Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2014, and Jessica Liebman’s role as Business Insider’s managing editor in charge of newsroom hiring is as of that year.
Most job candidates go over the mistakes they might make in an interview so they can avoid them as far as possible. But one of the most common mistakes is being overlooked.
Jessica Liebman is the managing editor of Business Insider and the person in charge of hiring for its newsroom.
She is constantly meeting and interviewing candidates at every level, from interns to senior editors, and in her view there is one number one mistake that the vast majority of them have in common these days.
What is the mistake job candidates are making?
According to Liebman, they are all slipping up on something she considers very important when it comes to landing a job: the thank-you email.
Liebman says she spends 30 minutes with each candidate, sometimes at Business Insider’s own offices, sometimes over Skype, and sometimes in a phone interview for a quick first round of screening.
Candidates who forget to follow up on the interview, and don’t send an email the next day to say thank you and restate their interest, are missing out on a great opportunity.
It isn’t complicated at all, and the email should actually be as short as possible.
What are the advantages of sending a thank-you email, and what should it say?
One of the biggest advantages is that someone who has interviewed dozens of candidates will remember you. The email only needs to say or show something as simple as:
- Thank you for the interview, or for talking with me.
- I’m interested and I want this job.
- Why I’m a great fit for the job.
(Read: 40 skills you should include on your CV)
The disadvantages of not sending a thank-you email
The interviewer might assume you aren’t all that interested in the job (or only half-heartedly so), and there’s a greater chance that they’ll forget about you.
A simple thank-you email could look like this:
“Hello, my name is ******* and I wanted to thank you for your kindness and for the time you gave me in today’s job interview. Having met you and learned more about your company, I am even more interested in working there, as I believe I would fit in perfectly with your company culture and could do my job in line with your expectations.
I look forward to working with you. Kind regards.”
The truth is it costs nothing to do, and it can certainly pay off.
Further reading
- 15 surprising things that can affect whether you get hired
- How to answer the question “What is your greatest weakness?”
Featured image: Chris Sloan, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
