- Early
- Posts
- The Final Touch
JOB SEARCH STRATEGY
THE INTERVIEW ENDS, YOUR JOB IS DONE… RIGHT?
You landed the interview.
You prepared your ass off.
You knew the background of your interview panel.
You hit each aspect of your stories using the STAR method.
You asked relevant questions that demonstrated your interest and ability.
You just said goodbye to the final interviewer on the final Zoom call.
Now you close your computer and wait.
You’ve done everything you can do to stand out.
…Or have you?
After the interview, most people sit and wait to hear back about the decision.
But there’s something you can do that will make you stand out from 99% of the candidates out there.
In fact, it’s the reason one member of the Early Accelerator was able to land a job in just 23 days.
Read on to find out what it is and how to implement it today!
Angry Bbc Two GIF By BBC
THE DEATH OF THE THANK YOU LETTER
PUT AWAY YOUR QUILL AND INK.
Long ago, there were these things called handwritten thank-you notes.
One would use paper and a pen and move their hand to write words.
They would put the paper in an envelope, look up the address in an address book, pay for a stamp, and mail that letter.
That letter would take two to three days to arrive.
Historically, these handwritten thank-you notes were a great way to stand out in an interview process.
The fact that you went through the trouble to write and mail a letter showed a certain level of dedication that most candidates didn’t have.
But back then, things moved slower.
In today’s electronic world, two to three days is an eternity.
Handwritten thank you’s could still make you stand out.
But there’s a way to deliver the same level of personalization faster and with the same impact.
The thank you video.
BEST PRACTICE
THE THANK YOU VIDEO.
Thank you videos are the new handwritten thank you notes.
The best practice is to send each interviewer an individual thank you email after the interview.
But to stand out, attach a video thanking the person for their time and sharing your interest and excitement about working with them and helping the company in the role you’re interviewing for.
These videos provide a level of personalization that expresses your gratitude for the opportunity to interview, enthusiasm for the role, and willingness to stand out.
In the startup world, it’s all about initiative, enthusiasm, and an “I’ll get it done no matter what” attitude.
That’s why these videos are so effective.
They demonstrate all of those traits.
I have seen these videos be the reason people have landed jobs.
Every week, I hear members of the Early Community share feedback from interviewers about how their thank-you videos made them stand out from the candidate pool.
It’s very easy to record a 30-second video saying thank you.
But here’s the thing…
Even though I just told you the power of these videos…
Even though I shared how much they make you stand out…
Even though you know, they have landed people jobs…
If you’re like most job seekers, you still won’t record and send one.
Why?
You don’t like the way you look and sound on video.
It’s not perfect.
It’s out of your comfort zone.
But I urge you to lean into your discomfort and send the video.
It can pay off for you like it paid off for Amy.
CASE STUDY
THE DECIDING FACTOR.
Amy joined the Early Accelerator in December 2023 and landed a new job in just 23 days - she had the thank you video to thank.
Amy had been laid off from the customer success role she loved at an InsurTech startup.
Even though her prior company had laid her off, she still loved InsurTech and customer success and wanted to join a company using AI to improve the insurance world.
Immediately after joining the program, she started implementing the startup job search playbook.
She leveraged her existing network and got a referral to the COO of an AI InsurTech company.
When her interviews ended, we recommended sending a thank you video.
She was skeptical and slightly scared but sent them anyway.
A few days after her final interview, she got a call.
It was the company’s Head of People offering her the job.
On the call, the Head of People told Amy the story of the interview debrief…
“We interviewed three people for this role. All three were amazing and if we had three open positions we would have hired all three of you. When it came time to debrief the interviews and make a decision, the COO simply took out his computer, turned it toward the center of the table, hit play on your thank-you video, and let it play for everyone in the room. After it had finished, he pointed to his computer and said, ‘Now that’s something!’ The decision was clear after that.”
It might sound silly or simple, but the little things you do to stand out during the interview process can land you the job you want.
All things being equal, it comes down to who wants it more.
Sending a sincere video to the team after your interviews demonstrates that you want it.
INTRO VIDEOS: Thank you videos are great after the interview but I have also had success with introduction videos. To get a meeting with high profile people I have never met I have recorded quick videos introducing myself, sharing how cool I think the other person is, something relevant about their story and how it has affected my life, and what I hope to learn from them in a conversation. Then, I send it in my initial cold outreach. Try it out - it has worked wonders for me!
THE PROCESS
SENDING A THANK YOU VIDEO.
Here’s the process to follow to send your badass thank you video…
Collect all the emails of the interview panelists from the recruiter.
Draft an email thanking each interviewer personally. Make sure to include:
A sentence thanking them for their time.
A reference to a specific topic or moment you found interesting, exciting, or funny in the interview.
Any value you can provide to them based on the problems or opportunities they highlighted.
A sentence expressing your excitement to bring your previous experience to work with them and achieve the company’s mission.
A quick mention of the video you have attached to the email.
A sign-off thanking them for their time again.
Go to Loom and create a free account.
Click New Video
Select Camera Only
Hit the record button and record your brief thank you for each interviewer. The video should be less than one minute. In the recording, be sure to:
Smile!
Bring the energy and enthusiasm. If you’re dull, boring, and uninspired, that’s the vibe they will take into the debrief.
Thank them for their time.
Share why you’re so excited about the position.
Share how this role aligns with the work you’ve done for other companies and how much impact you believe you’ll be able to have.
Sign off with appreciation that they took the time to watch the video and your excitement about the potential of working together.
Once you have recorded the video, click Share
Click Embed at the top of the share popup and in the bottom right hand corner click Copy Link
Paste that link into your email window and voila! You’ll see the gif of you and a link for them to click to watch the video.
Here’s an example of a Thank-You email with the video inside.
BENEFITS OF USING LOOM: One additional benefit of using Loom is you’ll get notified if anyone watches your video. You’ll be able to see if the videos are actually getting clicked on and watched or if they’re being ignored.
Video thank you’s are the new handwritten thank you letters.
Your goal in any interview is to exit the process by saying…
“There’s nothing more I could have done to land that job.”
The video thank you is the final way for you to leave a lasting impression on the hiring team.
You’ll show initiative, hunger, hustle, passion, enthusiasm, and interest not demonstrated by other candidates.
And it may be the deciding factor in whether or not they select you for the role.
Let’s become career champions together 🏆
Kyle
Reply