Thank You Letter vs. Yankees
Background
A candidate interviews for a senior level position and after several in-person interviews we get to the writing test stage. The company then calls me with an update: "Skip the writing test and cut the candidate loose. Poor writing has already been demonstrated in the follow-up thank you letter."
Wow, is it that bad? I immediately called the candidate to break the news. I hadn't seen a copy of the thank you letter at this point and so I first asked to see a copy of it. This is what I received.
"Are you sure you sent the right letter, I mean, I see you wrote 'reflect those skills necessary...' twice. And... Maybe you accidentally sent your draft?," I asked.
"No, it's impossible. This is a letter written by a career professional for me! I send this to everyone!," the candidate answered.
It wasn't an easy call. I continued to express my opinion and advised the candidate that the letter never leave that inbox again.
We nicely parted ways and a few minutes later this arrived:
Red Sox vs. Yankees. Ummm... no, I think we missed the point here.
Lessons learned
- Always write your own content - thank you letters, writing samples, interview confirmations, resume, etc. Everything
. You need to know what it says because your every move is being evaluated during this interview process. Look at it once, twice, three times. Read it out loud. Even a simple spelling mistake in a follow-up note could cost you the job.
- Always take responsibility for your actions. This person was obviously very embarrassed by the letter, but rather than reflecting on the situation and using the opportunity to fix it, the person found whatever reason to blame it on non-contributing factors.
- Try not to take rejection personally. This one is hard, especially if you really wanted that job and it was down to the wire. Only one person gets the job and competition is fierce. If you choose to take it personally, at least don't act out on it. How one accepts criticism and rejection is a good sign of their character and nobody should burn bridges. In the PR industry, it is very likely you will run into the hiring manager or a recruiter again in your career and unprofessional behavior is something that always sticks.
Date: September 18th, 2008 / Author: Lindsay
Posted in Recruiting / Tags: interview blunders, job search, mistakes, thank you letter
11 Comments - Add yours!
Aaron Mentzer (September 18th, 2008)
Good post. At first, when I read the letter, I didn’t think it was THAT bad. But that’s the whole point: even little mistakes can cost you when competing for a position. And I especially like point #3: the PR industry is a small world, and your reputation can be a powerful asset (or liability) as your career progresses. This is a field where the saying about “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” holds especially true.
Jeff Donald (September 18th, 2008)
There’s probably a joke in there somewhere about her being a typical Yankee’s fan, but I’ll leave it alone since she did enough damage herself.
That’s painful to read, but as someone who has done plenty of hiring, I can say it is not uncommon.
Susan Ditz (September 18th, 2008)
Amazing….hope the candidate took your feedback to heart. Thanks for the great tips!
George N (September 18th, 2008)
You forgot to point out that she started nearly every sentence with an “I” and the flow of the letter was significantly off. There were enough hard stops in there to give me a headache.
Sarah (September 18th, 2008)
I definitely agree that you should always give your writing a second and third look before clicking send, especially during the delicate process of a job search!
In your opinion do you think a post-interview thank you should be a typed letter or hand-written note?
Lindsay Olson (September 18th, 2008)
@George N – yes, the flow is another huge problem. It barely makes sense.
@Sarah – I think a hand-written note or an email thank you is fine. A hand-written note stands out though as more candidates turn to emailed thank you letters as a quick follow up.
@ Aaron Mentzer I agree. Burning bridges in this business is a careless career mistake!
Gerard F Corbett (September 18th, 2008)
Great post! Great example! Sad ending! Good lesson!
Cathy Browne (September 18th, 2008)
Hi Lindsay,
I agree with everything you said. I was particularly struck by the fact that the candidate didn’t personalize his/her letter by referencing specific areas of discussion during the interview, or acknowledging that he/she learned anything from the experience. How unfortunate.
First visit to your blog. I’ll be back.
Austin Edgington (September 19th, 2008)
Wow, it never ceases to amaze me that some of the worst communicators are in, or trying to be in, the communications business.
Hope all is well with you!
Austin
PR DUDE (September 22nd, 2008)
hmmm…there are 3 big strikes here that I can see:
strike 1: it looks like a form letter saved as ‘follow-up thank you letter’
strike 2: poorly written
strike 3: there’s nothing personal there
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This blog is to share my recruiting experiences and discuss thoughts on the job market, PR industry and technology.
Alison Kenney is an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.
RobLongert (September 18th, 2008)
Wow… These letters never get old… Nice of you to provide feedback to the candidate, though.
Wonder if she learned her lesson…