TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Re: Interview Etiquette (was The Interview from Hell!)
Subject:Re: Interview Etiquette (was The Interview from Hell!) From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- YAHOO -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 1 Jun 1999 08:33:22 -0700
Likewise, what has happened to the cover letter. My company gets 10 - 50
resumes a week and only about 1/3 have any kind of cover letter.
Thank you's and cover letters are not passe. Today the thing to do is send a
thank you email. While many jobs are decided in less than 48 hours, as John
suggested, you should always shoot the interviewer a thank you email after the
interview.
Thank yous and cover letters are just one of the things that differentiate real
professionals from drek.
Personally, I think a lot of applicants have gotten lazy and smug because there
are a lot of jobs out there. When the next economic downswing occurs, real
professionals will have decent jobs while the rest will suffer with crap work
or no work at all.
I remember in 1992 when the economy sucked and work was tough to find, I got a
good writing job. My interviewer admitted one of the reasons she picked me out
of over 200 resumes was my cover letter and very professional looking resume.
It did not seem like much of an accomplishment to me. Apparently a lot of
people do not think it is important to act professionally any more.
Oh well - more jobs for me!
Andrew Plato
President / Principal Consultant
Anitian Consulting, Inc.
www.anitian.com
--- jarnopol <jarnopol -at- INTERACCESS -dot- COM> wrote:
> Tracey Moore told of an interview from hell and said:
> <snip>
> So the interview came and went. Then nothing. No phone call, no letter,
> nothing. Well, I hate that. I sent the customary thank you letter.
> <snip>
>
> Not to belittle Tracey's or Ivan's experiences, but what has happened to the
> "customary thank you letter"?
>
> I just went through a rather intense search for a techwriter at my client
> site
> and only one of the 12 people we interviewed even bothered to send a
> thank-you. Okay, some of these people came through head hunters, others came
> through contract-to-hire agencies and some even came from the ranks of this
> list.
>
> It's been almost 2 years since I've interviewed for a position, and I
> distinctly remember sending thank-you's to people who took the time to
> interview me, regardless of whether or not I wanted the position. I even
> sent
> them for telephone interviews.
>
> Is this now passe?
>
> regards
>
> jarnopol
>
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
