Whether you’re a college student entering the job market for the first time, or you’re someone who has had the same job for many years and is now seeking new employment due to the faltering economy, you know there are many things to consider when putting yourself out there for an interview. Did you dress well, does your resume look professional, make sure to look people in the eyes when you shake their hands, do you have food in my teeth or bad breath… it can be an intimidating process.

The thing to remember is, this is by no means an easy process for the person on the other side of the desk either. He or she has to properly represent her place of employment to each prospective employee, meaning present herself just as professionally when she already has a job as you do seeking one. She’s also under pressure to make sure she asks all the right questions, and evaluates all the relevant criteria, because whomever she picks for the position will reflect on her as a recruiter.

It is important, then, that you let each person interviewing you for each position you’re applying for know that you appreciate what a difficult task it is for her as well. I know this is easier said than done when you’re thinking about bills, mortgages, or more importantly your family’s well-being, especially when the places you’ve interviewed with decided to go with someone else, leaving you back at square one. Believe me, I’ve been there, and it’s not great to hear that you didn’t get the job, or even worse, no contact from them at all.

The thought of even saying “thank you for your time” on the phone seems like an extremely arduous task, let alone sending a thank you note.

That’s not the proper way to look at the situation, though, especially in the current hyper-competitive job market. You need to build bridges, not burn them, and make as many good impressions as possible. Think about it, if you send a thank you note, even if you’re not selected for the position, you’re going to stand out as someone who is courteous, professional, and thorough:

• If the person they hired doesn’t work out, and you’re the only one who sent a note, guess where they’ll go first?
• What if another position opens up in another department?

Again, you’ve left that solid impression. The other thing to consider is that the business community can sometimes be very small, especially if you live in a smaller city or town. People talk, share meals, and with the rise in social networking, fire off information to one another faster and at a higher volume than ever before. The person who just received your thank you note could be looking on his computer at the same time, and see a post from another recruiter asking if anyone knows any good candidates. At the very least, you’re giving people a reason to think of you in a positive light, and that can never be a bad thing.

Join Us On Twitter:

Like Us On Facebook:

Visit Our Bookstore for Great Values and Instant Download!

101 Tips Every Seeker Should Know	Ultimate Online Job Seekers	Learn The 10 Biggest Interview Mistakes	Avoid These 10 Resume Mistakes

Check out these hot articles!

This makes us laugh… every time we see it	The First Step to a Job You Love	Beef up your email signature

Learning Leads to Earnings, Especially for Men	How to Ace the Job Interview BEFORE it Starts	Video Resumes May Work Wonders; But Not for Everybody

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 7:42 am and is filed under Career, Interview, Job Search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.