Recently, one of my clients sent me an excited email because one of my nanny candidates sent them a thank you card after her interview. They were extremely impressed by the gesture! They told me that out of at least 10+ candidates that they had interviewed by themselves off Care.com, she was the only one who thanked the family afterwards. She was offered the position immediately!
Writing a thank you card used to be a very common occurrence. For some reason, in this fast paced day and age, no one takes the time to do so anymore. I have always encouraged my nannies to be polite, professional and courteous. It had never occurred to me that my nannies weren't doing this on the regular. Back in the day when I was searching for a nanny position, I always sent a thank you card. I think my potential employers appreciated it.
Moral of the story: If you are a job seeker of any kind, PLEASE go out and buy a 12 pack of thank you cards and use them! It takes no more than 5 minutes to write:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Walsh,
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me Tuesday evening. I enjoyed meeting the both of you, and especially enjoyed getting to know your son Jake. He is adorable, and I very much hope you consider me as a candidate. Thank you again, and please do not hesitate to call me if you have any more questions.
Sincerely,
Nanny Sarah
If you don't have thank you cards or a stamp handy, at least send a potential employer an email after your interview. It's the least you can do, and who knows? It might land you the job!
~Lena (Owner of Perfect Nanny Match)