Why a Handwritten Letter is Better

After an interview, career counselors advise job candidates to send a note of thanks. They usually recommend an email.
The same is true of networking. Job hunters are advised to send emails to those with whom they want to connect.
But instead of an email, some career counselors advise a little different approach – sending a handwritten letter instead. Some may find this more than a little outdated, and possibly not even an efficient use of time. Why bother with all that when you can fire off an email with the touch of button?
But a handwritten letter has distinct advantages over email, advantages that just may help you stick out from the crowd.
For example, odds are that you will be the only one using this form of communication. That alone will attract attention. While there will be many emails languishing in the hiring manager’s electronic inbox, you will have the only letter sitting on his desk. It is a concrete reminder, something tangible, rather than simply electronic impulses in a computer.
Because of its format, it also allows the writer to create something more elegant, more pleasing to the eye than a bland, standard email.
Moreover, a handwritten letter shows a thoughtfulness and attention to detail that an email lacks. The strength of an electronic format is in its quickness, brevity, to the pointness. If you need a question answered, fire off an email. Often emails are not even written in complete sentences, but phrases designed to allow for quick action. But none of these strengths really apply to a letter of thanks from an interview.
Writing a letter really forces you to think a little more about what you are going to say. You will have to write at least one rough draft, because if you make a mistake – a spelling error, for example, or an awkward turn of phrase – you cannot just press the delete key, you will have to rewrite the entire letter. So, by its very nature, a handwritten letter requires more care and deliberation.
For all of these reasons – the look, the feel, the content, the uniqueness – a handwritten letter can really make an impact in ways that an email simply cannot.
If you are looking for temporary, temporary-to-hire or direct-hire work in the Anchorage area, send a message to the Opti Staffing Group, one of the best in the area. We would love to discuss how we can help you find what you are looking for.

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