As a manager, would you think it strange to receive a resume in an envelope that was hand addressed?
To save energy (electricity), I've been hand addressing envelopes lately instead of running them through my laser printer. If I was a job seeker and sent you my resume via US Post in a hand-addressed envelope, would you think:
1. I was technically unsavvy (not a good thing).
2. I was giving my application special care (a good thing).
3. Being gimmicky to get your attention (not a good thing).
4. It didn't matter because you wouldn't be the one opening the envelope.
5. It didn't matter even though you did open the envelope.
I asked this question of the HR community on LinkedIn. To date there are 41 answers, ranging from "It would really impress me" to "I wouldn't even open it." Many said, "It depended on how good the handwriting was." I would definitely fail that test!
Monday, September 15, 2008
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2 comments:
Hi Susan, this is a great question in our tech savvy world. I was the head of staffing for a new facility where we hired 600 people in less than a year. My recruiters and managers went through thousands of resumes and interviews to get to 600 employees. I could count on 1 hand the number of hand-written thank you notes we received from candidates in the process - those that we hired turned out to be fabulous employees! Just a little extra effort goes a long way and they tend to bring that to the job. I struggle now just having managers cancel interviews if the candidate is late. Oh well, it keeps folks like us busy!
Thanks, Katy
Thanks, Katy. So I guess anything handwritten, whether it's a note or envelope, might make a positive impression. I'd better brush up on my penmanship!
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