The Extra Effort

Written by Danielle Birchard

I recently received a physical thank you note in the mail after conducting an interview. After working in human resources for several years and doing countless interviews, this is the first time I've gotten a physical thank you note following the interview. I have received emails offering thanks for the opportunity to interview for my company, but never a handwritten note.

Has the art of handwritten notes within a corporate setting slowly faded over time? Would something handwritten actually make a difference anyway? I can’t speak for everyone, and I can’t say that something like a handwritten note will always have a huge impact on one’s chance of getting a job, but if nothing else, you get your name in front of the hiring company’s representatives again.

A written thank you note is just an example of putting in that extra effort. Extra effort can be put into any number of circumstances or situations. We still receive some physical Christmas cards at our company. We still receive some Christmas boxes and gifts from some of our vendors. In a world where everything is digitized and made to save time, going the extra step may have a few different reactions. The deed may go unnoticed. If it does, nothing major has been lost. If it doesn’t, you have captured the attention of someone within the company. Maybe the person who works at the front desk, maybe a manager, maybe the CEO. And you never know what the impact of a small deed will be.

The moral of the story isn’t necessarily to write out a card every time you interview somewhere. The thing to take away from this is to put in extra effort. Show up to every interview, meeting, site visit, customer update, and conference having put in the due diligence ahead of time. Research the company, verify the location of the address you are visiting on your own before the meeting, send a message to all parties ahead of time with an introduction about yourself, send out an agenda, be prepared to answer questions that may come your way.