After a promising job interview, follow-up is essential. As shocking as it sounds, a majority of job applicants fail to send thank you letter after their job interview. A simple thank-you note following an interview with a potential employer can be a very powerful thing. It certainly will reflect you in a positive light and possibly increase your chances to be chosen for the job. In all of our busy lives, where most often we encounter impoliteness, many of use do not take that extra moment to acknowledge and thank someone for their time and efforts. So when you take a minute to send a thank you letter, you let your interviewer know that you appreciated his or her time. If you think about it, the interviewer did have to give up some of the work day to interview you, and put forth at least some effort to learn about your background, experience, and anything else you might offer as an employee to the company.
What you say and how you say it are paramount to the impact of your note. A standard thank you letter should accomplish several things. Thank the person for the opportunity to interview with the company. Use your letter to reiterate your interest in a position with the organization and add pertinent details about your accomplishments you may not have discussed at the interview. In essence, your follow up letter is another opportunity to sell yourself.
Personalization is key in your thank you letter. Not only does it help the interviewer remember who you are, it makes the tone conversational and personable vs. robotic. If, during the interview, you addressed the interviewer as Mr. Smith, your salutation should be ‘Dear Mr. Smith’. If during the interview, the interviewer said, call me Andrew, you may comfortably use ‘Dear Andrew’ as your salutation.
Interviewers have short memories. A thank you letter is your final chance to make yourself stand apart from all of the others who want the same position. Don't assume the interviewer remembers everything you said or has an accurate picture of who you are. When all candidates are interviewed and compared, some of the highlights you hoped would be considered may be lost or forgotten. When reading your post-interview thank you note, the interviewer you met with will also be able to assess how you handle communication in writing. Obviously in business, you will need such skills on a daily basis when interacting the company's customers and other contacts, so it is important to see how you perform when it comes to written communication skills. This little note will remind the potential employer who you are and allows you to add anything you feel that you may have left out during the interview.
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Writing a thank you note after an interview is both quick and easy. It should be sent on the same day your interview was held so that your name, qualifications, and interview are still vivid in your interviewer’s head. It can make a big difference, it may even mean you get the job over someone else that did not take that extra step.
The method of delivery should be given some thought as well. Some of the most popular job searching internet sites such as CareerBuilders.com and Monster.com offer select sites for advice on the interview follow-up process. Consensus is that email and fax are the most effective way to make sure the intended recipient gets your note. Snail mail, unfortunately, often gets lost in the shuffle. TheLadder.com is an excellent site that seems to address proper etiquette for white-collar employment. They suggest using stationery that matches that used for your original resume.
There is no reason why writing a thank you letter after a job interview should be any different than any other of your job search activities. You have to remember that the company is already interested in you, otherwise they wouldn’t be interviewing you, so a post-interview thank you note is a valuable tool to help you convey any information you want to your potential employer. The entire job search process is marketing and merchandising your product -- you.
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