Business Corner

If you are reading this article, it means you have just had an interview and now you want to send a thank note to your interviewer.
Why should you write a thank you note?
Thank you letters have a powerful impact on the interviewers. An interview can take weeks or even months to set up and conduct. Interviewers are human and they appreciate the fact that their hard work and effort is noticed. A simple thank you note makes interviewers take a second look at your CV with a smile on their face. This a powerful tool when you are being short listed. Thanks to the thank you note, your name will be fresh in the interviews head.
How to write a thank you letter
A thank you letter must be done in a letter format and can be emailed or sent to the interviewer. A thank you letter normally consists of three paragraphs. A thank you letter should be sent within 24 hours of the interview so that recruits can see it before they start to short list.
First paragraph
The first paragraph should consist of you thanking the interview for the interview you had. Make sure to include the position you applied for and the date it was held.
Second paragraph
The second paragraph should be a little about why you are the best candidate for the job and what can you bring to the position. Also state how interested you in the company and why would the companies best suit for you.
Third paragraph
The last paragraph should be about re-thanking the interview for his hard work and also that you available to come down again for a second interview if needed. End the paragraph by letting them know that you are expecting to hear from them soon.
Here is an example of thank you letter
Dear James
I would like to thank you for the time you have taken to meet with me about the retail Assistant manager position yesterday. The job seems to be an idea match for my skills and interested. I was very impressed about your companies’ success rate and how it become the retail market leader in a few years.
As well as bring 10 years of retail management experience to your company, I will also bring strong leaderships skill and people management skill, excellent selling with a track record and also brilliant project management skill.
Once again thank for the time you have taken to see me and conduct the interview. I am very interested in working for you from the begin of June. I hope to hear from you soon.

The secret to gaining more job interviews is having a top notch CV that sell’s your key skills, strengths and qualities required by each individual employer. So, why do people remain unemployed after posting out their CV to hundreds of employers? Because your CV does not secure you job interviews and here’s why…
1. 6-8 page CV is to long and to boring “but I have so much experience that I need to share it…” I hear you shout. Job hunters often get carried away when recording their employment history, writing every single job duty they performed – keep your CV short and to the point, our research shows that employers prefer CVs to be one or two pages long.
2. Dirty Envelopes – The envelope is the first impression the employer has of you, if your envelope is clean and the address is centralised the employer wont even notice it. But when you have a dirty or scruffy envelope the employer will think “who is this guy? They haven’t even made an effort with the envelope”
3. Poor Eye Sight – I’m not saying if you have poor eye sight you wont gain interviews, but some job hunters knowing they have to keep their CV on 2 pages will use font size 10, 9 or even 8 – you wont get a job if the employer cant read your CV
4. Using hypnotic language – NLP and hypnotic language can really help during job interview, but on a CV it sounds really out of place “as you read this CV you feel a great urge to offer me the job..”
5. Adding a Picture – It is becoming more common to add a picture to your CV – But why? We don’t know many employers who offer interviews because of your picture; actually some research shows images repel employers. # images are required for Actor CV and for some Security Positions
6. Sending it alone – Never send your CV alone, now I don’t mean send some flowers as well, but you do need to send a Covering Letter with every CV. This is due to some organisations employing thousands of employees for a high number of different positions, how will they know which position you want to apply for without a covering letter?
7. One Line Profiles – The first section all employers read is the personal profile, this should be a detailed and targeted paragraph highlighting the skills and qualities you would bring to the employers organisation. Using a one line profile is equivalent to using a “yes” or “no” answer during a job interview
8. Coffee Stains – A guy recently wanted some advice on gaining job interviews, after a few questions I found that he was well experienced in his profession and had been applying for many jobs using his CV, which meant his CV needed improving. I asked him to show me his CV, which he did. To my surprise it had coffee stains along one side of the CV. I later found that he had printed 30 CVs split coffee on them and only binned the top 5 copies and sent the rest (and not as stained) copies out to employers – no wonder he was still unemployed
9. The Sample CV – People often use sample CVs or CV templates as a starting point for their CV, which is a good idea as long as you personalise your finished products. When using sample CVs ensure you send out your updated CV as a friend of mine spent 4 hours writing a CV only to send out the template she had downloaded of the internet to the employer
10. The Under Sell – If you wanted to sell a used car, what would you record in the advert “this car is real old and has rust under the wheel trim…” or “This is a reliable car with a full service history…” to sell anything you need to talk about the positives of the product you are selling. This is true with CV’s you need to really sell yourself making your CV stand out above the other 300 CV’s that the employer will receive

When you cut to the chase on every interview, there is really only one question that every employer needs to ask: “Why should we hire you?” Every job seeker needs to be able to answer this question in one form or another, without hesitation and with conviction. Here are some tips to help you prepare your answer:
Right Skills: Every job requires some core skills. Hopefully you have some or all of the skills required for the job. It is unusual for any candidate to have a complete match for every aspect of the job requirements. Nevertheless, before you are prepared to answer the key question, you must understand what the employer is looking for in a candidate. If you have experience in the industry, you are likely familiar with the specific job requirements. If you don’t have experience or if you are a recent graduate, then find out what skills are required for the job by asking around. If you don’t have the skills or are making a career change, then you either need to go back to school or look for an entry-level job where you can acquire the skills. In today’s competitive environment, having the right skills is a minimum job requirement.
Right Experience: If you are looking for something more than an entry-level job, then you must have experience. Employers will pay a premium for people who have been through the “school of hard knocks” and can bring their experience with them to a new job. If you have relevant experience, then you will quickly become productive without a long training period. Furthermore, you are less likely to make “rookie” mistakes that could cost the employer money, production time, and possibly customers.
Right Attitude: More than skills and experience is the right attitude. When people are fired, more often than not, the reason is poor attitude and not their technical ability to do the job. Employers look for people who can work together well with others. Business is a team sport. While individual positions are important, every enterprise succeeds based on the ability of everyone in the organization to work together and succeed as a team. Thus, bringing the “right attitude” to the game is a key to a successful job search.
These are three critical elements to answer the basic question for all employers: “Why should we hire you?” If you can craft a concise response that includes the right skills, the right experience and the right attitude, you will be on your way to respond with confidence. This will be your “elevator pitch” that you can practice until you can say it without thinking about it. Whatever else you might be asked, nothing is more important than conveying this core message. Even if the question is never asked, you can conclude your interview by summarizing the essence of why they should hire you, and leave them with a positive lasting message to remember you. While this will not guarantee you will get hired, it will be the best way to maximize your chances of success.