It’s common career advice to send a thank you note after a job interview.
After her final interview for a senior program manager position at design software company Figma in 2021, Jean Kang did all that and more. In his thank you email, Kang said he also included a PDF of what he called a 90-day onboarding plan, which laid out what he would accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days if he got the role.
“No one was expecting me or asking me to put it together,” says the 33-year-old San Francisco resident. It was a positive way to demonstrate that “this is what you get” by hiring her.
Kang used what he learned from previous interviews to create a roadmap. As such, she said, the documents also show that Kang can do the job with “minimal guidance.” “They don’t have to hold me down.”
Kang believes these questions helped her build her profile, which helped her land a $165,000 job offer.
Why am I hiring them for this role? What are they looking for? What will my impact be in this role? How can I show them I’m the best fit? What can I prove right now in this role?
From there, she said, they reverse engineered goals such as “build key relationships” in the first 30 days, “understand key business priorities” in 60 days, and “align the project plan” in 90 days. She also outlined more specific steps to take to achieve these goals. These include tasks such as meeting with colleagues in product support, sales, employee management, and leadership. Understand business goals and priorities for the fiscal year. And learn about the enterprise support model.
Best of all, Kang used Figma’s design tools to add stickers and other customized touches to her documents to show that she had put in “all the effort” and give the hiring team a sense of her personality. It worked.
While she’s not 100% sure that the onboarding plan was what sealed the deal, she says she has a “gut feeling” that the plan influenced the hiring decision. Kang said that a few days after sending the email, she received a call saying that the team had given her “great reviews” and wanted to offer her the role.
Career experts say it’s always a good idea to send a thank you note after an interview.
ZipRecruiter CEO Ian Siegel told CNBC Make It in March 2023 that this could be “something that gives you an edge” over other candidates. Siegel suggests going one step further than Kang’s bare-bones thank-you note by pitching a project idea or explaining how you are equipped to fill a skills gap at the company.
Similarly, former Google executive Jenny Wood says it’s worth including three to four sentences in your thank you letter detailing how you will move the company forward and address the problem you need to solve. This “shows you’re going above and beyond” and “shows you care deeply about the business, the content, and the goals,” Wood told Make It in March 2025.
As for Kang, she also started offering content creation, career coaching, and services to help people land high-paying program management jobs like hers. She left Figma in 2024 to pursue this side hustle full-time.
Her advice to job seekers, especially in a crowded job market, is to put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. Consider how you can make the decision easier for them and how you can stand out as a candidate.
Creating an onboarding plan took some time and research, but “that extra effort shows you want this,” Kang says. It can also give the hiring team confidence that “you know exactly what you need to do” to get the job and be successful, she added.
Do you want to get ahead at work? Next, you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC’s new online course, “How to Talk to People at Work,” expert instructors share practical strategies for using everyday conversations to increase visibility, build meaningful relationships, and accelerate career growth. Sign up now!
