How to Write the Perfect Thank You Note After a Job Interview

How to Write the Perfect Thank You Note After a Job Interview Even if youve absolutely nailed your job interview, you could rule yourself out of the running if you fail to follow up with your interviewer afterwards. Sometimes making a great impression in the interview itself doesnt quite cut it and though you may have done a good job of providing them with all the answers they were after, this can easily be forgotten  if another equally qualified candidate sends them a well thought out follow up email after their meeting and you dont. In order to stand out from your competition, its important that your follow up  email has more to it than merely saying thank you. You want to remind them why you think you would make the perfect person for the job and leave a positive  impression that they will remember you for. On the flip side, you should still write a thank you email if you feel that the interview didnt go well, as you may be able to do a bit of damage control, or at very least maintain a level of professionalism. If you are unsure about what you should put in your thank you email, here are a few pointers to help you get started. 1) Thank your interviewer You should begin your email by thanking your interviewer for their time and for offering you the opportunity to interview with them. Be specific about the role that you interviewed for and let them know that you enjoyed meeting them and your discussion. 2) Repeat  why you feel that youre a perfect fit for the role Go back over what you have told them in your interview, about how your skills and experience align with the role they are looking to fill. Try to be specific and use examples, as these details will stick in their head rather than vague statements. 3) Remind them about a key topic  you spoke about Chances are that they have spoken to a number of applicants, so you want to provide them with a reminder about who you are and what you have to offer. Remind them about something specific you discussed  and hopefully this will prompt their memory. 4) Provide new information If theres something that you forgot to let your interviewer know in your interview that you think could be an important  factor in their decision, now is your chance to let them know. Explain that you thought it would be of interest to let them know about this experience/skill etc. and how it fits in with the role you are interviewing for. 5) Let them know that you will follow up Hopefully your interviewer will have provided you with a rough idea about when you should expect to hear from them by, so you can end your thank you note by letting them know that you will follow up again if you havent heard from them by that date. This will demonstrate your genuine interest and commitment to the role. 6) Keep it short and sweet Try not to waffle. Your follow up email should be kept brief and only cover the essential information. Youve had your chance to explain everything in more detail in your interview, so your follow up email should act as merely a reminder. 7) Send within 24 hours Make sure you email your interviewer while the meeting is still fresh in their mind. Any longer than a day and they may have made their decision already, meaning you could have missed out. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

The Tao of Joblessness

The Tao of Joblessness I subscribe to the Zen Habits blog, and the posts are always helpful when I need more  peace in my daily life.   Recently, I came across a post that discussed how to let go of attachment, written as a guest post by Lori Deschene of Tiny Buddha.   As long as you are trying to recapture what has been lost, or hold on to what you have, the author argues, you will never be able to fully be present and enjoy the moment youre in. We see many jobseekers who are having trouble letting go of the past.   They long to turn back time and recapture their former employment.   Who can blame them?   They had more money; they felt useful and more important.   But as long as they are focused on what was, or even what might be in the future, they have trouble enjoying what they have now. The post suggests defining yourself not by what you have(including a job), but by who you are.     If you were a strong, happy, hardworking, loving person before you lost your job, you still are that person today.   Here are some wonderful tips from Zen Habits about letting go. Experiencing Without Attachment Accept the moment for what it is. Don’t try to turn it into yesterday; that moment’s gone. Don’t plot about how you can make the moment last forever. Just seep into the moment and enjoy it because it will eventually pass. Nothing is permanent. Fighting that reality will only cause you pain. Believe now is enough. It’s trueâ€"tomorrow may not look the same as today, no matter how much you try to control it. A relationship might end. You might have to move. You’ll deal with those moments when they come. All you need right now is to appreciate and enjoy what you have. It’s enough. Call yourself out. Learn what it looks like to grasp at people, things, or circumstances so you can redirect your thoughts when they veer toward attachment. When you dwell on keeping, controlling, manipulating, or losing something instead of simply experiencing it. Define yourself in fluid terms. We are all constantly evolving and growing. Define yourself in terms that can withstand change. Defining yourself by possessions, roles, and relationships breeds attachment because loss entails losing not just what you have, but also who you are. Enjoy now fully. No matter how much time you have in an experience or with someone you love, it will never feel like enough. So don’t think about it in terms of quantityâ€"aim for quality, instead. Attach to the idea of living well moment-to-moment. That’s an attachment that can do you no harm.

6 Variables That Will Help You Negotiate Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

6 Variables That Will Help You Negotiate Salary - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career According to the American Psychological Association, nearly a third of American workers believe they are underpaid and suffer heightened amounts of stress due to what they perceive to be an inadequate salary.  As more jobs become available and the hiring economy slowly improves, this provides many U.S. workers with the ability to look elsewhere for gainful employment and further negotiate their salary. However, when seeking a new position, employees are often unaware of how much they are worth and run into trouble when deciding if they should negotiate a job offer, and if so, how aggressively? While each situation is different, there are some key questions you can ask yourself to more accurately determine whether the initial figure is indicative of what you’re worth on the open job market. Considering the following 6 salary negotiation factors should give you an educated guess about the best course of action in your situation. 1. What is your current compensation structure?  Running a recruiting firm, when I see that an employer is offering a new job applicant the same or only slightly higher (less than 10%) of a salary than they are currently making, it typically leaves room for successful negotiation. In the majority of circumstances, you can be successful negotiating a compensation package that is up to 15% higher than what you are currently pulling in. 2. Have you held more than 3 jobs in the past 2 years? If you have held numerous jobs in the past few years, employers will view you as less of a long-term investment and thus will give you less wiggle room when attempting to ask for additional compensation. Luckily, this can be prevented if you have sound reasoning for departing those past positions and you broach the topic earlier in the interview process, as opposed to waiting until you receive the offer. 3. Has the job been open for more than 2 months? The more desperate a company is to get a job search over with, the more flexible they are going to be when approached for more money. Our executive recruiters have noticed a significant change in flexibility around the 2-month mark, as by this time an employer has spent numerous hours trying to find the right applicant and has most likely endured a lot of disappointments during the recruitment process. 4. Have you had experience in the industry? Roughly 80% of the time when employers come to our recruitment firm, they have a hiring preference that the applicant have experience in their industry. Though experience and expertise don’t always go together, employers will still chase those with exact or parallel backgrounds. In most instances, all other variables being equal, the job seeker with the matching background will come out of the negotiation process with 5% to 10% more than a non-experienced individual whom our recruiters present. 5. How well off are you financially? Our recruiters have seen that stress has a highly negative effect on one’s ability to influence a hiring manager, sales headhunter or HR representative.    When negotiating salary, confidence pays. 6. How much are similar positions offering?  This is a complex situation, as it’s always intelligent to know what similar jobs are paying prior to asking for a number.    However, telling the HR representative or recruitment professional that you arrived at this number because their competitor is compensating that amount can have the opposite of the desired effect. In the End If you negotiate salary based upon the feeling that you deserve more money, you are much less likely to succeed in your endeavors. Prior to approaching the topic of compensation next time, base your actions and requested figures on facts rather than feelings.

Preparing for your summer internship or vacation job University of Manchester Careers Blog

Preparing for your summer internship or vacation job University of Manchester Careers Blog Exams are nearly over, its time to celebrate and look forward to summer. Many of you will have something lined up for summer, an internship, work experience, volunteering, a vacation job or a working holiday perhaps? Before you head off to meet the challenge there a few things you can do to be prepared. Have you got the right outfits? Do you know what your dress code will be? Ask around and check you have a few outfits to get started. Do you have all your paperwork, passport or other ID, visa etc to start work. Ask HR what you will need on day one to get you on payroll! Do you know how to get there? Nothing worse than turning up late on your first day. Have you got a bus or train pass? Advance ticketing may be a cheaper option.   If you are driving will you have a parking pass? While you are there Get stuck in its only for a short period so be enthusiastic, make the most of opportunities to  learn a new skill or make a difference. Be  professional even if things are not exactly the way you might have hoped this is an opportunity to learn something and get a reference so be nice! If you have had a particularly good (or bad) day reflect a little what went well or badly, what were your actions, how did you contribute? What would you do differently in future? The good stuff you will put on your CV. Store the reflections of what didnt go well and learn from it, sometimes you can be asked about these examples  too  and they can be a great way to show you have learned to adapt your behaviour or strategies. Think about the future, would you like to work here again? If yes: find out about opportunities for graduate roles If no: are there other roles or opportunities you could find out about before you leave. Simply talking to people about their jobs can help you decide what direction you want to take. Make a note Skills you gained or improved (its easy to forget what you did) Actions you took that made a difference (evidence for your CV) What you liked or didnt like. (So you can make informed choices next time) Contact details of managers  and people you worked with. Not just for references,   link with them on LinkedIn and be part of their community so you get the insider info! Good luck and enjoy it. All Internships Undergraduate Undergraduate-highlighted CV Internships jobs networking summer summer internships Volunteering work experience

Resume Writing Services Complaints

Resume Writing Services ComplaintsIf you are looking for help writing a resume and have been through the steps of trying to find a template and have chosen to do it yourself then you may be frustrated by the lack of options available to you. You can either be an employee that has been at the company for a while and knows the way to keep a proper record of your performance reviews or you can simply be looking for a professional job as an employer.However, a major problem with searching for templates is that you will be looking for a well-written resume that includes the information you want. However, if your resume is not written in the exact manner that you want it, then your employer will not be able to see all of the things that you have accomplished and they will not feel the need to give you a promotion because of it.There are many online sites that offer templates that will have you writing the whole range of it. Of course, it would be nice to see what your resume looks like wit h all of the neat formatting options that are available to the user. Many employers actually look at the different types of resumes on the web because they do not have the time to sit down and view hundreds of resumes before making a decision.It is not too difficult to find a template that is formatted in a way that you want it to be. However, it would be better if you can find a resume that is specifically designed for your company so that the resume writing service does not have to make any adjustments. Many times, if you are a long-time employee, the company has a good idea of what you are and what you have done, and it is likely that your resume will reflect that.One problem that some employees face is a poor career progress after they are laid off and they really do not know what they can do next. It is even worse when a person has worked at a particular company for many years and the new owner is not looking for any new applicants because the existing employees are very loyal to the business.Another complaint that has been heard is that an employee has sent out a resume but it was not returned to them until the middle of the season. Once the season ends, the resumes should be sent back to the person so that they can get another shot at competing for a job.When it comes to a resume writing services, there are a few complaints that can be made. Since the job of an employment agency is to help you find a new job, there will be times when there are not enough candidates, some of which might be employees that you know, and some of which are not even looking for a job.One complaint that is often heard is that the resume writing services do not have the people to write resumes for the job openings. Usually, the person does not really know who is out there and would rather hire someone who they have never met before.

How to Network at Social Events When You Arent Social

How to Network at Social Events When You Arent Social Like it or not, most professionals initially get their jobs by leveraging their network of contacts, and those contacts can be elusive if you never socialize. Just for the record, I’m not talking about landing your next gig through your brother or girlfriend. I’m talking about finding your next job through your brother’s friend’s neighbor’s boss’ wife’s childhood buddy who’s just been named vice president. Otherwise known as six-degrees-of-separation networking.Having conversations with people and building relationships through in-person (and online) social gatherings is a critical part of any professional’s career strategy, but it’s also important to do it in a way that is manageable and comfortable for you (not to mention successful). Here are a few suggestionsArrive EarlyIf you’re one of the first people to show up at an event, it is more likely to feel like an intimate dinner party than a huge “meet and greet market.” You can have a few memorable convers ations before the event becomes crowded and walking up to strangers becomes a lot less challenging when there are only a few in your field of vision.Also, if there is a speaker at the event, showing up early makes it easy to meet them personally and even ask a question or two. Ironically, the speaker may well be the most important person you meet at the event and by showing up early you can potentially have his or her undivided attention before the end of the event, when everyone else wants to chat with the speaker.Just be sure you’re respectful of the speaker’s prep time when he or she is concentrating on the logistics of their presentation, such as setting up a PowerPoint or sound-testing the mike or video equipment.Go With a BuddyAnother great solution is to bring along your wingman or wingwoman â€" a friend or colleague who would be willing to go to the event with you. If he or she is the social type, you can let them make the introductions, and then you quickly become part of conversations that you didn’t initiate yourself.Or the two of you can develop a strategy where you each have conversations with a certain number of people independently and then regroup to share the knowledge and contacts you’ve acquired. This halves the requirement that you talk to people, while doubling your networking efforts.Have a Drink â€" But Watch Your Alcohol BarometerIf it’s a social networking event, alcohol will probably be served. Having a drink may reduce your inhibitions and make you more comfortable with the overall process.Obviously there’s a line between relaxed and approachable and lampshade on your head, so be sure not to cross it. Nurse a beer, order a wine spritzer, or switch to soda after one or two drinks. Just holding a drink in your hand automatically makes you social; you don’t need to be throwing them back. Stay conscious about your level of drinking, and don’t consume more than one alcoholic drink an hour.  Work the Front Desk  If you find making small talk difficult, consider volunteering to handle the on-site registration or check-in for the event. Every attendee will have to pass by before entering the event, and the conversations may flow more freely as a result, since attendees generally have to supply their names as part of the registration process.Also, by working the front desk you will be privy to the list of attendees and probably even other valuable information such as their job title, the company they work for, and their email address, although this may be highly confidential data, so be very discreet in how you use it.This starting point can provide great insights, however, because you can plot a few strategic conversations using this knowledge, or you can leverage the information to do some online sleuthing later or connect with specific attendees via LinkedIn. Be cautious though and let enough time elapse that it isn’t obvious where you got their information and don’t mention the check-in desk conn ection or your quarry  may put it together.Become the OrganizerBeing an event organizer often requires a great deal of behind-the-scenes work, but it puts your name out there front and center with attendees. If you’ve had phone conversations or email exchanges with these people prior to the event, they may already feel like they know you and may actively seek you out during the event to talk.The same holds true for the presenter at the event, which could yield dividends down the road. As the point-person for the presenter, you will get to know him or her prior to the event and he/she will be relying on you for important information related to the venue, attendees, logistics, and equipment. You will become a valuable resource for the presenter and he/she will be grateful for the information you provide. Being helpful makes you memorable and it increases the likelihood that this person would reciprocate and help you, should you reach out with a question or request for advice or an introduction in the future.  Create a Strong Online Presence  If a list of attendees is published and circulated prior to the event, attendees might decide to research others beforehand. By having a strong online presence on LinkedIn and other online identity sites like Google+, ZoomInfo, and BrandYourself, you make it easy for people to find you and become familiar with your background. These profiles can include your phone number and email for quick access if you are comfortable sharing this information.Building online profiles gives you the opportunity to take control of your online presence and create a searchable branded bio to position your experience in the most keyword-rich way. This is a much better strategy than having someone Google you only to find a random assortment of facts including where you work, your running time in a previous marathon, and a comment you made on a somewhat controversial blog back in the Jurassic era.After an attendee reviews your online presence, they may want to get to know you better, and some might chose to connect with you and begin a dialogue prior to the event. This is a great way to break the ice, and then when you meet the person at the live event, you may already feel like you know them to some extent.Focus on Listening Instead of TalkingMany people think you have to be “a big talker” or “smooth” or “funny” to be an effective networker. But the more important networking skill is being a good listener, and people who are somewhat introverted or believe they are less social often excel at listening. Remember to ask “curiosity-based questions” of the person you are talking to, rather than focusing the spotlight on yourself.You can ask them about their job, how they broke into their field, or what they like about the company they work for. By doing this, you will be gaining valuable insights and information about this person and they will thoroughly enjoy the conversation because they are talking about t hemselves. Not-too-secret-secret: Most people think you are a great networker when you let them do most of the talking!Have a Few Meaningful Conversations Rather Than Several Unmemorable OnesMany people go to social events and try to talk to as many people as possible. They may return home with a stack of business cards, but have little memory of the people they met â€" or the most important conversations â€" because the conversations were not long enough or engaging enough to be memorable.A better strategy is to have a few meaningful conversations with just a handful of people. Building a deeper, more authentic relationship from the get-go yields better results down the line. You might ask an attendee if they’ve participated in other events the organization has hosted and learn more about what the association has to offer and who the key members are.Or you might ask someone how long they’ve been in the business â€" or how they started out â€" and be treated to a rich overview o f their work history and contacts.Be sure to exchange business cards and jot a few notes down about the person before leaving the event and then follow up with a LinkedIn invite to remain top of mind with your new contact and keep the momentum going.Treat Others the Way You Would Like to Be Treated  Many people don’t like networking because they have had experiences with others at social events that were at best uncomfortable, and at worst, creepy. There are certainly bad networkers and people who ask for too much too soon or bore you into stupefaction.You can’t meet someone for the first time at 6 p.m. and ask to be introduced to a key contact at 6:15 p.m. You have to build the relationship over time and earn trust respectfully. Nonetheless, some people do this, turning others off, and networking gets a bad rap.You definitely don’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) that guy or gal. Treat others the way you would like to be treated and be 100% authentic and helpful. Think of way s you might be able to support or assist the other person, and the relationship will eventually blossom. People remember those that have assisted them over the course of a lifetime, and are more likely to reciprocate if they can possibly do so.The next time you have the opportunity to go to a social event; whether it be a professional association meeting, a class reunion, a holiday party, a wedding, or a baseball game, try a few of these strategies and see what works well for you. You may end up making a new friend, meeting the person who will become your spouse, or starting a dialogue with someone who will be able to transform your career someday down the line.Whatever the outcome, it’s worth the preparation to make the process a productive and successful one!

Three Smart Things To Do To Have A Safer Office

Three Smart Things To Do To Have A Safer Office There are countless articles out there to help you to devise a plan for security when it comes to your data and IT in the office. What there isn’t enough of, is how to keep your actual office as safe as possible. The risks of workplace injury aren’t the only dangers out there, especially in the world that we live in that has too many incidents of terrorism. People don’t come to work to be put at risk, and as an employer it’s up to you to ensure that people can feel safe in the office that they are working in. Employees should be able to come to work and feel confident that they are in a good space to air any opinions and know that you are taking good care of them. The safety of your staff should be your top priority. You may not be able to do much more than hire a cracking IT team to manage your data security, but you can ensure that there are enough measures in place that if something was to go wrong in the office, you can protect your staff effectively. A big part of safety in the workplace is accountability, with everyone taking part in training in health and safety to know what to do to look after each other. So, how can you ensure that your office is safe for the people inside it? Clean Up. A cluttered and messy office is not a safe one. Sure, it’s safe from terrorists, but it won’t be safe from fire. Fire loves trailing wires and loose paper, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put things in place that keep the whole office a calm and tidy place to work. Ingrain a ‘tidy desk’ policy at the end of each day and give everyone else the chance to make their space as tidy as possible. Security After Hours. Not everyone does overtime, but for those that do, they need to know that they are safe in the office. Installing security doors with timers that will lock the office between certain hours in the day can go a long way to help this. You can have the senior staff equipped with codes or keys to unlock the doors, but otherwise you need to have secure windows and doors to ensure no break ins or issues for those working late. Upgrade Often. Poor lighting, outdated equipment and furniture that is not ergonomically sound are all issues in the office that your staff can do without. Caring for the physical wellbeing of your staff is so important, and you should ensure that your senior management staff keep on top of the training of their teams. If everyone is aware of emergency procedures and how the fire and flood safety equipment work, then everyone can get involved to keep each other safe. Office safety is important for happy and whole employees who feel comfortable coming into the office every day. Take the time to invest in safety, you won’t regret it.