Send a thank you note after the interview
If you’ve done any reading at all about the interview process – either online or in a book – you’ll always see the suggestion to send a thank you note the the people that interviewed you. This article is no different. No matter what the position, always be sure to send a thank you note to the interviewer.
Some sources will tell you to send a handwritten thank you note, or at the very least to send it via snail mail. I’d say that an email note is sufficient, because it serves the purpose. As someone who has interviewed many people in my career you would be surprised how few actually send out the thank you note. When you take the extra few minutes to send a thank you note you are going to stand out from the other people who have interviewed for that position.
Why is it important to send a thank you note?
- It keeps your name in front of the hiring manager.
- It shows your interest in the job.
- It gives you the opportunity to emphasize you have the necessary skills to do the job.
A thank you note can be as brief or as detailed as you want to make it. Here is a basic framework that you can use to build your own post interview thank you note.
I enjoyed meeting with you Thursday and learning more about the position and your company. I believe my skills and experience would be a nice fit for your organization. I look forward to taking the next step in your hiring process. If you would like to discuss my qualifications or have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
This is a basic outline – you can add any information you think could be helpful. For example, if the position is for a computer programmer you might state something like “my experience in unit testing would be a nice addition to your team”. Or if the manager is looking for experience with a certain software program you could emphasize this as well.
You can make the note as detailed or as brief as you like – just be sure to send one.
If you need to see more examples of follow up thank you letters, go to your favorite search engine and type in “interview thank you letters”. You’ll find many samples to use.
October 6th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Thanks for the input. I had read info that said not to send a thank you note via e-mail, but I’m glad to see that it is okay to send a thank you note via e-mail which is exactly what I just did.
October 6th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
Some people don’t agree with this - I’m only speaking from my experience. You’d be surprised how many people don’t send a thank you note at all. In my opinion as long as you send a note you’re good. Consider this: e-mail is immediate while snail mail is slow. If you’re interviewing at a large company you’re note (if mailed) is going to go through a mail room before reaching the right person. An e-mail message goes directly to the person (or people) you spoke with and keeps your name fresh in their minds.