Submit Resume
Submit Job Order
Locations
Submit Resume
Submit Job Order

Thank You Emails

Tips for Tech Professionals on Writing Killer Interview Thank You Notes

Late winter and early spring are a great time to search for IT jobs.  Budgets have recently been approved to hire more people, and the tech economy is booming.  Addtionally, new development life cycles are often scheduled to start about now, and it’s the time of year when companies are often revisiting their products, services, and technologies, working on adding new features to applications and general improvements to keep competitive.  If you’re ready to job search, or perhaps you’ve already started, here’s one skill you can sharpen to really enhance your tech job search:  writing thank you notes.  Here are some tips from IT recruiters on how to write the kind of thank you note that impresses tech hiring managers.

  1. Take notes in your interview. This tactic isn’t just about looking and being more engaged in the interview (though that certainly wins you points).  It’s also about writing a better thank you note later.  Mark down important points you discuss in the interview.  What are imperative job functions do they bring up?  Are there any problems they’re facing as a company that you could help with?  Do they pose any questions that you might be more able to answer after a bit more thought?  These are the kinds of things to add into your thank you note later.  Time and again, IT staffing companies find that a generic thank you note (one that feels like it’s all from a template) will never impress hiring managers like a thank you note that makes reference to specifics from the interview.  In fact, some IT recruiters believe that a generic thank you note will hurt your candidacy more than help it!
  2. Be prompt. A thorough, detailed thank you note that’s beautifully-written will never make much of a splash if it’s too late.  Especially in the fast-paced tech industry, IT recruiting firms find that time is of the essence.  When you finish your interview, head home as soon as you can to write your thank you note.  Sending it the day of the interview (if possible) or within 24 hours is ideal.  Sending the note 48 hours later can be acceptable if you get really tied up.  If you send the note late, you might even find that the hiring manager has already assumed you’re not sending it and thus dinged your candidacy—or even rejected you for it.
  3. Send individual thank you notes. If you interview with multiple people, try to get their individual contact info from your technical recruiters.  Writing each of them a note will show a level of care that goes above and beyond what most candidates demonstrate.  If you can add a detail into each note that really personalizes it, that’s even better.  Especially today, where best practices for innovation involve so much teamwork, and Scrum and Agile have replaced the need for heads-down Waterfall-type tech professionals, showing off extra effort in your interpersonal skills can be key.  Individual, personalized thank you notes could make you seem like the kind of team player that hiring managers will love working with.
  4. Use your thank you note to address your weaknesses or concerns with your candidacy. This may not always be necessary, but if you felt there were concerns or weaknesses brought up in your interview, a thank you note can be a great place to address that.  The key is to keep things positive and, if possible, focus on how you’re already working to remedy these potential issues.  IT staffing agencies find that if you can handle this right, your thank you note can certainly strengthen your candidacy, as it’s your last impression on a hiring manager before they make their decision!

 

Interview thank you notes
Great thank you notes don’t feel like templates. Photo credit: 6689062 via Pixabay.

Want to see our open IT jobs?  Follow us on LinkedIn.  We post new jobs daily!

Don’t Forget This Step in Your Tech Job Search

Are you hunting for new IT jobs? If so, you probably know that one of the best ‘tools’ in your job search toolbox is your references. A good reference can help you land the job, just like a bad reference can ensure you lose it! IT recruiters have certainly seen candidates ace the interview, but lose the job because their references weren’t good. While most people know how important references are to their IT job search, they often skip a crucial step: writing thank you notes to their references. Here’s why you need to write a thank you note to your references, as well as how to do it effectively with little effort.

Why

Why should you write your references thank you notes?  Thank you notes are a way to make sure your references continue to see you as gracious professionals that they want to help.  Taking the time to share a quick thank you note always makes a big impact on the recipient.  Remember that references are taking time out of their (probably busy) days to aid in your job search.  Don’t let them imagine you’re anything but very grateful for that.

Thank you notes to references can be especially important in IT.  In a field where thank you notes are becoming largely forgotten (as technical recruiters we often have to remind candidates to write them for interviewers), they can really make you stand out.  They can also make you stand out in a field that is awfully small sometimes.  Especially within certain sectors, or when it comes to people who use certain technologies, the circle of people can be very small.  It becomes even smaller when you factor in LinkedIn.  Since much of the tech community is on LinkedIn, people can easily conduct ‘backdoor references’ on you.  They simply need to reach out to people you’re mutually connected to.  Taking all of this into consideration, why wouldn’t you want to polish your reputation and be known as the person who thoughtfully sends thank you notes to their references?

How

The best way to handle this task is to wait until you land a new IT job.  Take the time to write hand-written notes to each reference.  Your notes don’t have to be long.  Simply thank them for taking the time to act as a reference.  Let them know that, thanks in part to their words, you landed a new job.  If it’s true or appropriate, finish the note with a mention that you’d be happy to return the favor and act as a reference.  If it’s not, you can end the note by letting them know you’re always happy to reciprocate if they need a favor from you.  IT recruiting firms suggest hand-written notes over emails because they clearly require a little more effort than a quick email.  While you could do these notes as email, recipients will appreciate the extra effort!  If you don’t know your references’ home addresses, you can simply send them to their work addresses.  Unless you speak to your references frequently and know them well, asking for their home addresses isn’t preferable.  You may want to maintain boundaries (some people like to keep their home addresses private).  You also don’t want to bother them with another email or call.

IT job search tips
Don’t leave thank you notes to your references off the checklist! Photo credit: Tero Vesalainen via Pixabay.

Take Notes During Your IT Job Interviews

Even if you’re completely engaged during your interviews for IT jobs, there are still little details you could miss or forget later.  IT recruiters would absolutely suggest taking notes as you interview.  Here are two guidelines IT staffing agencies would suggest you follow to take notes for your own reference later.

  1. Write down info for your thank you note. IT recruiting companies have seen time and time again how powerful a good thank you note can be.  To write a good one, you’ll probably need to have some things written down to refer to after the interview.  Start with the names of all your interviewers.  (Your IT recruiting firms may not know who your interviewers were if you can’t remember their names—and this will make it impossible to deliver a thank you note!)  Then make sure to note any major concerns that are brought up about your candidacy, any questions you feel you may be able to answer better or expand upon, or just any particularly good moments/connections you may have had with your interviewer(s).  These are all the kinds of things that you want to address in a thank you note.  They will show that you were deeply engaged in the interview.
  2. Write down any questions you have for your technical recruiters. These are the things you don’t feel comfortable asking your interviewer.  Or  perhaps these are things you think may not help you give your best impression to the interviewer.  This is exactly what IT staffing companies are for.  If you have concerns about the job, it’s best to talk with your IT recruiting agencies about them so you can be more candid.  If you have questions about compensation, perks, vacation time, benefits, etc then save them for a conversation with your IT staffing firms.

 

ITJobInterviewsNotes
Great thank you notes start with great notes taken during IT job interviews. Photo credit: Condesign via Pixabay.

Don’t Forget To Make This Point in Your IT Job Interviews

There are a lot of ways to prep for your IT job interviews. You probably already spend plenty of time gathering information from your IT recruiters, researching the company online, and practicing your answers with a family member or in front of the mirror. You’ve likely brushed up on technologies your technical recruiters told you to. Here’s one thing your IT staffing firms would suggest you don’t forget: Make sure to blatantly state your interest in the position for your interviewer.

Many technical recruiters find that their candidates assume that just by going to the interview they think they’re expressing interested in IT jobs. This simply isn’t true, though. The purpose of an interview is actually for both employer and candidate to explore whether the position is a good fit. You may hear something at an interview that makes you decide the job is definitely—or definitely not—a great fit for you. Unless you tell your interviewer, they won’t know for sure if you still are interested. Additionally, IT staffing companies also find that employers prefer it when candidates show enthusiasm about the role, work, company, etc. Giving a strong, deliberate statement of interest will achieve this effect.

So how do you make sure you do this well? IT recruiting firms would suggest that you simply give a direct statement, preferably near the end of the interview. You don’t need to gush (and in fact shouldn’t). Instead, being precise and even-keeled in your tone will work best here. Note that after hearing more about the role, you think it would be a great fit for a few particular reasons. Be articulate here and consider trying to name at least one reason that benefits the company, too. Later, when you write the thank you note for your IT recruiting agencies to give on your behalf, make sure to repeat your interest in the role again. Being open about this may just land you the job!

 

ITJobInterviewPrep
Prepping for your IT job interview is important, but so is showing interest in the role. Photo credit: Unsplash via Pixabay.

 

 

Thank You Notes that Might Salvage a Bad IT Job Interview

All IT recruiters and IT staffing firms have had a candidate or two not perform as well as they wanted to in an interview.  Interviews for IT jobs can be intimidating and technical recruiters see IT professionals who prepare and practice, but still get nervous at the actual interview.  If you make a mistake in answering a question, there’s a chance you might be able to salvage it with a good thank you note that you give to your IT recruiting firms and IT staffing agencies to pass on to your interviewer.

Start by trying to directly address any mistakes or areas where you wish you had said more.  While the whole thank you note shouldn’t be consumed by this, a brief, well-written paragraph could go a long way.  If you mention that you wish you had given more of your technical background, or perhaps that you had solved a problem differently, you might make an impact on your interviewer.

Secondly, if you have some concrete professional achievements, projects, or work that might cast you in a better light as a candidate, go ahead and provide that.  The most effective way to prove something, especially in an IT job interview, is with hard evidence. Your IT recruiting companies and IT staffing companies will be thrilled if you can do that in your thank you note.

 

miradeshazer via Pixabay
Messed up in your IT job interview? Your thank you note may save the day. Photo credit: miradeshazer via pixabay.

 

2 Tips for Your Thank You Notes For IT Job Interviews

After interviews for IT jobs, most IT professionals know they need to send a thank you note to their technical recruiters and IT staffing agencies to pass along to their interviewers.  Your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms may even give you some tips on what to include in these notes.  It’s imperative not to just scribble off a quick note, though!

Keep these 2 things in mind as you write your note. Firstly, make sure it doesn’t sound like a generic form letter.  Add in details that make the note stand out and really remind the interviewer of your time together.  A generic thank you note might be as useless as not giving any to your IT recruiting companies to present on your behalf.  Secondly, don’t forget to finish your thank you note with a strong reminder of why you’d be great for the job.  This is your final impression—your IT staffing companies and IT recruiting agencies probably won’t be able to say much more for you at this point.  So finish strong and leave a great final impression in your interviewer’s mind.

Write Powerful IT Job Interview Thank You Notes

Most IT professionals have some practice writing thank you notes for interviews after IT jobs.  Whether you sent them along yourself or your IT recruiters and IT staffing companies send them to your interviewers, you’re likely to have written a few thank you notes.  Not everyone knows how to write a really strong, effective thank you note though.  IT recruiting firms and technical recruiters can all attest to the vast number of generic thank you notes they’ve handed back to hiring managers.  Here’s a tip on how to really make your thank you notes impressive and leave a lasting impression on your interviewers (as well as the IT staffing agencies and IT recruiting firms you’re working with).

As you write your thank you note, make reference to a couple of specific duties of the job and explain why you’re prepared to excel at them.  Your interviewer will really appreciate seeing that you not only grasp the job generally, but you also have thought about the specific responsibilities of it.  This will make them take you more seriously as they consider candidates.  Even if you don’t get the job, you’re likely to get great feedback from the interviewer that will make your IT staffing firms and IT recruiting agencies eager to submit you for more IT jobs.

 

How to Get Your Dream IT Jobs: After the Interview

If you’ve worked with your IT recruiters and IT staffing firms to get some great job interviews, what do you do next?  How can you make sure you really wow your IT recruiting companies, hiring managers, and get the IT jobs?  Technical recruiters would all recommend one step: writing an excellent thank you note for your interviewers and sending it to your IT staffing companies to pass on to them.

It’s important to note that the faster you send your IT recruiting firms for your interviewers, the better an impression you’ll make.  Thank you notes sent within a few hours are ideal.  If you can’t do it that quickly, 24 hours is the latest you should send a thank you note.  It doesn’t have to be long (in fact it shouldn’t) and it shouldn’t take you an exorbitant time to write it.  So hustle and get those thank you notes out—your IT recruiting agencies will love you for it and so will your future employers!

 

 

Thank You Notes When You’re Interviewed by a Panel for IT Jobs

When you’re prepping with your IT recruiters and IT staffing agencies for IT job interviews, they’re likely to tell you to write a thank you note.  But what should you do if you’re interviewed by more than one person?  What if it’s a whole panel of people?  Here’s how to write thank you notes for more than one interviewer that will land you the IT jobs you want.

Firstly, take notes during the interview.  Write down any interesting conversation threads that occur and with whom you had them.  Next, make sure your get business cards from everybody who interviews you.  If you don’t manage to do this, ask your technical recruiters and IT recruiting companies to give you their names.  When you get home from the interview, sit down and start writing notes as soon as you can. Ask your IT staffing firms if they prefer to pass the notes on for you, or if you should do it yourself.  Then write a separate note for everybody who interviewed you.  This is where your notes will come in handy.  Make each note personalized as much as possible to each interviewer.  Make sure to close each note by reiterating your interest in the job.  Your IT recruiting firms can only represent you so much—you are the best person to show your enthusiasm and interest in the job.  Lastly, send out the thank you notes within 24 hours.  This will ensure a quick and effective impact on the interviewers.

 

How to Write Follow Up Emails After IT Job Interviews

Landing IT jobs definitely gets easier when you enlist some strong IT recruiters and IT staffing firms to help you in your job search.   There are some things you need to do on your own, though, to strengthen your candidacy.  One of the most important things that your technical recruiters can’t do for you is to write a thank you note after job interviews.  How do you do this well?

Firstly, take notes in the interview.  Are there topics of conversation you will want to re-hash in the thank you note?  Maybe something the hiring manager said was vital to the job?  Write it down for yourself during the interview so you don’t forget it later.

Secondly, tell your IT staffing companies you’d like to write thank you notes to your interviewers.  IT recruiting agencies are usually thrilled to pass along thank you notes for candidates, so this won’t be a problem.  You may even be beating them to the punch—sometimes IT recruiting firms will ask you to write a thank you note themselves.  For a timetable, you should try to aim for about 24-48 hours.  A quick response will reflect well on you and the IT staffing agencies you’re working with.

Lastly, do more than just thank the interviewer for their time.  Continue a piece of the conversation you may have been having with the interviewer, mention a resource, or offer some thoughts on what you’d do if you were offered the job.  The point is to show a little initiative and interest in the position itself.  A generic thank you note won’t mean much.  However, one written with real thought about the position, company’s needs, or even just the interview itself, will make a big impact.