Interview Thank You Notes

The best interview thank you notes are short, concise and only take a few minutes to write.

The main purpose of interview thank you letters is to keep your name in front of hiring authorities after your job interview . It's a subtle reminder of your recent meeting with them.

You don't need to rehash your interview or resell everyone on why you're the one for the job.

There is an old saying, you can form a mind, but you can't change a mind.

Your opportunity to sell yourself and form a positive image in the mind of the interviewers took place in the job interview .

If you bombed in the interview, all the interview thank you notes in the world aren't going to turn things around.

However, if you are one of the top 3 candidates, it could make a difference as to whether or not you get tapped for the position.

When your interview thank you letter arrives, the manager will remember you and recollect your interview. Most managers will be impressed you took the time to write them a thank you letter.

After reading your letter, often times the manager will pick up the phone and call HR to set up a second job interview .

If not, your interview thank you note might lie on their desk as a reminder to follow up with you. Either way, you win.

Every time they pick up your interview thank you note or glance at it, they see your name.

I've never been able to figure out why a serious candidate for a key position would not take 15 minutes to write a simple job interview thank you letter.

Sample interview thank you note 1:

Dear Ms Jones,

Thank you for taking the time to interview me on Monday. I enjoyed meeting with you and appreciate the courtesy you extended to me.

My interview experience was very positive. I look forward to talking with you further about this opportunity. XYZ Company is an impressive organization, and I am confident I can contribute to your on-going success.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

Suzzie Q

1. Keep your name in front of the hiring authority as a subtle reminder.

2. Make you stand out from other candidates who probably didn't bother to write an interview thank you letter.

Dear Mr Smith,

It was a pleasure interviewing with you on Monday for your Purchasing Manager position. I enjoyed my interviews and appreciate the courtesy extended to me by everyone.

Thank you for sharing with me your logistics issues with your Asian suppliers. As I mentioned in our interview, I know 2 excellent freight forwarders who have cut our delivery time out of China by 2 full days. After our meeting I thought of a couple more ideas to help expedite deliveries. I look forward to sharing them with you when we meet again.

I am very interested in your opportunity and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Johnnie B. Goode

Sample interview thank you note 3:

Dear Ms Wilson,

Thank you for interviewing me recently for your open Sales Manager position. I enjoyed meeting with you and your team, and left with a very positive impression of QRS Corp.

I welcome your feedback and look forward to the next step in the interviewing process. Please advise if you would like me to provide you with professional references.

If you decide to meet with me again, I am available next week on either Wednesday or Thursday. Afternoons work best for me.

Best regards,

Ali Gator

Question 1: Should I type out an interview thank you note or send an email?

Answer: Avoid sending an email because it doesn't have the same impact on people. Most people I know get tons of email every day.

Yet, how many personal letters end up on your desk these days?

Only send an email if you know the manager will be traveling, or if for some very good reason (can't really think of one right now), you just don't have the time to lick envelopes and stamps.

An email thank you note is better than nothing, but for full impact, take the extra time to send a type written one.

Question 2: Who should get a thank you letter?

Answer: Everyone who interviewed you. Make sure you collect business cards from everyone during your interview.

This way you know the correct spelling of their name and title.

Question 3: If 6 people interviewed me, is it ok to send each one the same letter?

Answer: No. The general pleasantries in the first paragraph can be the same, but personalize your letter by changing 1 or 2 sentences.

Question 4: Is there a difference between interview thank you notes and interview thank you letters?

Answer: Not really. I've been using the word, note, because it implies short or brief.

Basically, a job interview thank you note is a short letter.

Question 5: Is there ever a time when my job interview thank you letter could be longer?

Answer: Yes. But, this is a rare exception.

Sometimes you are asked an interview question you weren't expecting. You do your best to answer it, but on the drive home you say to yourself, why did I say that? What was I thinking?

And then miraculously, you think of the perfect answer. And so, you now proceed to pound your fists on the steering wheel!

Assuming your interview went fairly well, you could reference this question and provide a short (and I mean short!) answer to try and smooth things over--2 short paragraphs tops.

Question 6: What if I'm not sure I really want this job? Should the tone of my interview thank you note still be positive and come across like I want the job?

Answer: As a general rule, yes. Pursue the position, even if you are not entirely sure you want it.

Remember, you are in the driver's seat, not the company. You can always turn down an offer. But, if you don't get an offer, you don't have any options.

It's always wise to complete the interview process and learn all you can before making your decision.

Even so, if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you don't want the job, still send a positive thank you letter. Mention you look forward to hearing back from them, but don't suggest you want the job.

Question 7: After I send my interview follow up letter, if I don't hear anything, should I call the manager for an update?

Answer: Yes. Mail your letter either the day of your interview or the day after if you traveled to your interview.

Seven days after you drop your letter in the mail, call the manager.

Try and picture what is going on at the other end of the process. It takes 3 days for your letter to arrive. It may sit in the manager's in-basket for 2-3 days before actually being read.

So, 5-6 days have passed since your interview. This is perfect timing as your letter just reminded them it's time to do something.

If you did well in your interview, they won't want to risk losing you, so they will pick up the phone and instruct HR to invite you back, or maybe even start the offer process.

If for some reason the manager has good intentions, but procrastinates taking action after reading your letter, your call is welcome and starts the ball rolling again.

So, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and make the call.

Question 8: Should I leave a voice mail if the manager doesn't pick up?

Answer: Absolutely! Let technology work for you. You're mission is to either keep the hiring process moving, or close things off so you can get on with your life.

A voice mail will accomplish this.

Question 9: If I interviewed with 3 or 4 people, who I should I call?

Answer: If you were given specific instructions by someone, follow those instructions to the T.

Sometimes the HR Manager will tell you to only work through the HR department. If you decide to go around them and speak directly with the hiring manager, it could upset some people.

Having said that, you are always better off dealing directly with the decision maker. Often times the hiring manager will give you their business card and say, "call me if you have any questions".

This is perfect because the manager you will be reporting to usually has the final vote on who gets hired. So, always call the hiring manager first unless directed otherwise.

Question 10: How many times should I follow up if no one is calling me back?

Answer: I have a 3 strikes and you're out rule.

You took the time to interview with them. You sent them a thank you letter. You deserve to have the courtesy of timely feedback.

If you have to keep chasing them, then the answer is no. It's important to close things off in your mind and move on.

If you keep dwelling on it and mulling things over in your mind, you'll just get frustrated, irritated, and/or depressed.

No sense in stewing over it any longer if the company is keeping you in the dark.

In my experience, half the companies out there will give you timely feedback. The other half will either leave you hanging forever or eventually get back to you whenever they get around to it.

How rude and inconsiderate!

If this is how they treat you on your first date, what will they be like when you get married?

So, here is how you can bring closure to this in a professional manner without any emotions spilling over.

Call the hiring manager 7 days after you mailed your interview thank you letter.

If you don't get a call back in 48 hours (strike one!), call them again. If you get voice mail, leave another pleasant message asking for feedback.

Let another 48 hours go by.

If they don't return your call (strike two!), either email them or leave the following message:

Hi Joe-

This is Suzzi Q calling again. Hope all is well with you.

I haven't received any feedback from my interview 10 days ago. I'm sensing at this point that you've probably hired someone else for the position.

No problem--I'm disappointed, but I understand.

If I don't hear back from you by the end of the day tomorrow, I'll just assume you've closed your position and I'll move on.

Thanks again for taking the time to interview me. It was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you all the best. Bye.

STRIKE THREE!

This message allows you to take back control, close things off in a professional manner, but still leaves the door open for them to contact you if they finally decide to move forward with you.

Your last message is called...a take away. Two things could happen at this point. They will call you in a panic and say, hold everything, sorry for the delay. Or, the silence will continue...and you know what that means.

Whatever you do, don't keep calling and calling and calling the manager like a stalker candidate. Stick with the 3 strikes and you're out rule.

If you're working with an Executive Recruiter, don't call the company direct. Work through your recruiter.

But, if your recruiter is giving you the silent treatment, do the the 3 strikes and you're out rule with them.

True Story: As an Executive Recruiter, I was working with an excellent candidate. I was very impressed with his interpersonal skills, and our conversations were always warm, professional, and friendly.

Shortly after we started working together he wouldn't call me back or respond to my emails.

Frankly, I not only found this out of character for this person, but I was getting upset about it.

I used my 3 strikes and you're out rule with this candidate.

Nothing.

So, I closed things off in my mind and moved on.

About 2 weeks later I received an email from his wife informing me that Jim had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident.

They expected him to live, but he would be facing a very lengthy recovery. She thanked me for my email and follow up calls.

What if I had allowed my emotions to get the best of me and had left Jim an angry voice mail chastising him for not returning my calls?

Always give people the benefit of the doubt. You're not a mind reader. You never know what could be going on in someone's life at any given time.

Regardless of someone's circumstances, the strike 3 rule works.

It is a professional, non-emotional way to take back control and bring you closure without burning any bridges.

Lastly, don't forget to send interview thank you notes after a second job interview.

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