What You Need to Know About Business

Asking Questions -- An Essential and Overlooked Step

Other articles:
Putting a Spin on Work Experience

[Chapter 22: continued from here]

You didn't survive the first cut through of an act of kindness. You made it because you persuaded the employer that you might offer them something of value.

I imagine you've been on interviews in the past. If you weren't the one offered the job, how often did you hear anything from the interviewer other than a standard rejection letter with your name and address inserted by the mail merge feature of their word processing software? (In many areas, these letters are popularly and aptly known as "FOADs" for reasons which I'll leave to your imagination.)

Sometimes the interviewer didn't even think you were worth the cost of a form letter, right?

NO ONE'S DOING YOU A FAVOUR.

The interviewer is doing their job-what they're paid to do. You're the one who rearranged your schedule and took the time to go to them - unpaid. But don't hold your breath waiting to receive a thank-you note from an interviewer ... unless you count "thanks, but no thanks".

Now, there will be times when an employer will do you a favour. For example, if you've called a company that had no advertised opening and someone there quickly agreed to talk to you, or they arranged a time for you to come in and see them. Or maybe they arranged an interview with someone else in their organization. I think we'd all appreciate that kind of response, and a note to show your appreciation is appropriate.

If someone gave you a referral or did something to make it easier to see someone else, a thank-you is called for. If anyone has gone out of their way to be accommodating, you should thank them, of course.