 Okay, you’ve had a great interview. Now what?
Well, now you must follow up . . . and you must do so with a great follow-up letter! And a recent Business Insider.com article titled “6 Reasons This is the Perfect Thank-You Letter to Send After a Job Interview” by Hope Restle and Sky Gould can help you do just that. According to the article, this is how you make your follow-up letter stand out: #1—Be professional. This is a professional situation, after all. The article specifically recommends greeting the person in the appropriate way (Mrs. vs. Ms.), but you must strike a professional tone throughout. You should pay as much care and attention to this letter as you did to your cover letter and resume. #2—Grab their attention right away. This means going beyond the standard fare and writing something that the reader normally does not see. For example, compliment them for something they did during the interview process or use other positive language. “Engagement” is the word you should be thinking about; engage them and they’ll continue reading. #3—Use the correct words. This is a sidebar to #1 on this list. If you strike a professional tone, it should mean you’ll be avoiding slang terms and other “lazy language.” Take it a step beyond that, though, and look closely at the words you’re choosing. Is there a better word? A better way to say something? Keep revising until you’re satisfied. #4—Be direct and concise. Don’t let your letter drag on. If you’ve engaged them and you have their attention, the worst thing you can do is lose that attention halfway through the letter. If you were in their shoes, what would youwant to see? Tailor your letter with that in mind. #5—Tie it back to the interview. In an ideal situation, you would already be memorable based upon your interview performance, but a lot of different factors play into that equation. Don’t take any chances: reference something from the interview that will “jog” their memory, if need be. #6—Be compelling. What do you want the person to do once they’ve read your letter? Respond, that’s what! However, they must be compelled to respond. For that to happen, you must compel them to do so. Click here to read the Business Insider.com article in its entirety for more tips regarding how you should write your follow-up letter. And if you’re currently involved with a job search, you can search our jobs and apply online today! The phrase “lean and mean” usually brings with it a positive connotation, especially in the case of physical fitness. However, it can also be used when describing the economic health of a company or organization.
“Running lean” is often something to which owners and managers aspire . . . but only if doing so leads to greater levels of productivity and profitability. However, that is NOT always the case. It’s definitely possible to run too lean with your staff, and when you do, problems invariably arise. Those problems are explored in a recent LinkedIn article by HelloSign CEO Joseph Walla titled, “The Unexpected Downsides to Running a Lean Team.” Walla lists seven items in his article, but we’re only going to directly address four of those. Below are the top four drawbacks to running too lean with your staff: #4—No margin for error There’s no end to the curveballs that life throws at you. Employees get sick, they get injured, or they can’t work for a variety of other reasons. When reaching your goals depends upon all of your employees working at maximum capacity for a maximum number of days with absolutely no flexibility allowed, then you’re asking for trouble. #3—Low levels of morale When you’re running lean, that means your employees are stretched thin. That might work for a few weeks or even months (if you’re lucky), but eventually that’s going to catch up with you. Your employees will be at risk for burning out, which increases the chances they’ll leave for another employment opportunity. That’s problematic for many reasons, including the fact there’s no margin for error. #2—Missed opportunities When you’re so focused “working in” your business, there’s little time to “work on” your business, and that problem is exacerbated when you’re running lean. Meeting deadlines and finishing immediate projects becomes the top priority, instead of constructing and executing plans for far-reaching growth. Which brings us to the #1 item on our list . . . #1—Slow growth It doesn’t even have to be slow growth. It could be “slower than usual” growth, which is nearly as bad. Sure, running lean helps to keep costs at a minimum, but it could help to keep growth at a minimum, as well. You’ve surely heard the phrase “Stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime.” That phrase could certainly apply to this situation. Click here to read Walla’s article in its entirety on LinkedIn and see what other drawbacks he included. Click here to learn more about Time Staffing’s services for employers! No matter the state of the economy, the employment marketplace is always competitive. You’re always competing with somebody for the job you want. Nobody has ever been the only person interviewed for an open position.
So how do you get the edge you need to make sure that you’re the person who gets hired? More and more, the answer to that question is social skills. Helping to validate that statement is a recent article on the Time.com website: “People Skills Matter More Than Ever Now” by Gina Belli. Drawing upon that article, below are three ways that developing and sharpening your social skills could help you to gain an employment edge: #1—Robots don’t have people skills. Sure, everywhere you look, more and more processes are becoming automated. Robots are seemingly taking over the world. (Insert your own Skynet joke here.) However, robots can’t do everything, and one of the things they can’t do is interact with a human being just like another human being can. The argument can be made that robots will never be able to do that . . . which might very well be a good thing for the human race. #2—Social skills make you more “hireable.” Putting aside the fact for a moment that “hireable” might not even be a word, employers are always in need of individuals who possess solid communication and people skills. Despite the increase in the use of robots and automated processes, people still rule the employment landscape. As a result, those who are skilled in the art of dealing with people can typically find a job more quickly than an equally talented and experienced person who lacks such social skills. #3—The potential for career growth (and wage growth) exists. An employment edge goes beyond just getting hired. It extends to career growth, as well, and that includes moving up the ladder within your current employer. In fact, the Time.com article alludes to the fact that social skills may very well help women close the wage gender gap. However, it doesn’t matter what your gender is; those with solid people skills are more likely to enjoy the kind of growth they’re seeking, both for their wages and for their careers. How would you assess your social skills? Are they adequate? Exemplary? Poor? What do you need to do in order to improve them? After all, your career might just depend upon them. Looking for a new job . . . and an employment edge? Search our jobs and apply online today! |
