You got the interview. You went to the interview. You blew the
interview.
Sound familiar?
Lots of folks come home beating themselves up after getting
stumped with tough questions and coming up short in a job interview.
But here’s good news.
You can still get a job offer, even if you interviewed poorly. Do
this by using your thank-you letter as an opportunity to recover and re-sell
your skills.
Here’s how one client of mine did that brilliantly, and was
offered a position at higher pay just a few weeks ago, despite the intense
competition for jobs in this recession.
“I interviewed for a job I really wanted. But I was angry with
myself afterwards because I realized I didn’t sell myself as well as I should
have,” says Shelly, a high-tech sales rep from Minneapolis.
So Shelly wrote the following “recovery letter” and emailed it to
all three of the hiring managers she had interviewed with. She did that on a
Friday. She received a job offer the following Tuesday.
Thank
you for taking the time last Friday to interview me for the sales position.
I
am very impressed with XYZ Corp., from both a business and cultural standpoint.
It is obvious to me that XYZ has an exceptionally bright future and I would
like to be an integral part of it.
You
mentioned in our interview that a fast start is essential for the person you
hire. Since history typically repeats itself, I have noted a few of my
accomplishments at former employers below.
here
is no question I can/will do the same for you.”
Shelly
then went on to list her top 2-3 achievements for each of her previous three
employers, focusing on what she accomplished in the first few weeks on the job.
Examples
from her letter:
ACE
Electronics
First
year in the position I ranked #1 in the country. My quota was $6.2 million; I
ended the year with 9.3 million.
DEF
Consulting
In
my first 30 days I won a 6-month contract for 5 consultants that resulted in
$360,000 in business within my first year.
GHI
Group
In
my first 90 days, I produced a Web project for $25,000 that turned into a
$35,000 project and an additional proposal in the pipeline for a supply chain
project proposed at $65,000.
Shelly
succeeded by using her thank-you letter to prove she could do that job she had
just interviewed for.
Action Step: Don’t beat yourself
up if you don’t knock their socks off in your next job interview. Instead, feel
good about yourself. After all, they thought highly
enough of you to call you for an interview in the first place, right?
Then, go home and prove they were right – and that you deserve the
job – by writing a “recovery” letter that resells your skills and proves you
can do the job.
Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin
Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.
