone call shows me that
s/he wants the job *and* is displaying some of the qualities a good tech
writer needs to show. (After all, you can't be shy to get information from a
developer.) It also gives you a good clue about what the interviewer thought
about you.
Of course, this can be a bit tricky. You have to figure
out the right time to call (a good way to find out is to ask at the
interview when would be a good time to follow up), and you can rarely
do it more than once without annoying the hiring manager.
Another good thing to do is to let the interviewer know at the end of
the interview how much you want the job, if you really do.
Just come out and say it.
Believe me, it makes a big difference, and it's hard to turn people
down when they directly ask for something.
Krista
================================================
Krista Van Laan
Documentation Manager
VeriSign, Inc. http://www.verisign.com
1350 Charleston Road Mountain View, CA 94043
tel: (650) 426-5158 fax: (650) 426-5195
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