In the United States, job seekers usually send a thank-you letter after the final interview to express gratitude to the interviewer. However, 33-year-old Jean Kang from San Francisco went a step further. She included a “90-day onboarding plan” in her thank-you letter, detailing the work goals she expected to achieve at 30, 60, and 90 days if she were to be hired for the job.
This document not only showcased her understanding of the position but also demonstrated to the employer that she possessed the capability to handle the job with minimal guidance, showing that she did not require hand-holding. As a result, she successfully landed the position of Senior Program Manager at the software company Figma, with a first-year salary of $165,000.
Kang mentioned that the interviewers did not request her to prepare such a document. Instead, based on the information she gathered from the previous rounds of interviews, she compiled the onboarding plan. She stated that she did this to showcase her abilities to the employer and let them know that once they hired her, they would be getting “this type of employee.”
Although Figma did not explicitly tell Kang whether her onboarding plan was a key factor in her being hired, she “intuitively felt” that it did influence the decision. After sending out the document, she received a call from the company’s recruiting team a few days later, giving her “very high praise” and deciding to hire her.
Creating an onboarding plan, according to Kang, may require extra time and effort, but it allows the employer to feel that you genuinely want the job and convinces the hiring team that you understand what needs to be done after being hired and how to excel in the position.
After the interview concluded, Kang further contemplated what she could do after onboarding and how to demonstrate her capabilities based on five questions:
(1) Why is the company hiring for this position?
(2) What kind of talent is the company seeking?
(3) What impact can I bring to the role?
(4) How can I prove that I am the best fit for the job?
(5) If I get the job, what responsibilities do I need to take on, and what skills can I demonstrate immediately?
Kang planned her post-onboarding work goals based on these questions, such as establishing key connections within 30 days, mastering the company’s business priorities within 60 days, and confirming project plans within 90 days. She also outlined specific actions, including engaging with product support, sales, HR, and management to understand the company’s business goals and focus for the fiscal year, as well as becoming familiar with how the company provides support to clients.
Additionally, she used Figma’s design tools to add stickers and other small touches in the plan to showcase her personal style, allowing the recruiting team to understand her unique qualities.
Ian Siegel, CEO of the ZipRecruiter platform, told CNBC’s “Make It” program that job seekers, like Kang, can propose projects in addition to sending a thank-you note to illustrate their skills, which could become the “key to outshining other candidates.”
Former Google executive Jenny Wood also suggested that job seekers include three to four sentences in their thank-you letters, explaining how they can help the company grow or solve problems if hired. She mentioned that this can demonstrate the applicant’s proactivity and show the recruiting team that they are “dedicated to the company’s business and development goals.”
Kang eventually left Figma in 2024 and transitioned into career consulting, assisting job seekers in obtaining high-paying project management positions like hers. She advised job seekers to consider things from the perspective of the hiring manager: how to make it easier for them to make a hiring decision and how to emphasize their strengths to stand out among the numerous applicants.
This article referenced reports from CNBC.