How to Write an Awesome Post-Interview Thank-You Note
Right up there with quilting and baking homemade bread, writing post-interview thank-you notes is a lost, but still much-appreciated art.
Even if you think you’ve nailed the interview and will receive an offer immediately, a good thank-you note can cement your understanding of the work and the company, reiterate your strengths – and make you look pretty darn good in the eyes of the hiring manager. A survey from The Ladders found that 75% of hiring managers say a thank-you note impacts their decision-making process.
After an in-person interview, make yourself stand out from other candidates by sending the best post-interview thank-you note the hiring manager has ever seen, following the tips below.
Consider the medium
Is the company culture more traditional or modern? A formal hand-written thank-you note on heavy, card stock-quality stationery works well for a more traditional company or hiring manager, while a well written email is best for technology jobs. Forbes interviewed several hiring managers who had mixed feelings about sending either one, so you may consider sending both an email to get there fast, and a hand-written thank-you note to show you made the extra effort.
Make it personal
Take notes during the interview so you can remember what you talked about with each interviewer, advised the Business News Daily. Then write each person you interviewed with a personalized thank-you note, in which you mention specific, personal and professional conversation points you had with that person, to cement a connection.
Sound enthusiastic
If you’re excited about the job, show it in your thank-you note. Just sending a thank-you note at all is the first step in expressing your interest in the job, but you should also show them you researched the company, listened to what the interviewers said and noted specific parts of the company culture that would make you a great, well-liked addition to the team.
Reiterate your skills
If the interviewer mentioned a specific challenge during the interview, emphasize how your skill set could help the situation and benefit the company or how your experience has met a similar challenge in the past. Use your thank-you note to remind hiring managers of your successes, and why they brought you in for an interview. If possible, let them know one great thing about you that you didn’t mention in the interview.
Squelch any concerns
During phone and in-person interviews, recruiters and hiring managers may have brought up concerns they may have with hiring you. Maybe you’ll have a long commute or you don’t have a specific certification. Let your thank-you note address any objections they may have had, including how you’ve planned to avoid traffic or receive that certification in question, to let them know you’re a problem-solver.
Send it ASAP
During your interview, you should have collected everyone’s business card who you interviewed with, so you can send your thank-you notes within 24 hours of the interview. Again, send a personalized thank-you note to each interviewer’s email address, not a collective thank-you note to all of them at once.