Don't Skip The Follow Up After An Interview
How to write a thank you letter to use after an interview, a
phone interview, or even to someone who passed your name on to a
hiring manager is an art that is not taught as often as it
should be by placement services and others who help job seekers
with finding jobs. They always cover the basics of resume
writing, interview preparation, cover letter writing, how to
create a reference sheet, and even how to prepare a salary
history, which isn't even required that often, but how to write
a thank you letter is a subject that should be covered. It is a
necessary skill that puts the capstone on the interview or other
contact you had, makes you appear to be thoughtful and
intelligent, and puts you above the crowd.
Some hiring managers are so swamped with resumes and cover
letters when they post a listing on an online job bank or run a
newspaper classified ad that they look for reasons to discard
resumes. Having five hundred resumes in your email in box can be
quite intimidating. Some hiring managers have been known to send
out an automated response to all applicants letting them know
that the resume was received. They will then sit back and wait
for further communication. If an applicant knows how to write a
thank you letter they have a jump on the competition immediately.
How to do it? As in all formal correspondence it should be block
formatted with proper spelling, addresses and salutations. Keep
it short--two or three paragraphs. In the first paragraph
express your primary purpose by thanking the person you are
writing to for their time and consideration. Business people are
busy and time is a valuable commodity. In the second paragraph
restate one or two key job skills you can bring to the position.
Remind the reader as to why you are a good candidate for the
job. In the third paragraph, thank the reader again, and
reiterate that you are available by phone, email or in person
should they have further questions. End with the traditional
business ending "sincerely yours".
An example of how knowing how to write it occurred with one job
seeker a few years ago at a business brokerage in the Midwest.
This job seeker was already working as a part-time telemarketer.
She was competing for a full-time office manager position
against two other. One of the men had a bachelors degree and the
other was about to receive her bachelors. Both had several more
years experience in office administration Obviously the other
candidates were more qualified than the first applicant, but she
knew how to write a thank you letter, and proved it. After her
interview with the company owner, the managing broker and the
old office manager (who was retiring and helping choose her own
replacement) the fist candidate composed a thank you letter. She
then printed out individualized copies for each person she
interviewed with mailed them that evening. When the interviewers
received them the next day they were impressed with her
thoughtfulness and adherence to protocol. Despite the fact that
the other two applicants were more qualified, she was hired. The
fact that she knew how to write one probably got her the job she
was seeking.
Many hiring managers will interview multiple candidates and only
hire from those who send thank you letters. Some studies have
shown that only one in ten applicants see the importance of
thank you letters, so it should be obvious that if you know how
to write a thank you letter you have a very important job skill.