job interview thank you letters

The job interview thank you letter
Following through with a thank you letter is a popular way of reminding the interviewer of your enthusiasm, although they may not even acknowledge the gesture.
The letter just needs to express how much you enjoyed it, appreciated their time and confirm your continued interest. But, be aware that some people may see it as an unnecessary gesture. Furthermore, the decision whether to employ you, or call you back for another, is often made within 24 hours - before your letter could even reach them.

On the positive side, it shows that you are keen and committed and that if offered the position you would be very likely to accept it. You may benefit, for example if their first choice candidate turned them down. If you are seen as a keen candidate who will accept the job, it can only strengthen your position in relation to the other applicants.

How to Explain a Personal Limitation
When asked to explain your weaknesses, simply stating that you have none, or that you used to have several but now you are perfect is just not an option. This is one area where you will need to communicate some negative information and the way in which you do it can be vital to the outcome of the interview.

The following approach is useful, although you may decide to fine-tune it:
1. Select from your limitations an area that you have improved on.
2. Allocate the existence of this weakness to the distant past.
3. Illustrate how you identified and then addressed this weakness.
4. Clearly show that it is no longer an issue, using an example from your recent past.
5. When you have finished, be quiet.

Adopting this approach has the benefit of showing that you were self-critical enough to identify or acknowledge a problem. You then took ownership of the weakness and successfully sought to correct it. Adopting this approach reassures the interviewer that the weakness is an historical issue and that you found a way to correct it. Consider the following example:

Interviewer: “Okay that takes care of your strengths, now could you let me know about any weaknesses you feel you have?”
Interviewee: “I started out at Taylor-Craft with the view that I had to get everything right. I then realized that in order to make timely decisions you have to know when to stop gathering and analyzing information and actually make the decision. The balancing act between the big picture and knowing the details is a difficult one, but I believe I now manage this very well”.

Notice how the interviewee has started her reply on a positive note. This immediately dilutes the weakness that is then itself understated (that of slow decision making). The response ends by clearly stating that this former weakness in now a strength. Strictly speaking you may think that the question hasn't been answered. The interviewee was asked for their weaknesses (plural) and they identified a single past weakness. It is good advice to only offer one weakness in reply as it unusual for interviewers to push the question further. If this does happen you could always admit to working too hard or some other minor indiscretion. Alternatively, you could name limitations that are likely to be of little concern to the interviewer, or ones that you can realistically offer tangible explanations for.

Writing Your Career Statement
Having worked through the previous sections you should have a good understanding of your abilities, strengths and limitations. You should also have a lot of information on which this is based. This information should make the next step straightforward; you are going to devise a career statement. This career statement, or summary, wants to be between 20 and 35 words long and should be written in the first person singular.

Here is a good example of a career statement: "I am a very experienced purchasing manager and team leader with an impressive record of successful negotiations in the printing and packaging industry." If you have written a professional CV, you may already have a version of this statement, but written in the third person singular - as its’ inclusion is recommended as one of the first items in a contemporary CV. Even if you already have a career statement, you may now wish to update it.

Your career statement should encapsulate your career aspirations and has three main benefits: In wording the statement, you should become clear about which of your skills you wish to utilize and the job you are looking for. When placed within your CV it will broadcast your skills and achievements loudly, usually near the top of the CV, therefore preparing the reader to receive positive information about you. Finally, in the context of the interview your career statement can be used as the cornerstone on which you base replies to questions. You may even have the opportunity to state it, at the beginning of a response to a question such as: "Tell me about yourself?”.