How To Write Thank-You Note After Interview

Job hunters know they should always send thank-you notes after the interview meetings, but many candidates struggle with the nuances of writing and sending them. Many of applicant wonder what to say, how to send them, and at end of the thinking they did nothing. No Good.

In general, there are 3 ways to send thank-you notes: e-mail note, handwritten note, regular letter. Now let’s see how well each of them works.

E-mail note

Email is fast. Your message is delivered to interviewers’ box immediately. Some people said email notes seem too casual, but in today’s business world E-mail is widely used and it is businesslike. A well-written and courteous note sent via e-mail is very effective and will arrive faster. The real problem might be your notes may be viewed as spam and never get delivered.

Handwritten note

Many HR people do prefer handwritten notes on cards because through the cards they can see your personality and individualism. Thank-you via post office is not as fast as email, but you can speed it up, — here’s how:

When you go to interview, carry a few plain note cards and accompanying stamped envelopes with you. Right after the interview, stop and write a few lines on each card for each interviewer, mentioning something discussed in the meeting and saying that you’re ready for the next step. Drop the cards in a mailbox on the way home.

Regular letter

Regular thank-you letter looks formal and professional. I found it always work well especially for higher positions. Should you send one? sure! I would suggest you do a triple thank-you therapy: drop the handwritten notes when you walk out of the meeting; send email thank-you message as soon as you get access to Internet, craft a professional thank-you letter and mail it out on the same day of interview.

What to write

For e-mail or handwritten notes, you just need to cover the bases, simply say something like, “Thanks for the interview… I enjoyed the meeting… I can’t wait for the next step…”

Formal thank-you letters should be written more carefully. In addition to saying thank-you, you also review your strengths and experience. You may express you want the job and you are ready to contribute. Pay attentioan to grammer, spelling, font, layout, and quality of paper and envelope.

Does Thank-you note matter?

It depends on what’s in interviewer’s mind. Some value thank-you notes more, some less. In most cases, candidates are mainly judged on skills and experience. But in today’s competitive job market, a hiring manager often has to choose between two or more equally qualified candidates, then having sent a thank-you note could tip the balance. Plus, sending a thank-you notes does show you have good interpersonal skills.

As you see, a thank-you note you sent returns a competitive edge to you. You really shouldn’t lose this edge. After all, it doe not cost you much.

Beyond thank-you note

A thank-you note is just part of follow-up efforts. To increase you chance to get hired, you may have to do more. Some candidates phone interviewers to say thank you following an interview. That works great tool. We’ll post another article to cover details of interview follow-up.