Tuesday, April 23, 2024

How To Write A Thank You Letter For An Interview

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How to Write a Thank You Letter After a Job Interview

When you are invited back for a second interview, you are likely one of the top contenders for the job. Usually, only a select few candidates are called in for the second round of meetings, and the interview will reflect that higher level of expectations.

Make sure to prepare and dress appropriately, as this is your chance to clinch the job.

During your second interview, youll be discussing things more in-depth than in the first interview. You might meet other members of the team, or talk in more technical terms about what the position entails.

Prompt To Take The Next Step

To close the thank-you note, encourage the hiring manager to take the next step in the hiring process. Reference what you learned during the interview to complete this section since you may need to provide references or complete a second interview to get the job. For example, you can write, Please don’t hesitate to contact me to arrange a follow-up interview.

Best Thank You Email Samples After An Interview

Below, youll find four good sample thank-you emails. These can also be sent as a typed or handwritten note if you prefer.

Later in the article, Ill cover the pros and cons of sending this via email versus a handwritten thank you letter/note. So if youre not sure which to send, make sure to read until the end.

For now, just know that you can use these sample thank you emails in both cases.

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Three Templates For A Perfect Interview Thank You Email

If you want to create a strong professional brand and leave a lasting impression with employers, you need to master the post- interview thank you email.

As soon as you leave a job interview, its best to follow up with a sincere, professional, and engaged thank you email. Make sure they know you appreciate their time and attention in meeting with you!

Before we dig into the mechanics of a great interview thank you email, though, know this: sending an email is not a replacement for sending a handwritten thank you note to your interviewer. I always advise folks to do both after an in-person interview. But it will take a day or two for your beautiful thank you card to arrive on your interviewers doorstep. Email has the advantage of delivering an instant dose of gratitude to the people who have the power to give you the job of your dreams.

When writing your post-interview thank you email, keep these three things in mind:

  • Keep it short: You dont need to compose a long letter. Busy professionals already have too much email to read. So keep it short and sweet.
  • Keep it professional: Focus on the topics you previously discussed with the interviewer. This isnt a time to go into personal details.
  • To help you out, I built three email templates for you to follow. Use these templates as a guide to build your own personal rockstar thank you email to send after job interviews!

    What To Include In A Thank

    How to Write a Thank You Letter After an Interview

    Here are the basic points you should include in just about any thank-you note you send after an interview, and a few optional ideas:

    • Express thanks for the interviewers time.
    • Briefly reinforce why youre interested in the job and why youd be a good match.
    • Consider adding something that you and the interviewer discussed while getting to know each other that makes the thank-you email more personal.
    • Offer to answer any questions they might have.
    • Add relevant examples of your work, or suggest a solution to a company problem that came up during your conversation.
    • Close your email by reiterating your appreciation for the interview and asking about next steps.

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    Thank The Interviewer For Their Time

    Start the email with the interviewers first name as seen in the samples below. Express your gratitude and be authentic in your writing. If you talked to multiple managers send them each an email if you have their contact info.

    A key tip is to ask for a business card when you talk to each employee. If they dont have one ask for their company email.

    Remember If you are talking to 3 or 4 people in an interview it is crucial to make a good impression with each one. A thank-you note goes a long way towards this step.

    Interview Thank You Letter Templates

    A strong thank you note ensures you will leave a good impression in the mind of the person who interviewed you. Luckily, weve made it easy for you to make a lasting impression with these free downloadable MS Word thank you notes. All you have to do is select the letter that matches the tone and style of your interview, customize it with your personal information, send it via email or post to the hiring manager, and wait for your job offer to arrive!

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    When To Send A Formal Interview Thank You Note

    Email arrives immediately, assuming you have the correct email address and your message does not get caught in a spam filter. So, unless the employer really seems to dislike technology , often the best strategy is start with email and follow-up with a formal paper thank you note.

    If appropriate, send the email thank you as soon as you get home. Then, follow up with the formal thank you as soon as possible after that.

    When you send a formal thank you letter through the mail service, assume that it may take several days to reach the recipient, particularly in large organizations where mail is first sorted in a mail room and then distributed throughout a large facility. So, dont wait!

    Write this thank you note after then interview. Then, drop this thank you note into the mail as soon after the interview as possible, preferably by the next day.

    If you forgot to send this note until a week after the interview, send it anyway. Hopefully, you sent an email thank you immediately, which should be sufficient for most employers.

    What Subject Line Should You Use For Your Thank You Note

    How to write a thank you note for an interview

    Sometimes coming up with a subject line can be the hardest part of writing an email! In this case, you don’t need to go crazy something short and to the point will do just fine. My recommendations are:

    • Thank you for your time today
    • Following up from our interview today
    • It was great speaking with you
    • Thank you!

    Any of those will do the trick!

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    How To Follow Up After The Interview

    After the second interview, it’s a good idea to send a second thank-you note or email message. In fact, it’s especially important after a second interview to take the time to write a personal message to the people who interviewed youeven if you interviewed with them already and thanked them for the first interview. Many employers expect you to reply promptly.

    Your second interview thank-you letter gives you another opportunity to reiterate your interest in the position, reference your most relevant qualifications, and thank the interviewer for taking the time to speak with you. You can add some depth to your second thank-you by referencing new information or contacts you gained during the follow-up interview.

    Sample Thank You Email Template #1

    Sarah,

    I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me today about the job opportunity. I enjoyed learning about the role and where you see the company headed in the new few years.

    I feel confident my experience with and will translate into similar success as your new

    I can see by the types of projects you are working on that is an exciting place to work. I am highly interested in joining your team and contributing to its future successes.

    If you have any more questions or need additional information from me please dont hesitate to reach out. I look forward to hearing back from you about the next steps.

    Again thank you for your time.

    Sincerely,

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    Sample Thank You Email Template #2

    Hi Kevin,

    Thank you for meeting with me at your office this afternoon.

    I enjoyed hearing about the companys long-term goals related to the development of your latest software features. It was also interesting to hear how the software engineering department will go about adding them to their roadmap.

    seems like an interesting place to work with the many exciting projects youre working on.

    I feel my experience programming with Python would be a great addition to your team. Several of the projects I have worked on using Python should help close the skills gaps you mentioned.

    I would relish the opportunity to work with you and your team. Im excited to see what the future holds for the software development team.

    If you have any further questions or need anything else to move the process forward please let me know.

    Regards,

    Things To Avoid When Following Up

    How To Write Thank You Letter Template After Interview ...

    At the same time, there are also a few things you should avoid:

    • Don’t Hound Your Interviewers: Initiatives such as a thank-you email and a follow-up a week or so later are more than enough. Beyond that, you won’t be promoting yourself you’ll be stressing them out. Remember that your goal is not only to show the hiring managers that youre qualified but also to convince them that they want to work with you.
    • Don’t Send Anything That Makes You Look Bad: This includes personal social media profiles that contain unprofessional pictures or behavior. Err on the side of caution when determining this. You might see nothing wrong with a photo of you enjoying a margarita on a tropical vacation, but the hiring manager might feel differently. Likewise, don’t send memes or be too casual in the tone of your email by using internet acronyms, etc.
    • Don’t Overwrite: Keep your message short and focused. The interviewer will not want to read a very long thank-you email. Focus on saying thank you and briefly reiterating your interest in the position.
    • Don’t Send Misspelled or Grammatically Incorrect Emails: Even professional editors make mistakes when they try to work on their own. Get another set of eyeballs to look over your work before you hit “send.”

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    Reiterate Your Interest In The Position

    A second thank-you note is also a chance for you to enthusiastically reiterate your interest in the position and in the company. Be sure to mention something unique and specific that you and your interviewer discussed the organization, their company culture, or their mission, as they likely have interviewed several people. This will help jog their memory about your interview and allow you to stand out from your competition.

    You should use your thank-you note to persuasively reinforce the ways your skills and experience are a good match for the position for which you interviewed. Your thank-you note should also reflect the differences in tone between the interviews.

    This is a final chance to make the case for choosing you for the role.

    Thank You Letter After Phone Interview

    A phone interview is often the first stage in the interview process. Unfortunately, without face-to-face communication, it can be difficult to leave your interviewer with a strong first impression. Therefore, we suggest sending a personalized thank you letter to help the hiring manager remember select details from your phone interview. The added personal touch will increase your chances of receiving an invitation for an in-person interview.

    Its important to send a follow-up after your phone interview because:

    • Itll prompt the hiring manager to invite you for an in-person interview.
    • It allows you to remind the hiring manager of your specific answers from your phone interview and associate them with your name and application.
    • It demonstrates that although you havent met the hiring manager in person, youre serious about the position and interested in continuing with the application process.
    • It grants you the opportunity to provide information about your relevant skills, experience, or education which may have been missed due to a time constraint or faulty connection.

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    Sample Recruiter Thank You Notes

    1. Short Thank-You Notes. This is the most brief, uncomplicated, and forthright style.

    Who theyre for: Short thank-you notes will work with almost any type of position that you are aiming for Theyre particularly ideal for people who know its important to get a brief thank you in, because the decision-making process is moving quickly. It would likely be more suitable to send over via email than in handwritten form.

    Be sure to include the 6 elements and send within 24 hours of having met for the interview. The goal with this note is to be swift and proficient in your communication, especially if the company is looking to hire quickly.

    Email Subject Line: Thank you for the interview.

    Hi Jesse,

    I wanted to say again how much I appreciate you setting time aside for our meeting last week. Our conversation about the responsibilities for the Food & Beverage Manager role was insightful, and it solidified my excitement about the possibility of running the department.

    With the recent growth in the department, I sensed that you are looking to hire someone who is ready to adapt quickly and create even more collaboration in the culinary team. My degree in Culinary Arts, coupled with my 15 years of experience, gives me confidence that I could .

    I look forward to talking to reconnecting! Feel free to call or email me for additional references, or any other information you may need for your decision.

    Gratefully,

    444-5555

    2. Detailed Thank-You Letters

    3. Informal Thank-You Notes

    This Is The Most Effective Post

    Job Interview Tips : How to Write Interview Thank-You Letters
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    It was a pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you for the recommendation to read The Power of Less, maybe we can trade notes when you’re done with Tribes! We will be in touch about next steps soon.

    That was part of a reply I received to a post-interview thank you email I wrote to a VP of sales. Four hours after receiving that reply, I got a call from the recruiter offering me a job.

    A month after I was hired, I had a one-on-one with that VP and the first question she asked me was about the books we recommended to each other.

    Leading up to the thank you email, we had spent 40 minutes on the phone together talking through introductions, behavioral questions, and case studies to see if I was a good fit for the role. While that conversation factored into the decision, my answers weren’t what stood out in her mind.

    It was the personal touch that stuck.

    As a candidate, you want to be focused on two things during the job search:

  • How can I build relationships with people who can influence the hiring decision
  • How can I stand out from all of the other candidates vying for this job
  • The post interview thank you email is a highly effective tactic that covers both bases. It’s also overlooked by 76% of job seekers. Talk about low hanging fruit!

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    How To Write A Thank You Email After Your Phone Interview

    The phone interview is one of the most important parts of the job interview process. To make yourself stand out to employers, you should send a thank you email after the phone interview to show your professionalism and politeness. Your thank you email should be brief and informative as you remind the interviewer why you’re the best fit for the position.

    In this article, we explain why a thank you email after a phone interview is important, how to send one and include a template and examples of effective thank you emails to help you write your own.

    Interview Thank You Letter Format

    Use our interview thank you letter format, separated into individual paragraphs, to help you structure the perfect letter today!

    1st Paragraph Open your letter by thanking your interviewer for taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss the available position at their company. Reference a personal connection you made with the interviewer and how it has increased your interest in the company and/or role.

    2nd Paragraph Use this section to expand upon the factors discussed in the interview which make you a strong candidate for the position. Explain how your educational background, the experience you gained in your previous role, and your noteworthy accomplishments will allow you to help the company reach its goals.

    3rd Paragraph If you werent able to discuss certifications, skills, or experience which makes you an ideal candidate during the interview, use this section to offer information about these qualifications. You can also use this section to clear up any misconceptions or discuss any point in the interview that you feel you didnt cover strongly enough.

    4th Paragraph Close the letter by restating your gratitude for the interviewers time, your anticipation of their response, and an invitation to contact you if any additional information regarding your application is required.

    The breakdown of an email looks something like below:

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    Be Your Best Self On Paper

    Your cover letter and resume were all about representing the best version of your professional self, and this thank-you note should be no different. Dont resort to overly familiar language just because youve met someone in person, but also dont suddenly become cold and dispassionate. Keep the same tone you would in any other email to the recruiter or hiring manager, and if theres a place to remind them of your passion for the role, go for it!

    The only thing you should avoid in a thank-you is trying to sell yourself once again. Youre writing this note to show you appreciate someones time, not to tell them youre awesome. Remember that.

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