Category: Office

Office is a term used to describe a place where professional individuals conduct business. Types of professionals that are most often conduct their business in an office include, attorney, accountant, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders, dentists and other healthcare providers, insurance brokers plus many others.

The Job Seeker FAQs on Thank-You Notes

Kiss-up-ish?

Many career advisers will tell their job seeker clients to send a thank you note after having been interviewed. To address the most frequently asked questions on how and what to send in a thank-you note, the following giveaways could come in handy.

Won’t the employer think that an applicant is desperate and kiss-up-ish if s/he sends a thank-you letter?

Of course not. Rarely is an employer not pleased to receive a thank-you letter. It is considered a common way of showing politeness; a gesture of courtesy, one way to outshine the rest of the interviewees, and a way to keep your name upfront.

Will it not jeopardize the possibility of getting the job?

Not in most cases, but it could under some circumstances. So – you may ask – why take the chance? The answer: Most bosses waver between the two most recent and promising applicants. A student and an experienced officer, for example, are the final interviewees for a certain position.

However, when the boss gets a thank-you letter from the student, it made all the difference, because that simple, well mannered gesture increases the student’s chances of getting that job.

Rapport dictates format?

Can it be handwritten or should it be typewritten?

Actually, it does not matter since the important thing which really counts is consideration and the thought of doing it. Of course the letter must be tailored to your prospective company and the officer who interviewed you, thereby further demonstrating respect.

Keep in mind that if the company interviewer or the position being applied for merits a formal business letter, then do so. Mostly, a handwritten note is okay if the interviewer and the applicant have built some rapport.

Will it be okay to e-mail the thank you note?

 

First thoughts indicate that this is a big NO. However, it depends on the company’s culture because if the company’s personnel use e-mail in all their communication and correspondence, then it should be acceptable. This will also apply if the company is into fast decision making when hiring applicants.

Always remember that even if e-mails fit in with the culture of the company, it’s still a better idea to follow up the email with a hard copy of your thank-you note.

So you can save yourself a lot of trouble since “anything goes” right?

Nice and neat works!

NO. On the other side of the previous story, there are prospective applicants who were almost on the verge of being hired but suddenly hit the skids after sending in sloppy, ill-fixed thank you letters, with many typographical errors and misspelled words. A part of having good communication skills is being able to write effectively. Companies do not need employees who have to be taught simple writing skills.

Will a borrowed thank-you letter do?

Yes, borrowing is one thing, but make sure to look at the letter’s basic structure. Never plagiarize the whole letter as it may be applicable to the one person but not to the other. Surely, there are employers who can distinguish a thank-you note that has been copied from another.

If it was a panel interview should thank-you letters be sent to all interviewers?

Frankly, that would be recommended since the same letter to each is as essential as sending one to all. The only thing you have to do is edit some phrases for individuality in case the interviewers bump into each other and compare the notes they received.

How soon should a thank-you note be sent?

The golden rule is to send thank you notes within 24 hours after the interview.

Will it still be okay to mail the thank-you note if the hiring decision is made sooner than when the mailed thank-you note is received?

Personalize it

Come to think of it, if the mail is too prehistoric for the hiring decision makers, then find a much speedier way: it can be sent via e-mail, fax, express delivery or personal hand delivery. In fact, if you have hand delivered the thank-you note, it can leave a great impression.

A primary business tool on hold

What if there’s already an offer before even sending the thank you notes?

It’s still better to send the thank-you note as this can be used to accept or decline the offer. This could also be a confirmation of your agreement and/or understanding of the offer they have given (salary, benefits, other compensation, starting date, vacations, etc.), this way any discrepancies can be straightened out before even starting the job.

Always find a way to make it as personalized as possible and try to think out of the box. You may even adapt some of what you have observed among contents of the interviewer’s office during the interview. Sending an article that you think the interviewer might be interested in is also a good suggestion. Whatever method you use, make it fast and professional.

Thinking Positively Out of the Box

Making the cut

How can one person “think outside the box?” First and foremost, thinking outside the box is an activity which should be done independently; but the question which persists is, how? Consider for example, that you are tasked with cutting a cake into eight slices but you must make no more than three cuts. Most people will probably have trouble coming up with a way to accomplish this. But in order to complete such a task, you really do have to change the way you look at the cake and how to cut it.

One method which can be used to complete this particular cake-cutting task is to cut the cake into two equal sizes, then put one half on top of the other. Cut that first stack in half again and stack the other half pieces on top of one another; then cut them a third time. And there it is, eight slices in three cuts! That’s thinking out of the box.

Another example of thinking out of a box is as follows: Here are four words… subtract, multiply, add, decrease… Now which one does not belong to the group? Most people would quickly say that the word “decrease” does not belong. Why? Because all the other three words are mathematical jargons and the latter is not.

However, that would not be thinking out of the box because if you think out of the box, the correct answer would be the word “add” since it only has three letters while all the other words consist of six and more. In other words, thinking out of the box is not necessarily giving the right answer, but the one that shows more creativity.

A prevailing component

The prevailing component in how our minds work is inserting some changes from past experiences and processes. Another good sample is when you are asked to name two days that start with the letter “T”. Your answer would probably be Tuesday and Thursday. Hey, how about Tomorrow and Today? Well, that is out of the box all right.

Some companies try to test a new product and are sure they are getting a particular design at a reasonable cost. They look at things in the business and think that objectives will work just as planned. But these things sound monotonous already because they only think using past patterns.

Patterns are helpful since they help finish tasks such as driving, eating or drinking, but these are the same patterns that make it hard for people to think out of the box and create alternative solutions to a problem; especially when challenged with unwanted data.

Breaking the pattern

One important step which can be taken to break the pattern is trying to reverse patterns, designs or solutions in order to arouse new interest. Take things as they are and turn them inside out, upside down, or simply turn them around and you’ll be surprised with the results. This was Henry Ford’s personal experience. His conventional plan was just to “bring people to work.” He tried to change all this into: “bring work to the people.” The latter plan generated more revenues.

Another way to create other solutions to simple problems and situations is to not think about the subject. If you want to bring about something more creative, think not of the part of the problem itself, but rather, think of people or subjects in motion and then use the abstract formation or design as a stimulus for a new design.

Odd & absurd ideas

Furthermore, in order to think out of the box, you should never shy away from the fact that some of your ideas could really be crazy enough. This could break rigidity of thinking and present a way to sift the harebrained and irrational. This gives the thinker more freedom to think out of the box and reinvent things in a way they have never been arranged before. What you could do is list several odd or absurd ideas about a certain problem.

Letting go of the question will release any stress you are undergoing by trying to “squeeze” out the creative juices. Once you let it go, all the power of the universe is free to find a solution and the solution will come to you when you least expect it.

In more real life scenarios you could think out of the box just for fun. You can practice fun trouble-making stuff without hurting anyone by saying or doing the unexpected. It is important, however, to make sure that you do this first to persons you already know so as avoid conflicts and unnecessary confrontations. Say for example, a buddy asks for the time; automatically you would look at your wrist watch which is a result of the stimulus-response theory.

The genius of crazy

Thinking out of the box, why not say something crazy like, “Oh it’s time for vengeance,” then head toward the door. Watch their reaction as they go into total confusion and trance as you have totally mixed things up in their heads and interrupted their thinking pattern. (Don’t forget to apologize afterwards)

Thinking out of the box, usually known as creative thinking, seeks to design new and really creative arrangement of elements to produce a work of art. Being an out of the box thinker can be a rewarding profession, and while potentially dangerous, it could be one of your strengths in no time. If the herd is going to the right, you go the other way.

Remember that you could be a genius in your own way as your thoughts come from deep reaches and these totally different ideas are clever enough to make a difference in the end. Thinking creatively and out of the box is wild sometimes, but could move you through the growth and self-development process.

Woman in a neon triangle

You’ll be surprised at how easy and differently it will be for you to fix and try to solve problems in ways other than the tried-and-true methods. Let your thinking out of the old box be your guide to a new, better and wonderful approach to life.