[Originally published in the June 9, 2004, edition of Job-Hunt's free twice-a-month newsletter - the Online Job Search Guide.]

     Rats! You've received the dreaded "thank-you-for-your-interest-but..." letter, and you really thought you were going to get that job. Maybe you were the number 2 or number 3 candidate. Close, but no cigar.

     What now? Move on to the next opportunity, right? Of course. But first...

     Send a nice thank you note to the hiring manager, the recruiter, and everyone else who was in the interview process.

     A thank you note? For rejecting you? Yes!

     They've already offered the job to someone and gotten an acceptance, but the person may change their mind and never start the job. Or the person may take the job but prove to be unsatisfactory. It happens more often than you think.

     So, what does the employer do when they face this situation? They groan, roll their eyes, and take another look at the applicants who almost got the job. Why? Because they really don't want to start from scratch, post the job, review the resumes, etc. Filling a job takes an employer a lot of time and energy. Staff time for interviews plus the cost of posting the job, etc. is expensive for most employers.

     This is where your thank you note comes in handy. It reminds them of you (nicely) because you included the following elements in your note:

• thanks for letting you know the outcome of the search, even though they didn't choose you
• thanks for the time, courtesy, and consideration shown you during the interview process
• expression of disappointment in not getting the job
• expression of appreciation for the opportunity to learn about the organization and meet the people working there
• reiteration of your continued interest in working in their organization
• a request that they get in touch with you if the situation (hiring someone else) changes or another job is opened.

     Thank you notes are so rare that they are very effective. And, a thank you note after a rejection will really stand out. The probability that it will pay off may be less than 10%, but that probability may show a higher return on the investment of your time than any other job search action you take that day.

© Copyright, 1998 - 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

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About the author...

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ .

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