Thank You note after the interview

Discover why sending a Thank You Note after the interview is crucial. Enhance your chances with a personalized Thank You Note.

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life and you’ll find that you have more of it.”

—Ralph Marston

Thank You notes following any type of interview is ALWAYS a good idea.  I can hear the younger contingent of our population cringing and muttering about older generational ideas.  While I appreciate the perspective, I think that this is not an old idea, but rather a timeless one.  As a hiring manager I was always disappointed when a candidate didn’t send a Thank you note and sometimes was concerned with the lack of writing skill displayed in some efforts.  It was always a negative in my book if you didn’t send a Thank You.

There are a couple key reasons to send the Thank You note.  The first is that you have another opportunity to contact the interviewing team.  This is a chance to get your name in front of them again.  Now to do this, you will need to be sure that you have their contact information.  If they don’t offer you a business card during the interview you should ask for one.  If the interview is virtual, then likely you have their e-mail address in the meeting invite.  Worst case, you should ask the HR manager for the interviewer’s e-mail addresses.  Don’t use this as an excuse not to send a note.

A second reason to send them a Thank you note is that you get a chance to make another sales pitch about your capabilities and fit for the role.  Pick out 2-4 ideas that you may have mentioned during the interview or perhaps a couple thoughts that came to you after the interview process.  Don’t write a book, but it should be more than a sentence. Find a happy middle ground in length and avoid filling it with ‘fluff’. Hopefully during your interviews, and/or immediately afterwards, you took some notes that you can pick some key ideas from for your note.

Work to personalize each note.  It shows an extra level of thoughtfulness and interest in the role if you can insert a comment or idea that came out of the specific discussion you had with that interviewer.  You can have some common threads or themes in the notes but tweak each one a bit.  It is common for some interviewers to share notes and e-mails they receive with the other interviewers, and if they are all exactly the same it loses a bit of its possible punch.  If you are really short on time or writing isn’t your thing, then crafting one good message is much better than not sending any at all. You can also perhaps tap into your network for some assistance in writing these notes or editing them.

Key components for the Thank you note:

• Personalized greeting…use their name with a Hello, Dear, Nice to meet you, etc.

• Start with a Thank You statement/sentence.

• Add a personalized note…something that you talked about during the interview and/or you had in common with the interviewer.

• Add 2-3 sentences in another paragraph about your qualifications and match for this position.  If you can personalize each one a bit to cover the topics you discussed with each interviewer that is good.

• You may want to add a quick sentence about how you are looking forward to future discussions and you are available for any questions.

• Finish with another Thank You or Best regards

If you want to go ‘old school’, then you would state that all thank you notes should be handwritten on card stock and mailed to the interviewer.  While I agree that this can be a differentiator, in today’s fast paced and electronic world I don’t think it is required.  In fact, if you send it in the mail, it could arrive after they have made a decision.  One person that I talked to insisted that you should sit in the parking lot after the interview an write out the Thank You notes right there and then hand them to the receptionist.  An idea for consideration and it sends a message of personal and quick follow-up.

The conclusion is to send a Thank You note after each and every interview.  You don’t get a lot of good excuses to communicate with the hiring company on your terms, but this is one.  Take advantage of the opportunity.  Be timely and professional in your communication.