Thank You Notes: In Writing, Not by Email

I know that you don't want to stand out as being unusual or different, but consider mailing hard copy thank you notes after interviews.

Virtually no one sends me a thank you note, which is why they're so memorable. Some candidates do send post-interview emails, but email long ago lost its punch, now that a busy executive frequently gets 200 or more non-spam emails a day (a Microsoft mid-level manager told me he gets 2700 emails a day - imagine trying to get seen in his Inbox).

A handwritten note card or a typed letter on nice letterhead will put you a step ahead of everybody else.

If you interview with six people in a day, buy six different thank you notes at the Hallmark shop. Making them unique will be a nice touch.

A guy I knew many years ago in college got elected to Congress in his mid-thirties. Congressman are pretty busy and have good-sized staffs who normally write letters to constituents, signing the congressman's name for him. This guy would go home at night and handwrite notes to all constituents who wrote to him. Was it time-consuming? Yes. Were there other things he could have done? Yes. Was it effective? Considering he was re-elected to Congress three times by landslide margins and then became the first Republican governor elected in his state in 35 years, absolutely.

The unusual level of attention and care he gave his constituents set him apart, and will set you apart, too.

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