{"id":2487,"date":"2019-11-27T13:24:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T19:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/?p=2487"},"modified":"2025-03-08T13:32:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T19:32:31","slug":"a-simple-thank-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/a-simple-thank-you\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Thank You"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Gregg Podolski
\nVice President, Direct Hire Division at Emerson\u00a0Group<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Thanksgiving really is a forgotten holiday. Sandwiched between the commercial juggernauts of Halloween and Christmas, Turkey Day can often feel like a holiday speed bump. Especially when you\u2019re a kid\u2014No gifts! No costumes! No candy!\u2014the holiday is little more than an excuse to get a few days off from school. In my house, there weren\u2019t even many decorations to put out.<\/p>\n

As an adult, though, I have a new-found appreciation for the 4th Thursday in November. So much so, in fact, that it\u2019s my favorite holiday of the year. (Apologies to the man in the big red suit). My kids know it, and they know my reasons:<\/p>\n

Family<\/strong><\/p>\n

Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Three F\u2019s<\/strong>. Simple, yet full of so many warm memories and good times. Yes, hosting is a lot of work, but that\u2019s it. There\u2019s no stress over gifts, trees, beating the Jones\u2019s down the street for best lights display or worrying about getting egged for handing out cheap candy. (Speaking of eggs, you don\u2019t have to dye any of those either). My kids love all that other stuff and I love watching them enjoy it and doing what I can to make those memories last forever. But deep down, for me, the Three F\u2019s are really all I need.<\/p>\n

So before we sit down to give thanks, I thought it the perfect time to talk about an overlooked\u2014yet immensely important\u2014step of the job search process. Yep, I\u2019m going for the easy one here: On Thanksgiving, let\u2019s talk about Thank You notes. And in the spirit of the next big holiday that\u2019s right around the corner, let\u2019s do it in the form of a list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"So before we sit down to give thanks, I thought it the perfect time to talk about an overlooked\u2014yet immensely important\u2014step of the job search process. Yep, I\u2019m going for the easy one here: On Thanksgiving, let\u2019s talk about Thank You notes. And in the spirit of the next big holiday that\u2019s right around the corner, let\u2019s do it in the form of a list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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#1 Send them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019s amazing I even need to say that, but you\u2019d be surprised how many candidates won\u2019t if I don\u2019t suggest it. Especially for a phone interview, which seems to be viewed less as a real interview and more of a stepping stone to one. Still, did the interviewer take time out of their day to talk with you? Then they deserve to be thanked for it.<\/p>\n

#2 Email is a must, but a handwritten note is how serious candidates stand out.\u00a0<\/strong>Everyone has email\u2014or at least access to it through a friend, family member or local library\u2014so there\u2019s no reason not to use it. It\u2019s quick, free, and the way 99% of the people you\u2019re interviewing with communicate. \u00a0Ideally, you\u2019ll send it off as soon as you get home from the interview, but any time within 24 hours is fine. Then, if you really want to seal the deal, you\u2019ll send a handwritten note on high quality card stock with an envelope and a stamp and everything. Why? Because maybe\u2014MAYBE\u201425% of the other candidates you\u2019re competing against will do that. (In actuality, that number is probably far lower). The formula is simple: The email note is focused on the job and how you can bring value to the company. Handwritten one does the same, but has a more personal touch. Maybe it mentions a sports team you both root for, or the delicious cup of coffee you had while you waited. Something casual, but still professional. Trust me, it WILL make you stand out.<\/p>\n

#3 Speaking of content, less is more.\u00a0<\/strong>Especially in the emailed version, even if you and the interviewer bonded and have plans to go camping this weekend, don\u2019t \"\"ramble on. Keep it short and to the point. Thank them for their time. Tell them what you like about the role. Tell them specifically how you will bring value to the company (this is the most critical piece). Tell them you\u2019re very interested in taking the next step. Thank them for their time again. Five, maybe six sentences are all you need. Any more than that and you run the risk of coming on too strong. In the handwritten deal-closer, you can add a few lines with the personal touch mentioned above, but still\u2014keep it brief. Also, spell-check is our friend: Use it.<\/p>\n

#4 Send one after every interview.\u00a0<\/strong>If you have five interviews, you will send five batches of thank you notes. (I say batches because every person you speak with should receive their own individualized thank you note, rather than be cc\u2019d on a group one). It goes without saying, then, that you should always remember to get business cards from everyone you meet with so you know what email address to use. If you forget or they don\u2019t have a card, call the front desk and ask for their email address.<\/p>\n

#5 Don\u2019t get cute.\u00a0<\/strong>Scented cards, gifts and baked goods will certainly make you stand out, but not always in a good way. (See \u201ccoming on too strong\u201d from #3). Remember, you\u2019re applying for a job, not Homecoming Court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sandwiched between the first interview and the final offer, it\u2019s easy to view Thank You notes as speed bumps to something bigger and more important. Just remember that if you ignore them, you can do far more damage to your goals than you might think.<\/h4>\n
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\"\"Happy Thanksgiving! (Or whatever your favorite holiday may be)!<\/p>\n

Gregg Podolski<\/a>, is the Vice President of\u00a0 Emerson Group\u2019s Direct Hire division. Gregg works on positions in all industries including C-Level Suite, Sales, Account Management, IT and Manufacturing\/Operations\/Project Managers.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Thanksgving #EmersonGroup #JobSearch #ThankYouNotes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gregg Podolski Vice President, Direct Hire Division at Emerson\u00a0Group Thanksgiving really is a forgotten holiday. Sandwiched between the commercial juggernauts of Halloween and Christmas, Turkey Day can often feel like a holiday speed bump. Especially when you\u2019re a kid\u2014No gifts! No costumes! No candy!\u2014the holiday is little more than an excuse to get a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-information","category-job-search-tip"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emersongroupinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}