CMU Career Guide CMU Career Guide | Page 52

FOLLOWING CLOSING UP THE DEAL If you are looking for ways to stand out from other applicants, be the one who sends a thank you note or email 1-2 business days after the interview. The thank you note is a chance to stand out, demonstrate follow-up skills, IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS Use the guidelines below for why, when, and how to write a thank you note: ! Send a thank you note after a phone interview. You don’t have to wait for an in-person interview to write a thank you note. A quick, simple note can go a long way. See the following example: “Thank you for taking the time to talk with me on the phone today. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions, and I hope to hear from you again soon.” ! Thank you note etiquette can be a challenge when you meet with multiple people during an inter- view. A good rule to follow is to write an individual follow-up note to each person. Before leaving, ask for business cards of each person interviewing you. “Dear Judy, It was a pleasure to meet you on Wednesday. Your description of the coordinator role and how thanks again!” ! If you don’t have the contact information for each person on the interview panel, it is still important to name each person you met with. I enjoyed meeting you and the rest of the team yesterday. Please tell Anna, Victor, and Lisa thank you for their time and thoughtful questions. ! Use the thank you note to expand or reinforce your interview conversations. If you mentioned a project, organization, or article, you can include a link to further information. We talked about the conference where I learned about the new IT governance strategies, and I wanted to share a link to the presentation I mentioned. CLOSING THE INTERVIEW ! You can also add information that you didn’t cover in the interview. You know that feeling when you walk out of an interview and think, “Why didn’t I say X? I should have told them about that project!” The thank you note can be your second choice. It was good to learn more about how you collaborate with your managed service vendors. I don’t think I mentioned that my previous role involved negotiating a new IT services contract. ! Finally, if you are working with an HR representative or recruiter who is coordinating the interview recruiter know how it went. Dear Phil, Thank you for setting up the call with Donna today. She and I had a good conversation about the Combine the above examples that work for you to form a complete thank you note of three sentences to a couple of paragraphs. Be sure to write your note in your neatest handwriting and add a personal touch from your interview! 51 52