How To Write The Perfect Post
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Dear Liz,
I am excited! I just had a great job interview. The job seems perfect for me. The manager “Pam” and I really hit it off. How should I follow up? I want to keep the good energy going!
Thanks Liz!
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Dear Donna,
First, make yourself a cup of tea or whatever you like to drink. Relax. Put your feet up. You deserve a big pat on the back!
Next, get out your journal or any blank notebook and write down your impressions of the interview. Write about the questions Pam asked you and the topics you and she spoke about. Write the questions you asked her. Write your impressions of the work facility, other people you met during the interview and anything else that springs to mind. Get it all on paper so you don’t forget any details!
When you’re calm and ready, begin to compose your post-interview thank you notes. I recommend that you send both a quick, handwritten note and a longer email follow-up message.
Let’s approach the handwritten note first. You can pick up a pack of eight or ten simple fold-over note cards at any general merchandise store or any stationery store. There isn’t a lot of room to write on those cards, so your handwritten note will be short and sweet.
You’ll write on the inside surface, below the fold. You don’t need to say much. You will simply thank Pam for her time, like this:
Get your handwritten thank-you note in the mail within two or three days after the interview.
Your handwritten thank-you note had three goals:
What Should Be Included
Smith suggested including the following elements in your thank-you note:
- A salutation. Even if you have been referring to the interviewer in a more casual way, in the thank-you note, use the more formal form of address.
- A sincere and specific expression of appreciation along with a concise description of what is being appreciated.
- Remind them of something unique that they spoke to you about in the interview that they might not have discussed with other candidates. This will help the interviewer remember who you are.
- Confirm you’re a good fit for the role.
- Close with final expression of gratitude.
Augustine cautioned against recapping your entire resume in your thank-you note, since the interviewer has already reviewed it and discussed it with you during the interview, but summarizing your qualifications is appropriate.
As with your resume and cover letter, customize your thank-you note. Double- and triple-check it for grammatical and spelling errors. A typo-filled follow-up can easily ruin the stellar impression you made during the interview. If you met with multiple people, send one note to each person, if you have his or her contact information.
What You Should Cover In Your Thank You Email
Kelleher recommends, The first thing a candidate should do is express your thanks to the interviewer. After that, Cheung states you must outline what makes you believe that you will be the best candidate for the position. Think about what professors, other employers, and/or fellow students said made you unique and incorporate that information into the letter.
If you think of something you forgot to cover in the interview, you can discuss it in the thank you email. Also be sure to send any additional information the prospective employer requested from you.
Skalka notes, Having their most recent work helps me understand their incoming skill level.
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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:
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!
Handwritten Thank You Card Sent During The Latter Stages Of The Interview Process Or Anytime Youve Met With The Hiring Manager Directly:
This is the time to really show your interest and prove that you are invested in the job.
- Thank you so much for the opportunity to meet and discuss .
- I enjoyed learning more about and was especially impressed to learn ____.
- I would like to further express my interest in becoming part of the group and I think I would be a great fit.
- Please let me know if there is further information I can provide regarding my qualifications or my enthusiasm for this position.
- Thank you again for your continued consideration.
Now that you have a few ideas regarding what to write in a thank you card after an interview, remember: its important to be kind and appreciative toward everyone you encounter! Express thanks throughout each step in the job search process. You simply cant go wrong.
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Bonus Tip: Send An Individual Note To Each Person You Met With
Sometimes you interview with several people in one day, which means each person gets a thank-you note. While it might be a pain to personalize every thank-you note , do it anyway.
This shows that you took the time to learn about each interviewer, demonstrating you are a detailed and thoughtful person. Its fine to use the same opening and closing , but make sure you mention one unique thing for each interviewer. If nothing else, you never know when the recipients are comparing notes to see if you created a unique thank-you note for each of them!
And be sure to triple check the name at the top! Copying and pasting can be a dangerous game.
What About When You Have Nothing Sincerely Positive To Say
Unfortunately, if you want to be sure you dont get lost in the crowd, you still have to write a thank you note. But you dont have to pretend that you feel warm and fuzzy.
Instead, keep your comments neutral and polite for example:
- Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, or
- I appreciate being able to interview with your company.
In a case like this, the less said about your actual interview the better. So dont try to elaborate, just go on to expressing interest .
Go here for a Thank You Note Template.And for help with your job INTERVIEW, check out my book,Interview Like Yourself No, Really! Follow Your Strengths and Skills to GET THE JOB.
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How To Format A Thank
It is vital to remember that youâre sending the thank-you email to a potential employer. Itâs good to personalize the email, but you want to avoid being overly casual. Below are some quick tips to ensure that your email is appropriate for the workplace.
- No emojis
- No foul language
Note of appreciation and personal touch
The first line of your email should thank the interviewer for taking time out of their day to speak with you. Make sure you express your gratitude for the opportunity to interview with them.
To personalize the email, try to reference a discussion from the interview. Did the interviewer share information about their personal life, other things going on in the company, or a specifically interesting subject discussed? Adding this quick reference to a topic during the interview helps the reader remember who you are, and it demonstrates that you were paying attention and engaged during the interview.
Recap of your qualifications and value-add
The next thing that your thank-you note should include is how you can provide value to the company. Identify a problem, pain point, or opportunity that you discussed, and reinforce how your experience can resolve the issue.
Note: This should focus on how you can provide value to them, not how they can provide value to you.
Insert A Subject Line
Include a short and descriptive subject line for your thank you email. This way, the hiring manager will know what the email is about before they open it. Consider something straightforward like, “Thank you for meeting with me yesterday.”
Related: How To Write the Best Thank You Email After Your Interview
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Remember A Business Card
If you have primarily communicated with your interviewer via email, be sure to ask for a business card before or after your interview. This will allow you to send a handwritten thank you note to their office without having to contact them again for their mailing address. Requesting a business card might also give your interviewer the impression that you are a person who thinks ahead, which might be a quality they look for in their employees.
How To Write An Interview Thank You Email/note
Note that step #6 isnt 100% necessary to include in a thank you note or thank you email after an interview, but is a nice touch to add.
Youll see these steps in the interview thank you note/email examples below, so dont worry if youre still not sure what to write!
As one final tip before we move on, I recommend you ask each person for their business card after an in-person interview, so that you have their email address and name saved!
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Why Send A Thank You After Interview Email
While its not required, its highly recommended to send a thank you after interview email to reinforce your interest in the opportunity, highlight your strengthsPersonal BrandOur personal brand is what people see as our identity, who they see us as and what qualities and things they associate with us. It reveals, and follow up on anything from the interviewInterview Tips How to Interview WellThis guide will give you a list of the top 10 interview tips, based on decades of firsthand experience from the CFI team interviewing hundreds. Its recommended to send the email within a few hours of the interview, as hiring managers often make their decisions very quickly and you want to keep their impression of you as high as possible.
Why Send A Thank
The first reason to send a thank-you letter is that it’s just plain, good manners. But there’s also a self-serving purpose: A thank-you note is your opportunity to get your name in front of people one last time and leave a positive impression.
If you’re being interviewed or going through the job application process, thank-you letters allow you to sell yourself as a candidate. You can reference specific instances that may have come up in an interview. Use your thank-you letter to highlight the ways your skills and experience are a good match for the position.
If there’s something you forgot to mention during the interview, your thank-you letter is a great opportunity to bring it up.
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Do You Need To Send A Thank You Email After An Interview
Its recommended that you send a thank you email after each job interview you attend. Doing so shows the employer that you appreciate their time, and just as importantly, that youre still interested in the position. After attending an interview, the employer isnt sure that you still want this job .
So its important to write a thank you message and to reaffirm your interest in the position and tell them that youre eager to hear about the next steps. If you dont say this, they wont know!
When To Write A Thank
Writing a thank-you note to your interviewers shows that you are gracious, humble and thoughtful â all important qualities for potential new hires to possess. Thatâs why you should write a thank-you letter after every interview within 24 hours. You donât want to risk having recruiters or hiring managers think that youâre cocky, ungrateful or absentminded.
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Printed Thank You Notes
A word-processed note printed by a computer printer is usually acceptable in most organizations today. Its also usually much more legible.
Choose the format that seems most appropriate for the organization unless your handwriting is illegible. If no one can read your writing, use your computer to send the printed version.
See the sample printed and handwritten thank you notes below on this page or the Sample Job Interview Thank You Email for comparison.
How To Write A Thank You Email After An Interview
Many candidates dont know whether to send out a thank you letter after an interview.
Heres the answer:
YES!
Nowadays its perfectly fine for your follow-up letter to be in the form of an email. Below are some recommendations from hiring managers and talent professionals on how to make your follow up most effective.
Skip to the bottom of the page for:
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General Tips For A Thank You After Interview Email
Ask for a business card or contact information from every person who interviews you and send a thank you email to each one of them.
Customize the email for each person, as they may forward the emails to each other, and you want to make sure you dont get caught just sending boilerplate emails where the only difference is the name of the recipient.
Here are some general tips about what to include in your thank you after interview email:
- Thank them for their time.
- Highlight what you like about the job opportunity.
- Highlight what you like about the company.
- Recap your main skills and attributes.
- Follow up on anything that you said that youd get back to them on.
Should You Send A Thank You Email After A Phone Interview
Thanking interviewers with a letter or email is a must, regardless of how the interview was conducted. The job interview doesnt have to be in person for you to thank the interviewer for their time. This is especially true in the digital age and the work-from-home era, when a growing number of job interviews dont involve face-to-face meetings. Sending a thank you email after an interview over the phone is good practice. This is also true for a Zoom interview or any other virtual video meeting.
You should also send an email even if its your second or third interview round with the same hiring manager. Make sure to tailor these thank you notes to individual recipients. In other words, you should avoid sending a bunch of emails with the same exact content. One of the costliest mistakes you can make is to send the same note to multiple employers and come off as someone who doesnt have any understanding of individual companies.
Here are a few more examples of what not to do:
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And Last But Not Least
Go home, put your feet up, and have a glass of wine or hot tea.
The hardest job in the world is looking for a job.
So congratulate yourself on a job well done today, and be kind to yourself while youre waiting for the results.
If youve read this post, youre probably in the middle of the job search process! For more about successful job interviews, see my book Interview Like Yourself No, Really!
Inc. contributing editor Jeff Haden says,
Interviewing well is partly art but mostly skill and Jezra Kaye provides all the tools you need to ace the interview.
After A Great Job Interview Write A Killer Thank You Note
by Jezra on January 2, 2015
You worked hard to shine in your job interview and now its time to shine after the interview is over, by sending a thoughtful thank you note. Below are two thank you note examples to use after a job interview. The first is a more friendly version and the second is a more business-like version.
Yes, thank you notes are back in style! In a world where many people have great resumes and solid experience, theres nothing like a well-written, gracious thank you note to remind your interviewer of why he or she wants to hire you!
The best thank you notes are short, sincere, and specific to each interview. So:
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