Interview with Jeff: Being Marketable While Job Hunting

I was recently interviewed by Kristi Daeda on the topic of marketing yourself in the job search. 

Here’s the link to the short article:

How to get a job in IT, Project Management and More – Interview with Jeff Lipschultz

Topics covered include:

• Current job opening trends and types of roles
• Common traits of successful candidates
• Certification and training

Will I Find You in the Social Mediasphere?

So many job seekers tell me they are doing everything they can to find a job.  But when I ask them how much they’ve done to brand themselves using Social Media, I get a blank stare or a sigh.  Or I hear questions such as:

• Isn’t that a waste of time? Or too much work?
• Isn’t Social Media only useful for finding Web-related jobs?
• Isn’t it just a fad?

Social Media is not a waste of time if you manage it carefully. It absolutely can used to find job, and more importantly, have the hiring team find YOU.  And this world evolves every day, constantly adding more ways to be leveraged.

Last week, I was interviewed by another recruiter on this subject. Stephen Hinton asked me all about Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  For those who are just starting out in branding themselves in Social Media, it may be a good starting point.

Listen to the interview.

 

 

                                  

Setting Goals: Do It or Get Passed

Whether managing your career, your job search, or even your personal life, goals play an important role is achieving new heights. 

I recently wrote a blog post as my alter ego, The Bike Whisperer, on setting goals in cycling.  The parallels to life “out of the saddle” seem pretty clear to me.  Take a look at the post and see if you agree: The Secret is Setting Goals.

Take a Ride at a Carnival for Career Help

There is a fairly new concept in career/job search circles that is coming to your town–the Carnival!  Alas, there will not be any cotton candy or ring toss (or two-headed camel).  But, there will be a lot of advice on how to approach selecting a career path and finding a new job.  Career Carnivals are a collection of blog posts by different experts shared in one place on the Internet (usually someone’s blog).  It’s a great idea.

Certainly, the traditional approaches are still a great resource, too.  I recently was on a four-person recruiter panel speaking to a group of over 100 on one topic:  Working with Recruiters.  It was very helpful to many.  However, it was limited to one hour, one topic, and available only to those who could make the session.

Recently, one of my blog posts was included in a Carnival started by Ben Eubanks and hosted by Jacqui Barrett-Pindexter. In this post, there are over 15 different topics covered by over 15 experts including:

• Tips and tools for the job search process
• Resume advice for clearly communicating about your talents
• Managing through the interviewing process
• Sharing your job leads with others to increase your own likelihood of success
• Career development
• And my post: “Ten Reasons to Take Up Biking During a Job Search”

Once again, Social Media has found a way to virtually link a group of experts together resulting in a one-stop shop for information that a lot more than 100 people can use.  Another advantage of these Carnivals is increased accessibility to the experts.  Most of these authors appreciate feedback and like to help.  Your support network can grow very fast by visiting the Carnivals.

Most of us have been a little nervous about jumping on some of the attractions at the Carnival, but don’t worry, this one is safe and the ticket is free.  Enjoy the ride!

40 Jobs in 40 Years? Fact or Fiction?

I heard a bizarre quote the other day:  The next generation’s employee will have 40 different jobs in a 40-year span. 

Even if some of these jobs were to be within the same company, this scenario represents a complete paradigm shift from today’s seven to twelve.  The discussion following the comment included an assessment of Gen Y and their quest for the perfect job (and lack of so-called patience to see how jobs play out).  There may be some truth to that, but I am very skeptical.

Certainly, we have all seen the 1950’s scenario of “two-way, long-term loyalty” fall off.  Although there are still many who retire with their first company, the majority do not.  Sometimes this is the employee’s choice, sometimes not.  But 40 jobs in 40 years?  This implies new employees working for a quarter, month, or week and moving on (not the employer cutting the cord).

As of 2006 to 2008, we may have seen the growing tenure trend come to a peak.  Bureau of Labor Statistics data show an stable trend over the last eight years, but recently the trend has leveled out or decreased.  And our current tough economy will certainly skew the data for Jan 2010.  Here is an excerpt (and here is the whole table):

Median years of tenure with current employer for employed wage and salary workers by occupation, selected years, 2000-08

Occupation	Feb 2000	Jan 2002	Jan 2004	Jan 2006	Jan 2008
Management	5.3	5.6	6.0	6.0	6.0
Computer & Math	3.1	3.2	4.8	4.8	4.5
Architecture & Engineering	4.8	5.2	5.8	6.5	6.4
Legal	3.9	4.5	4.1	5.0	4.3
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media	3.2	3.0	3.6	3.6	3.4
Sales	2.6	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.9
Total	3.5	3.7	4.0	4.0	4.1

Source: US Department of Labor

Much has been said about what is the “right” amount of tenure for career advancement.  I am not discussing that today.  However, Erin White wrote a great article for The Wall Street Journal that sums that up nicely.

What I want to know:  IS THERE TRUTH TO THE 40-40 SCENARIO?  From what you have seen-heard-experienced, what is your assessment?  If this turns out to be true, how do we prepare our kids?

Please take my latest poll AND share your thoughts using this blog post (click on Comments at bottom of post).  I’ll attempt to compile all the feedback and share.

Recruiting Your Recruiter in the Job Search, Part II

When I launched the original blog post on “Recruiting your Recruiter in the Job Search,” my aim was two-fold: (1) offer sound advice on working with recruiters for the job seekers in my network, and (2) gather more great advice from other recruiters and job search service professionals in my network. The response was tremendous. The feedback I received was very positive and several folks took the time to offer their thoughts on the subject-matter.

This follow-up post is offered as a recap of their thoughts. Much of the commentary emphatically stated all this information should be “required reading for anyone using a recruiter.” More specifically, the more people that understand how to approach using a recruiter, the better the process works for everyone.

Author’s note: A compiled version of the two weblog posts to be used as a reference for all job seekers is available here: A-List Solutions Version of Recruiting your Recruiter for the Job Search.

Feedback from Job Search Professionals Around the Country (most of whom you can find on Twitter):

When it comes to my comments about building a relationship with your recruiter, Steve Jones emphasized that “recruiters talk to each other, and if a candidate burns a bridge with one recruiter he may be burning a bridge with many others, including clients.” David Benjamin agrees there are good and bad professionals in the recruiting just like every other industry. He highlighted that “a good recruiter cares more about ‘fit’ than making a placement.” Brad Hogenmiller emphasized once you find a recruiter you really like, “it’s important for job-seekers to maintain those relationships just as they would with an employer.”

Dawn Bugni whole-heartedly agreed about the advice, “Don’t do an end run around your recruiter.” She provided very important feedback that “many candidates think if two recruiters submit their information, they doubled their chance at the job. WRONG! They’ve just knocked themselves out of the running. Few companies get into a candidate/fee argument between two recruiters. They disqualify the candidate.”

Susan Burns shared that the #1 frustration she has heard from job seekers is that recruiters aren’t following up with them. She went on to say that often times, exec recruiters are responsive when they have a specific job they’re working on, but at other times when the job seeker is trying to reach out and build a relationship, too often the recruiter does not respond. She raised an interesting question that asks, “with the technology and tools available today, what should a job seeker expect from an exec recruiter?”

The answer to the question lies in understanding the recruiter’s world. Abby Locke’s article on Building Effective Relationships with Recruiters highlights that recruiters’ daily responsibilities may include:

• four to five hours a day on the phone
• making contact with about 500 people every week
• receiving anywhere from 500 to 1,000 emails every day

Regardless of technology assistance, job seekers need to OWN the relationship with the recruiter. By this I mean, realize a job seeker can remember a lot more about their recruiter than the reverse. And, a job seeker can check in with them more consistently than the reverse. Additionally, the relationship can be further strengthened, as Abby suggests, by having:

• specific job targets and a well-defined message
• a “comprehensive” resume
• a compelling subject line in all email correspondence
• something to offer the recruiter

In reading my original post, Jenifer Olson thought it wise to share the difference between the two main types of recruiters: retained recruiters, who are paid by a company to focus on filling a particular position and who are more or less guaranteed payment (usually for a higher level management role); and, contingency recruiters, who compete with recruiters from a number of agencies to fill the position and who are paid only when and if their applicant is hired.

In Jennifer’s experience, the type of recruiter can make a big difference in both the amount and quality of time spent with a job seeker. Therefore, knowing which type you are dealing with is often helpful in managing your expectations about the recruiting process. I agree that retained recruiters may operate a little differently where they can take their time and not worry about competition. In the end, both SHOULD be searching for the best candidate. If a job seeker is a true fit and presents themselves as such, the right result should occur regardless of the type of recruiter. As Jennifer is eluding to, working with contingency recruiters can sometimes be challenging when they are only trying to present a high volume of candidates to increase their chances of placing a candidate. The best recruiters focus on the “A-List” (or best fit) candidates.

Jennifer McClure advised job seekers to “always ask the recruiter how their process works, what happens to their resume if they send it to the recruiter and what should they expect from the recruiter in terms of follow up or actions.” She added that many recruiters do not operate the same way, and “if job seekers would ask these questions of each recruiter they interact with, it would go a long way toward eliminating some of the frustrations with recruiters.”

One of my favorite peers in the industry, David Graziano, offered an additional resource on a related topic: How to Choose and Partner with a Recruiter. In this post, job seekers will learn, amongst other things, questions to ask the recruiter and what they should ask you.

Karla Porter and Grethen Benes appreciated the post and summarized the recruiters’ responsibilities well. Karla stated the post “serves as a great reminder to be all you can be with your clients.” Gretchen accurately stated, “It all comes down to the relationship and being “present” for the process and conversation.”

Recruiting Your Recruiter in the Job Search

Many of us have many stories to tell about working with external recruiters during job searches.   Some good, some not so good.  It is no different than any other professional role–some folks you can collaborate well with and some present challenges.  One of the key hurdles specific to recruiters is that you are working with them during a pivotal time in your personal life:  your career transition points.  That’s what makes these experiences stand out more.

With this in mind, I’d like to share and collect guidelines for candidates to use to ensure a best-in-class experience working with their present or next recruiter.  Being one myself, I appreciate new ideas and insights in this area.  So please comment on this list and add your own in the “Comment” section.

Guidelines for a Good Experience with a Recruiter

The Expectations

• Before engaging with any recruiter, realize that the recruiter’s role is to serve the companies that pay him or her.  The recruiter’s primary role is to find the very best candidate for a job.
• Be clear about what you are interested in pursuing:  type of job and company, size and location of company, company culture and type of clients.  Also make sure your recruiter understands any question marks in your work history.
• Set boundaries.  Make sure your recruiter knows which companies you are pursuing on your own or are absolutely off your list.
• Don’t assume you know the level of knowledge or size of your recruiter’s network.  Many recruiters have “reach” into companies that may not even being hiring, yet.
• Good recruiters should know a great deal about the company, employees, and the job itself.  You can leverage this information.
• Don’t expect recruiters to be career coaches.  Those people are out there, too.  These specialized coaches are professionals and can help more than a recruiter, especially when career direction is involved.
• Only pursue jobs you really want.  Wasting employers’ and recruiters’ time will hurt a reputation in the long run.

The Process

• Recruiters should always let you know when and to whom your resume is being submitted.  Make sure of this.  Recruiters should NEVER submit your resume without your permission.
• Stay in touch with your recruiter, but not too often.  He/she may not be able to follow-up as often with you as you’d like, but you certainly can keep the line of communication open from your end (especially when there is recent activity to follow-up on).  Many appreciate emails over phone calls so they can manage their day better.  Communication is essential when your situation changes (i.e., another job offer pending).
• It is not wise to work around your recruiter.  With the best ones, you can build a relationship and trust.  Be open about your desired strategies and come to agreement as to what the best approach is for each opportunity.  If you circumvent the recruiter, the employer may view you as impatient or a rule-breaker.
• Recruiters can help with the salary question.  In many cases, there are other benefits (some monetary, some not) that a recruiter can share that helps with the decision.
• Good recruiters act as your agent and move as swiftly as the employer process allows.  Listen carefully to what the recruiter is saying about the timeline and make sure it sounds sensible.
• In some cases, there is an online application or audio-screening.  These are useful tools for conveying your fit for the job.  It can also confirm if you truly want the position.
• There is no requirement to work with only one recruiter; however, keeping track of what is going on with each is essential.  Confusing these facts can lead to some embarrassing moments!  And make sure you’re only submitted ONCE to any given opportunity.

The Resume

• When submitting a resume to a recruiter, realize he/she looks at many resumes every week.  Your resume should tell a story about you and convey your strengths.  An accompanying email can have three bullet points about the job you are looking for, even if you’ve already discussed this on the phone.
• Also realize that resumes having exact keyword matches as job requirements have a better chance of being reviewed by a recruiter.
• Reasons resumes get rejected early in the process: spelling errors, small font, weak summary/objective statements, poor career progression, and unrelated experience.
• A good recruiter can offer advice on your resume and fit for jobs you are discussing.  Caveat:  This typically happens only when the recruiter is working on a job that is a good match for you.

The Interview

• Good recruiters are expert coaches in interviewing.  If they don’t offer help for a scheduled interview they set up for you, I would question how good they really are.
• Debrief with your recruiter after the interview.  Let him/her know your thoughts on the company/job.

The Person

• Good recruiters talk with a lot of people each week.  Give them a little time to refresh their mind on your last conversations.  The very best recruiters are super organized and can reference all notes and activity regarding you and the jobs your are working on together.
• Consider a recruiter a life-long friend in your career process, not two ships passing in the night.  If you have a well-established relationship with a recruiter, he/she is more likely to go beyond the norms to help you (or a friend) when you need it most.  And, the recruiter will know you as a person, not just as a candidate.  With this in mind, keep your recruiter appraised of all career changes.
• The best way to return a favor to a recruiter is to network him/her to a new client you know is hiring.
• Feel free to provide timely feedback, both to the recruiter and the employer.  Both stand to learn from this first-hand information.

Stay Upbeat During the Downbeat

As we all know, behind every dark cloud is a silver lining, right?  When one door closes, another opens.  Things happen for a reason. Don’t you just love cliches?  I met author Jim Atkinson last night and he enlightened me when he said, “Cliches are true.”  And when it comes to job transitions and managing your career, I believe it best to heed Jim’s advice on cliches.

In most cases, in the long run, we benefit from job transitions.  We upgrade our value, increase our breadth of experience, and learn more about the world and ourselves.  The key is to manage the transition and not let the transition manage you.  Looking for a job is not foreign to most people.  Often, it’s just a matter of reminding ourselves of best techniques or learning new ones.  Like riding a bicycle, you never completely forget how, but you can be wobbly at times.

Riding a bicycle is actually a good analogy for this topic.  I have been asked several times to teach friends’ kids how to ride without training wheels (I guess I’ve become a local expert).  During these sessions with kids, I have discovered there are many commonalities to job searches and career transitions. 

• You need to keep your balance  — keep going forward!
• You need to keep your eyes looking forward — look at the road ahead, not the ground.
• Don’t be afraid — if you fall, you’ll only get a little scrape, nothing life shattering.
• Once you gain momentum, don’t let up — if it feels right, it is right — pursue the opportunity with fervor.
• When you learn to go, you still need to learn how to stop — don’t get too cocky, there is always more to learn.
• Another key skill for both scenarios is changing direction — be sure to steer around obstacles, not into them.  The landscape changes fast.
• Most of all, in both cases, you need to have confidence in yourself.  You need to believe the cliches, and yes, the glass is half full.

OK, you’re motivated and ready to hit it in stride.  Now what?  Read all the blogs you can find on new and old techniques for managing your career.  Once the advice starts to sound redundant, you’ve probably become an expert.

Additional information:

For IT folks who are unsure how to navigate their career through a slow economy, here are some good insights offered by Computerworld.

How to stay up in a down economy

Laid off or overworked, IT pros still need to mind their emotional health. Here are six ways to keep your outlook bright in dark times.

By Julia King

March 17, 2009 (Computerworld) It doesn’t take a $250 visit to a psychotherapist to confirm what you feel in your gut each morning when you wake up — it’s depressing out there. Market volatility, economic instability, pink slips and the ongoing threat of yet another round of IT layoffs — no wonder you feel like diving back under the covers.

If you’ve been let go, you might worry that you’ll never work again. If you’ve escaped a layoff, “it’s very discouraging when you see colleagues leave because these people were your friends,” says Beverly Lieberman, an IT recruiter and career coach and president of Halbrecht Lieberman Associates Inc.

Employees may feel trapped in a company where “they’re sort of grateful to be still working, but they’re insecure” because virtually no employer is making any guarantees about IT or any other kind of job.

“Everybody is saying you can write off 2009 because there are no indicators it will get any better,” Lieberman sums up. “We’re praying for 2010.”

But that doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of the year as an emotional cellar dweller. It’s not easy, but it is possible for tech pros to nurture themselves and even bolster their professional credentials during these tough times, whether you’re laid off and looking, or left behind and overworked.

So how exactly do you go about staying up in a down economy? Computerworld gathered tips from a quartet of IT career experts, including Lieberman; Boston-area career coach and author Naomi Karten; IT career expert, author and Computerworld columnist Paul Glen; and Nagesh Belludi, a professional software engineer and program manager at a large multinational company who also regularly counsels IT professionals. Their advice is to do the following:

Return to your roots

Remember why you first got into information technology? Bring back some of that enthusiasm — and maybe even master a new skill — by doing something you’d never be assigned to do on the job, just for the sheer technological challenge of it.

Write a new program, fix one that’s been broken and bugging you for ages, or master a whole new programming language. Or use your tech skills to connect with the world: Build a Web site, create and post an original video on YouTube, or start a blog to share your IT views or showcase your skills. Heck, learn the functions — all of them — of your smartphone.

Get the most from social networking

Building and maintaining a network is important even in good times, but being connected with friends and colleagues can be especially valuable now. So take full advantage of social networking opportunities via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other online communities.

A network of contacts can yield advance notice of a company that’s hiring — or laying people off. More broadly, social networking can help you read the tea leaves about the health of various vertical markets (for example, if several of your contacts recently found work in health care or switched out of manufacturing).

Finally, simple human interaction can be uplifting, even if it is electronic. Reconnecting with high school friends, college buddies and old co-workers won’t necessarily help your career directly, but it can do wonders for your outlook by reminding you who you were before you felt like you were nothing but a job or a job search.

Get out into the real world

If you live near a university, check out its technology-transfer center. These are official, university-supported incubators for technology research and start-up tech companies.

Personnel in technology-transfer centers excel at helping people sell the business benefits of technology — a skill that IT professionals could often use help with as well.

“People in IT do not know how to sell themselves. When you look at programmers’ résumés and how they interview, they talk about their skills in terms of C++ and other technical languages,” says Belludi.

“They don’t explain that a project they worked on saved their company hundreds of thousands of dollars or what the business benefits of a project were.”

Beyond that, if you’re thinking at all about striking out on your own or getting work from a small business, local entrepreneur clubs and small-business associations are also good bets. The beauty of smaller, local clubs and associations is the opportunity they offer for face-to-face contact.

Improve your soft skills

Working on your communication, negotiation, relationship-building and presentation talents — the so-called soft skills — can maintain your sense of self-worth now and help you nail a promotion or land a new job further in the future.

Courses are widely available at low cost at local adult education centers and, in some areas, through your local library. Practice the skills you learn as well. Write reviews for Amazon.com — reviews of IT-specific books or any other book or product that excites you. Think of your reviews as an opportunity to practice your writing plus get a little visibility in the process.

Or go a step further and submit a written proposal to speak at a professional association meeting, advises Karten.

These groups are always seeking speakers, and they can benefit from your wisdom and lessons learned.

Being on their agenda creates professional connections that can prove useful, and it also adds a credential to your résumé.

Get smart

Keep sharp mentally and position yourself for the economic upturn by pursuing technical certifications and learning new technical and business skills now. If you’ve been thinking about a bachelor’s or master’s degree, for example, now is the time to enroll. If you’re a manager and want to make it to CIO, enroll in an MBA program. If you have your sights set on being a chief technology officer, go after a master’s degree in computer science.

Another, more affordable, option is to attend webinars hosted by vendors, consultancies and research firms on a weekly basis, often at no charge. Doing so can help you feel less isolated and more in touch with the world outside your office. Webinars can help you stay abreast of the latest tech trends, and they’re an excellent option for the overworked IT pros whose company budgets no longer allow for formal training.

Don’t take it personally

This downturn is affecting companies in every sector and employees of every rank.

As companies cut costs, they’re forced to either overwork or lay off experienced, highly-qualified IT professionals who have done nothing but superb work.

For people still on the job who find themselves constantly worrying about when and where the axe will next fall, Paul Glen has this advice: “Worry about things that are in your control only. Don’t watch too much CNN. It just introduces hysteria. Look around your business to understand the real risks.”

If you’ve been laid off, remember, it’s not you; it’s the economy.

“Being laid off is never considered a negative when managers interview these days,” says Belludi.

“So IT folks should be candid about the fact that they were laid off,” he says. “We ask [candidates] what lessons they’ve learned and what take-aways they have from the problems they’ve experienced while being laid off.”

Your Job Interview IQ

I read an interesting article today written by C.J. Liu of Payscale.com where she asks us to determine our Job Interview IQ.  She asks some pertinent True/False questions about interviewing and provides good insights with the answers.  I’ve added some of my own at the bottom of this post that I’ve discussed with candidates over the years.  Feel free to use the comment option on this post to add one of your own.

What’s Your Job Interview IQ?

by C.J. Liu, PayScale.com

After networking, sending resumes, and waiting patiently by the phone, all your hard work has paid off with an invitation to interview. But, how do you prepare? What do you wear? And, how should you explain any layoffs or gaps in your resume?

See full article>>

My additions to her article:

11.  When asked the age-old question of where I see myself in five years, I should say, “in your position.”

False.  It is good to show ambition in your interview and that you seek growth in your career.  However, unless you have really good information on the career path on this job, you’re guessing as to what the plans for this job are.  It is best to stay generic.  Let them know that you would expect in the next five years, you would have grown your skill set, learned their industry well enough to teach others, have enhanced your abilities in working with all types of people (vendors, clients, colleagues, management), and would be positioned well for any new opportunities the company has planned for you.

12.  When asked what is your pet peeve, you tell them you can’t stand people who eat their lunch at their desk and talk endlessly on the phone to their aunt in Tallahassee.

False.  Although this may be true, there is no need to share this pet peeve of yours.  The reality is, this is a trap question. There really is no good “real” answer.  So instead, use humor or a light-hearted comment that has little relevance.  Example: “I hate when I get my coat caught in the car door on the way to work and everyone is pointing at my car on the way in.”  When pressed for more peeves, you can say you’re not the type to get “peeved.”

13.  You’ll sound too desperate if you tell them you really want the job.

True/False.  You’ll sound too desperate if you say it in a begging tone or down on your knees.  But, I always advocate sounding very interested in the job.  During the interview, consider it your best option for a job (you can evaluate this assumption later).  Thinking this way will naturally guide your comments to lean toward enthusiasm, true interest, and excitement about the prospect of working there.  Interviewers gage this and want to hire candidates who really do want to work there, not just be employed.

For more insights on all these questions along with interviewing preparation, etiquette, and strategy for answering interviewing questions, feel free to download my eBooks.

The Art of the Thank You Note

I often get asked by candidates if the “Thank You Note” to interviewers is still practical in our hi-tech world.  The answer is:  Of course it is.  Whether emailed or hand-written, a thank you note sends the message that you’re interested in the opportunity (more so now than before the interview) and you greatly appreciate them spending time with you.  After all, the process is time consuming for both sides–their time is valuable and they shared some of it with you.

Certainly consider the hand-written version if you think snail mail will get it there fast enough relative to their decision-making timeline.  The hand-written thank you note has a personal touch over the email, but the sentiments should be the same in either version.  When it comes to the actual content and approach, a recent article in U.S. News & World Report written by Liz Wolgemuth has some good tips to leverage.

5 Ways to Screw Up After the Interview

Make a blunder in your job interview follow-up, and you may not get the job.

By Liz Wolgemuth

Posted March 5, 2009

If a company really wants you on the payroll, a manager will probably make you an offer. You might forget a seemingly crucial element the morning of your job interview—deodorant, for example—but if they really want you and your knack for, say, recruiting the best talent or finding major energy cost savings, they’ll likely overlook it.

Trouble is, most candidates don’t have that luxury. When you walk into an interview, there’s a good chance this hiring manager doesn’t know if you’re the right person for the job yet, and when you walk out of that interview, he or she may still be unsure. That means, your follow-up communication can make a difference.

Here are five ways you could blow the post-interview period, and some advice on how to get your follow-up right:

You don’t send a thank-you note: You have no doubt heard this advice before, but lots of people still don’t do it. If you think you’ve got the job, you might think a thank-you note is unnecessary or even obsequious. If you’re sure you bombed your interview, then you may think any follow-up effort is a waste of your time—or just another opportunity to mess up. That’s not the case. “The biggest mistake is not following up,” says Adrian Klaphaak, a career and life coach in San Francisco’s Bay area.

An E-mail is better than nothing, but a handwritten note can set you apart from other candidates. Use a simple, relatively formal style of card. (Cards with closeups of flowers or cute animals are for friends.)  “Handwritten letters are powerful because no one sends them anymore,” says Erik Folgate, a blogger at Brazen Careerist. Folgate recently blogged that in his own job search, hiring managers have responded favorably when he’s followed up.

Your thank-you note is too long: What’s one thing that will make for a bad thank-you note? “Lack of brevity,” says human resources executive Kris Dunn, who also blogs at The HR Capitalist. This is not intended to be an epic work. As Dunn puts it: “You’re in and you’re out and then you’re done with it.” A rambling note wastes the hiring manager’s time, and it can suggest that you lack the confidence of conciseness.

Your thank-you note is too general: Specificity is as important as brevity, Dunn says. Your notes shouldn’t read as though they could be reproduced for every interview. “I want at least one thing in the thank-you note that connects the interviewer with something we talked about in the interview and shows they were paying attention,” Dunn says.

You try to apologize for an interview mistake: If you think you answered a question poorly in an interview, go back to the issue before the interview is over. You might say: “You know, I quickly want to go back to something I said earlier in response to your question about X. I’d like to clarify my answer.” Don’t wait until the interview is over and use your thank-you note to redress the mistake, Dunn says. You run a real risk of turning the note into a lengthy and meandering foray into something the interviewer may never have noticed or has already forgotten.

You harass the manager: It’s frustrating and worrisome to be looking for work in a market with millions of competitors and a scarcity of openings. Hiring freezes and shifting corporate strategies can make human resources departments change their hiring plans in no time. You might have a great interview and then hear nothing back. You will not, however, improve your case by bombarding the hiring manager with telephone calls and voicemail messages (or hangups), E-mails, Facebook messages, faxes, Twitters, and other multitudinous possible methods of communication. Klaphaak recommends patience after sending a thank you: “remember that an employer who wants to hire you will almost always contact you.”

Remember, in an economy where there are many applying to each available position, you need to differentiate yourself as much as possible.

Bottom line:  Send a well-written note to your interviewers to put yet another attribute about you on their list:  you are a thoughtful and gracious candidate!