To be effective, a thank you note should be sent before the hiring decision has been made, so it is best to mail it as soon as possible after the interview. When you send a thank you letter, you give the interviewer a chance to remember you (imagine having interviewed 10-15 candidates for a position, and then trying to distinguish each one after the interviews and trying to remember the specifics about each person). It is your opportunity to mention any important information you forgot to discuss during the interview.

A thank you letter allows you to explain, restate, or clear up any potential misunderstandings. In addition, you can redirect your marketing campaign by focusing on something that you learned during the interview and re-emphasizing your strengths, accomplishments and skills. Sending a thank you letter shows the interviewer that you are a professional who is concerned about details. In the end, the thank you letter is your last chance to leave a good impression!

There are several situations that require a thank you letter:

* After an employment interview
* When someone provides you with job search assistance such as referring you to an employer, providing a network contact, or speaking on your behalf to a prospective employer
* After an informational interview, company visit, or other career exploration activity

Try to follow these hints when writing thank you letters:

* Keep your letters short and simple – usually one page is enough.
* Help the interviewer remember you by referring to specific points discussed in your interview: show that you were listening and mention something that will refresh the interviewer’s memory of you
* Be sure your letters are professional, for example: typed, no errors, on quality paper, etc.
* Send your letter within one day – do not put it off!
* Emphasize your qualifications, especially those that are most relevant to the position
* Provide any information that was overlooked during the interview or that which was specifically requested by the interviewer
* Express your continued interest and enthusiasm for the position
* Remember, very few people bother to send thank you letters – this can be your edge!

Generally, your thank you letters should include the following information:

First paragraph:

* Thank the interviewer for taking the time to meet with you (mention the date). Remind him/her of the position for which you interviewed.

Second paragraph:

* Restate your interest in the position and the company/school/organization. Mention something you learned from the interview or comment on something of importance that you discussed. Again, emphasize your strengths, experiences, skills, accomplishments and slant them towards the points that the interviewer considered the most important for the position.

Third paragraph:

* Once again, thank the interviewer for his/her time and consideration. If appropriate, close with a suggestion for further action (if a second interview is a possibility), or mention that you will follow up with a phone call in a few days. Provide your phone number and the hours you can best be reached.

Sending a thank you letter is as important as interview preparation. But they’re tough to write, so people either tell themselves that not sending one doesn’t matter, or they procrastinate until it’s too late and almost pointless anyway. But anyone who tells themselves that foregoing a fundamental rule of etiquette doesn’t matter, not only taints themselves in the mind of the interviewer, but misses two additional opportunities to sell.

A thank you letter is an additional sales piece. As I’ve said before, you’re selling a product and the product is you. So beyond the reason of etiquette, the letter sells you as a polite person who recognizes that the interviewer gave them something valuable: time and consideration.

A fundamental rule of sales is to keep the product in front of the buyer and reinforce its benefits. So beyond the etiquette, the letter gives you ample space to comment on what you liked about the company, why your skills are of benefit to them, and how much you’re interested. If something wasn’t tied up, or was left unsatisfactorily, you should use the space to further address the issue.

When you miss the opportunity to reinforce your skills and tie them to the job requirements, you miss a chance to sell. When you fail to address a concern or answer a question and leave it to fester in the mind of the interviewer, you’ve failed to overcome an objection. And if a buyer has an objection to the product, if it isn’t addressed, the likelihood of the sale is slim.

The third opportunity missed by skipping the thank you letter is the chance to keep your name in front of the buyer. Read newspapers? Watch TV? See the same ads over and over and over again? It’s somewhat the same principle – if you keep your name in front of the hiring authority, they’re more likely to remember you.

Thank you letters are one of the reasons it’s important to take notes during an interview. Not only does it show good attention to detail, it saves you from having to scrunch your face up trying to remember some of the information you learned about the company and position during the interview. Because if you met with three separate people during one visit to the company, that’s three thank you letters….three different thank you letters.

So let’s look at how to create one of these so that it becomes a less odious task.

• First paragraph
  Open with the obligatory thank you and include how you enjoyed the meeting. Say why. Maybe the people you met were exceptional. Perhaps their company philosophy was exactly what you had hoped for. Or they need to overhaul a department and you can’t wait to sink your teeth into it because that’s what you’ve got a stellar track record of doing. It doesn’t matter. Pick something out, and put it down. But make it real.
• Second paragraph
  What took place during your interview? Pull out a piece of information that pleased you, say what it was, and tell them why. For instance: I was particularly pleased to find that X company/the opportunity/your management style has/was/is/does whatever. This is exciting because…… . You can expand on whatever it is for a few sentences by elaborating: how it relates to something you’ve experienced and liked — or didn’t like. Discuss a particular aspect of the job you find appealing and reiterate why you’d be successful at it or how long you’ve been performing it or how similar it is to something you’ve done in the past.
• Third paragraph
  You can add a similar paragraph if the second was fairly short. Or you can wind it up if it was a bit lengthy. If there was something that came up that needed clarification or about which they were dubious, address it and clear it up here.
• Fourth paragraph
  Wind it up. Re-iterate your interest. Be enthusiastic! Leave the job speak behind. If you really want to be hired, let your interest shine through. There’s nothing wrong with coming right out and saying, “I’d love to work with X company!”

Caution: Don’t start every sentence with “I”. It may be the easiest way to write the letter but it’s not only repetitive, it’s a turn off and egotistical. This process is about you getting a job, but it’s about what they get out of it if they hire you.

If you really want the job, the letter will be easy to write because it will contain genuine impressions and sentiments. If you choose to skip the letter, perhaps you don’t care if you’re hired or not. But make that decision yours and withdraw from the process instead of letting the decision be made for you.