Look Around HR

I have recently talked to a couple people who applied for a position, interviewed, but ultimately did not get the job. One person said they received a polite letter saying something to the tune of we were impressed with your qualifications, blah, blah, blah, but we have selected a different person- best of luck. I consider that pretty standard.

For certain positions, a phone call letting the candidate know they didn’t get the job is appropriate. I would recommend the call for managerial and higher up positions. The letter is fine for positions lower than managerial level (or something equivalent).

However, I strongly believe you have to let any candidate who interviewed know in some way. I mentioned how one person received a letter; well the other person heard nothing- and was just left wondering what was going on. The candidate called the employer once or twice and was told they are still deciding. A few weeks later, the candidate had all but given up since they hadn’t heard anything.

In my opinion, that is one of the most disrespectful moves a hiring manager can make. You don’t need to respond to every resume you get for an opening, but if someone takes the time out of their day to interview for a position you owe it to that candidate to let them know where they stand. You may think it doesn’t matter since you don’t want that candidate anyway, but people have a way of talking and may mention the way your company treated them. Just something worth thinking about…

Despite consecutive months of job losses nationwide, despite hearing about massive layoffs at a number of large companies, and despite some economists floating out the R (recession) word, the outlook for this years graduating class appears to be good.
 
According to a survey sponsored by CareerBuilder, 58 percent of employers plan to hire recent grads. The new grads will also be receiving higher salaries than last year’s class- as 39 percent of employers plan to increase the starting salary, with only 6 percent planning on dropping it.
 
Here is the starting salary breakdown:
 

Thirty-two percent of employers will offer new grads between $30,000 and $40,000 and 15 percent of hiring managers will offer between $40,000 and $50,000. Eleven percent will offer new graduates a starting salary higher than $50,000 and 42 percent will offer less than $20,000.

And here are some tips from the job board site:

- Stress your experience- this doesn’t include internships alone, but also volunteer activities, clubs, Greek organizations, and sports.

- Watch you attitude- a lot of managers have a view this view of generation Y that we all have a sense of entitlement. Even if you went to prep school, belong to a country club, and have a degree from the Ivy League, don’t act like you are better than anyone else. Mistakes mentioned by employers include acting cocky and arrogant, dressing inappropriately, and not knowing anything about the company.

- Be yourself- it doesn’t make sense to work for a company you will not be a good fit for, so start with being yourself, and take it from there…

You spend hours getting your resume ready, hours preparing for the interview when you get the call, and you probably spend a good amount of time picking the appropriate attire. But all the preparation could go for not if you do not follow-up the interview with a simple thank you note (or e-mail even).

Syndicated columnist and Ask The Headhunter host Nick Corcodilos offers his thoughts on the importance of the thank you note, and (more importantly) what to put it in.

A thank-you note should be designed carefully to gain you an extra edge on your competition- not just to express your politeness. It can make or break a job offer. But let’s work our way through all the options before we design that special note.

Here is what he advises you to include in the letter:

There are things you can include with a thank-you note to make it “sticky,” so the manager will continue to think about you:

• A clipping from a relevant publication that might be useful to the manager, with your notes in the margins. A good clipping will get passed around the office and your name will be on it.
• “Afterthought” suggestions about how you could help the manager solve a specific problem that was discussed in the interview. (Be brief.)
• A sales lead to be passed on to the company’s sales force, along with your suggestion about how the company might compete more effectively.
• The name of a person who might be a good potential candidate for another job in the company

I think he is right on with what to put in the thank you letter. I will just add this- if the position is down to two candidates (you and another guy) who are pretty equal in terms of experience, education, and what they can bring the company, and one person sends a thank you letter and one does not- who do you think the hiring manager would be inclined to make an offer to? It might not seal the deal, but it doesn’t hurt- so why not take the time to send the note?