Interview Thank You The Little Mistake That Kills the Offer

Interview Thank You The Little Mistake That Kills the Offer Lets say that you just wrote a fabulous interview thank you letter, like this one or this one.In both those cases, the senders won their jobs. But what if they hadnt? What if they had made a mistake in a thank you letter that killed their chance to get ajob?The Interview Thank You NightmareSeveral years ago, I sent the perfect candidate out to a client to interview for her dream job.The company, a market leader in a sexy industry, provided deliciously challenging positions, and planned to pay well into six-figures for the job. Plus, they had gorgeous waterfront offices in a popular Seattle suburb.My candidate fit the position perfectly â€" a 10 on the hiring managers scale of 1 to 10.She had a great interview, got good feedback on-site, went back to her office, and fired off a thank you note to the hiring Vice President â€" in which she misspelled his name.He cared. I got a call saying she was out of contention solely because of this mistake. No appeals allowed. He felt as though it said something about her lack of attention to detail that mattered to him.In case you want to know more, Mac Prichard of Macs List and I discuss what happened in detail here:The Interview Thank You Protection PlanSo what do you do to prevent yourself from making the same mistake my unfortunate candidate did?First, be sure to take several of your business cards with you to interviews.Next, at the end of each meeting, offer the interviewer your card and ask them for one of theirs. No one walks around with business cards that misspell their name. No one.Finally, when you write your interview thank you email, letter, or note, make sure you use the name that’s on the card. It’s that simple.Featured by FastCompany Image © chajamp Updated May 2019 2013 2019, Donna Svei. All rights reserved.Donna SveiDonna Svei, an executive resume writer and former C-level executive, retained search consultant, and CPA, writes all of AvidCareerists posts. She has written for and been quoted by leadin g business, general, and career media outlets, including Forbes, Mashable, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Lifehacker, Ask.com, Social Media Today, IT World, SmartBrief, Payscale, Business News Daily, and the Muse. Let her background and experience inform your job search strategy and decision making.Learn more about Donnas executive resume writing service or email Donna for more information. Interviews â€" Thank You Emails (5 Posts)