Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring: Take Charge of Your Career, Find a Job You Love, and Earn What You Deserve

Chapter 62. Seal the Deal with Testimonials

After a great interview, you want to cement the positive impact you just made. And, no, a thank-you letteris not sufficient to make you stand out from the crowd anymore. You still need to send it, but what else can you send to prompt the next step, whether that might be a follow-up interview or an actual job offer?

Note

Testimonial statements are very powerful, because they reinforce the positive impression you made in person.

Testimonial statements are very powerful, because they reinforce the positive impression you made in person. Testimonials also have a useful psychological effect: they reassure the interviewer(s) that liking you is not a mistake or a risk, and that you have a solid track record of accomplishment that is recognized and endorsed by a long line of other executives and decision makers. Testimonials also employ a powerful selling technique, called third-party validation. (Interviewers will always put more weighton what others say about you than what you say about you).

Testimonials are very easy to compile. Simply take the letters of recommendation you already have, and choose the best, most positive excerpts from each one and combine them into a single page of rave reviews. With testimonials, it's the words that count — not the dates the testimonials were given, not the context of the statements, and not the particular company or industry they came from. Testimonial comments are truly evergreen. The main point is that the ...