How To Write A Thank-You Letter After An Interview

The interview process can be a stressful one, especially if you are applying to a big company known for its strict candidate requirements. Moreover, it could be stressful particularly for you because it’s your dream job or a company you’ve been dying to work for.

In any case, you need to make sure that you leave a good impression even if you don’t get the job. One way to do this is by sending a thank-you letter after the interview. However, if you’ve never written one, there might be some things you will need to keep in mind.

Why Is A Thank-You Letter Important?

As mentioned above, a thank-you letter is primarily used to help you leave a good impression after the interview. However, its importance goes beyond that. A good thank-you letter can significantly increase your chances of getting selected for the position as long as you send the letter on time and word it to reflect your brightest side.

In addition to that, some HRs and recruiters actually expect to receive a thank-you letter after conducting the interview with a candidate. Consequently, if they don’t receive one from you, they could interpret it as rudeness from your side. As such, it’s better to send a thank-you letter even if you don’t consider it to be something of much importance.

What Should A Thank-You Letter Have?

Compared to many other professional emails you are writing on a daily basis, a thank-you letter is a fairly simple one. Ramone Ferrell, an expert from the writing services reviews site Best Writers Online, puts it this way, “You only need to learn how to write a thank-you letter once. Then, you will only have to reiterate what you’ve written before every time you need to write it again.”

The most common elements in a thank-you letter include:

• Address Line and Subject Line

• Personalized Greeting

• “Thank You” or Note of Appreciation

• Recap of Your Interview

• Note About Taking the Next Step

• Conclusion and Contact Info

How to Make an Outline for A Thank You Letter?

Sometime during the application/recruiting process, you probably had to send out many documents and emails for which you wrote outlines. The same thing can be done for a thank-you email to make it easier to organize it and write it. Here are some tips on how to write a good outline for your thank-you letter (and then write the letter itself):

• Get all the company and recruiter information beforehand. This is especially important if you are going to multiple interviews. Make notes of all the job positions, company names, recruiter names, and their contact information. This way, you won’t mess up the address line and the greeting at the start of the email.

• Use the subject line to say thank you. Specify that you are talking about the interview. Then, in your opening paragraph after the greeting, start with your appreciation and gratitude right away. For example, you can have a subject line that says, “Thank you for your time” and then an opening sentence that says, “Thank you for the opportunity and for taking the time to conduct the interview for [job position] with me today.”

• Recap the interview but focus on your qualifications and strengths. You want them to remember your brightest side to increase your chances of getting the job. Keep it concise and to the point. You can also remind them about a unique trait you used to make yourself stand out during the interview (e.g. humor, industry awards, recommendations from high-profile professionals).

• Show that you truly care about this position. Make a note about your eagerness to take the next step. Don’t forget to leave your contact information at the end so that they can get in touch with you.

Which Mistakes Should You Avoid?

Because thank-you letters are fairly simple, there is not much you could potentially mess up. However, there are still some mistakes you will want to avoid. Tamika Hughes, an expert from the custom writing reviews site, explains it this way, “You don’t want to sound too eager or even clingy. Remember that you want to show gratitude with this letter. Choose your words wisely and make sure it sounds professional.”

What Happens After You Send the Letter?

Thank-you letters are one-way letters (as in, you shouldn’t expect a reply to them). And while you can just sit and wait for the recruiter to contact you about the results of the interview, it’s a good idea to actually be the one to reach out. In other words, you should send a follow-up letter next.

You can send a follow-up letter several times (up to three times, usually) if you don’t get a reply after the first time. Some recruiters are just too busy to reply to rejected candidates, so if you don’t hear from them, you likely didn’t get the job. But even if you didn’t get it, you still left a good impression with your thank-you letter and the follow-up letters you sent.

Final Thoughts

Author Bio: Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at essay review service Writing Judge. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing, and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German, and English.