Don’t forget handwritten notes!

by Kristin on September 25, 2009

I finally got my application finished for a grant for school. I got confirmations back from everyone who was writing me recommendation letters so I sat down and starting writing out thank you notes. Not emails, but hand written notes. I think the art of letter writing has been lost in a sea of electronic communication. Companies are now cautioning their hiring managers to be on the look out for text messaged thank you’s after interviews with younger applicants. Really? Is this what we’ve come to?

In 15 years of job applications, I’ve been offered every job I’ve ever interviewed for. I think the main reason: the handwritten thank you note that arrives the day after the interview. When employers are trying to decide which highly qualified candidate to hire out of the sea of unemployed applicants, that thank you note maybe what helps give you the edge over the competition. I know when I’ve received them after interviewing someone, I think about the time that someone put in to write me a note, put a stamp on it and put it in the box. I’d rather have that employee who was willing to go the extra mile.

So if you are in the process of looking for a new job or maybe your teenager is looking for his or her first job, don’t forget the all powerful handwritten thank you note. This is especially important for teenagers since most other teenagers won’t do this. It’s a surefire way to show a potential employer how much you care about getting this job.

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Deems ( Pepsidan ) September 26, 2009 at 8:27 am

Hello Folks, That is an awesome , and very powerful thing, the written word. Yes it is a lost art form. Kids have forgotten the power that comes from a letter that was written and sent by way of snail mail. I work with emails all day from around the country. people sending and reciving emails around the clock, but to have a note in your mail box at home or work is great. Call me a kid again but when i get one , hand written even . It brings me back to the days when my Mom would write little notes to me and my brother & sisters to tell us everything and the love she would put in to them. My Mom would all ways say that the Written Word was one of the Greatist gifts God gave to us humans. So teenagers if you take anything a way from school , please make sure its how to write a letter . Thank you for another rant Danny aka Pepsidan ( the old guy ) . =)

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