Breanne Potter left a comment on my blog and told me that she frowns upon thank you notes. She is so hard core that she akshully rejects candidates who feels the need to write thank-you notes.
(To summarize: ‘Don’t be desperate, yo. You either get the job or you don’t. There’s no need for pleasantries.’)
Holy crap, dudes. She does not mess around.
I wondered, “What else makes you rule out candidates, Breanne?’
She told me. Go there and check it out.
I also wonder — what makes you rule out candidates?
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s a little too hardcore for me. Some of us (who shall remain nameless) were slapped on the wrist as a child when not using our utensils properly at the dinner table. Thusly, we were required to hand write thank you notes for a very many reasons. It was ingrained into us. I think a candidate shouldn’t be shunned for writing TY notes. Nor should one be hired simply for a TY note. It is what it is.
A resume written in the third person. WTF! I don’t know who is advising these, but please stop!
Like I basically said over there, if I am on the hiring side and the third party recruiter bahleted my candidate because of a thank you note or a single phone call, you just got fired. That doesn’t work for me.
Here’s a clue by four: if people are routinely not following your application “rules”, it isn’t because they are idiots or intentionally trying to put themselves out of the running. It is probably because your process sucks.
I like Lance’s comment about application rules and process. As someone currently looking for a day job, I prefer to send email thank yous and to include some link or piece of information I think is applicable to the person or business. But I have sent hard copy thank you notes to businesses – especially those that seem behind the technology curve. That I might end up in the FAIL pile for it is horrifying.
I wanted to send a thank you note for this post but I need your home address. Either that or a tiny note via carrier pigeon, your choice.
Honestly, I think this issue has gotten way overblown. If people want to send a note, just send it. If you want to send an email, send that as well. Just don’t expect that this alone will be the deciding factor in your job search. The odds of you ending up in a “hiring tie” that is broken by overt note courtesy are fairly low (IMO).
Good luck, and fly pigeon fly!
@Lance- You’ve been in HR for a while. Have you had people fill out the usual HR paperwork? Do they complain about it? This is what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about having candidates give me a pedicure before submitting their resume. I’m talking about the typical course of HR business that often involves filling out the same info repeatedly. If they balk at that inconvenience it’s a bad sign in my book.
This whole post was blown out of proportion. Y’all do realize i’m a smartass, right? When I say I “drop them like an enchilada” you are taking that literally. I don’t actually walk my happy face into a Dos Hombres and toss the candidate on the ground- that would be a literal translation. Let’s just say I’m “unimpressed” with those behaviors.
If you tell me your first impression isn’t affected by things like smelling like a bar, wearing too much cologne, looking like you just changed your oil, etc then I don’t believe you!
I’m not the only who thinks that a candidate who doesn’t put effort on the front end isn’t a star candidate. Have you applied to any jobs lately? The days of quickly hitting submit on Monster are gone. LOTS of job postings now take you to the company website where you have to manually enter your resume information instead of just attaching it. It’s annoying and time consuming, but if you want the job you’ll do it. I’m not saying I’d set my system up that way if I were back in HR, but I get WHY they are doing that.
@Breanne I embrace your tone — tongue-in-cheek with an edge of seriousness and new-skool way of thinking. It’s fun & refreshing, plus I just love controversy.
i too am somewhat irritated by the social stationery card written as a strange obligation. then again, some of my hiring managers love the art of the well-written thank you – and ultimately in this market/economy, i’m all about kissing up and keeping the line managers happy. if they stay happy, i might stay employed…so i’ll feed their skewed belief that if a candidate follows up with a thank you note for the job ~ they’ll follow up with a thank you note with the future client…whatever.
my dis-qualifiers: name-dropping, a blatent lie, athletic socks with dress shoes, very loud tv in the background during a phone screen…
@amy- oh, man, how did I miss the athletic socks and tv during a phone screen? Genius!
As a young job seeker, here’s what have worked for me:
1. Send a paper TY note when the interviewer is in your mother’s demographic (they are more likely to appreciate it)
2. Send an email TY note to most interviewers (make sure they are slightly different if you met with different people as they are likely to compare notes)
3. If the interviewer was your would-be supervisor, leave him/her a voicemail TY note (call after hours to make sure to get the voicemail and show your communication skills: say everything you need in 45 secs or less!). Voicemail notes also work best when the interviewer was particularly effusive during your conversation.
Strange coincidence….? I don’t think I have ever hired anyone that sent me a thank you note but I don’t think it is because of the note but the fact that it seems like those that send them feel the need to beg? If I didn’t make a decision to hire you when you left the room, the thank you note isn’t going to do it. Just make an impression!
2nd – when I ask you what you AREN’T good at….tell me please
Last – Just tell me how much you want me to pay you. If it’s too much and I want you to work for me I will still make you an offer. You can turn it down if it isn’t enough, cool?
I’m still waiting for the carrier pigeon, Mark.
I work at a radio staion and here are some things that will automatically have your resume filed as “no further interest”:
1) Head Shots and acting resumes. Especially for non on-air talent positions.
2) Heavy card stock for resumes. They jam the paper feeder for modern copiers when I need to make copies for hiring managers.
3) Two page cover letters.
4) People who have another companies name and or differnt job name in their cover letter.
5) Resume in Comic Sans.
Last year I got a package from an applicant that included our offical application, a two page cover letter, a three page resume, several letters of recomendation going back seven years, and a CD. The CD had literaly HUNDREDS of photos of this guy with captions and a soundtrack. It was very amusing, I believe the CD is still making its rounds though the hiring managers.
Also, if an applicant fills out our online applciation and does not use proper punctuation and abbreviates info like they are texting their bff, I toss that sucker. They may as well have sent a thank you note (hee hee, just joshin’ Breanne!).
I hate when there is brazeness about who they know in high places and the names get tossed like they are in already and the interview is a formality…especially when the names are of people I dislike (like I am going to have two assholes working for us instead of one, thats not the new math I am looking for)…tell me what you can do and be humble if you know important people…If I respect them I will check in on you ( or more likely they referred you and I already know the relationship)…
I also hate when the entrepeneur of the 3 person company thinks they can run a $200 mil business out of the shoot…
thats real brazenness!
One of the things that has always gotten me are business references that are people you know on a personal level. I’m not going to call your boyfriend or Aunt for a reference, even if by chance you DO work with them and they ARE your boss. I want references that are objective colleagues or managers, not people you live with or who know you by that cute little nickname your Grandma gave you.
These are all so good. I hate it when interviewees chew gum. Dudes, seriously, spit it out before we talk, mmmmkay?
Dudes, check out Jen Smack’s latest HR Assistant candidate . Hilarious: http://jensmack.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/pros-and-cons/
What makes me dump a candidate? Two words: “Dear Sirs”.
My biggest peeve.
Having your mom call me!
Really? I am in the South and in the engineering field. I feel like all the older men in the companies that interviewed me when I first started gave off the ‘I am expecting a thank you note’ vibe.
I know I was assuming this. But if they get up everytime a woman enters and leaves the room maybe they expect thank you notes after an interview. I mostly sent thank you emails… didn’t get many positive responses though.
Wow, I would not rule someone out for sending a thank you note. Applicants should be trained to send one, and should not be punished if they do. Even if you know the person is doing it just because they know they must, I find it disconcerting when an applicant doesn’t send a thank you note – just because it’s expected.
@Jenn So funny.
@Nick I’ve never had a parent call me, but then again, I don’t suffer fools. If your Mom calls me, you never had a chance in the first place.
@Crisis Thank you notes aren’t bad. I’m just saying they’re not part of the decision-making matrix.
@Erik You pay attention to thank you notes? I never opened my own mail and had it screened for me by a Human Resources assistant, so thank you notes rarely made it to my desk.
OMG! I was floored that nobody had mentioned the “dear sirs” thing – until I saw Jenn’s post.
Great minds and all…..
How about the times I’ve called an applicant (who applied for an opening) only to have their spouse tell me they are already gainfully employed and not interested.
Yes, this has happened multiple times in my career.