You got the Job interview.
You went to the Job interview.
You blew the job 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 gal did it brilliantly, and was offered a job at higher pay just a few weeks later, 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.
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.
There 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.
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This job hunting post was adapted from content provided to by my good friends Kevin Donlin and David Perry, co-creators of the Guerrilla Job Search System.
Kevin and David have been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, Fortune magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor about their method to finding a job.
Get a free audio from Kevin and David on how to get your job search into high gear
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