Thank You for Interview

Whenever you are finished interviewing you need to send a thank you for the interview.

If you don't, then think again because your competitors who do have a better chance of getting a job offer. I will explain you the logic in a moment. For the moment, take a look at why it might be a good idea to send a thank you note for the interview to your prospective employer.

Why Thank You for the Interview?

Think about the interview. Even though it is a mutual requirement from your perspective, the employer is offering you an opportunity to earn your living from this job. In a way, he deserves thanks for his kind consideration of you as a potential employee. Anyone would take that as a condition good enough to thank the employer.

On top of that, think about all the preparation and time that goes into interviewing you. If you put a dollar value on the hours spent in preparation which are borne by your prospective employer, then you will know that they deserve a thank you. Thus for me it is no wonder that thank you messages for interviews have become the norm and are a matter of professional courtesy.

Now, let's take this a step further. Look at some of the salesman ship aspects of writing a thank you for interview letter to the prospective employer.

Writing a thank you letter gives you another opportunity to interact with the employer and hence keeps your image fresh in his mind.

This opportunity could also be used reiterate any action items and clearly understand any tasks to be completed from either of the parties.

Now that you are convinced about the importance of that thank you for interview message, let's look at how to go about it.

Tips to Write Thank You Notes for an Interview?

Here are some tips to help you with the thank you note.

• Do not delay in writing the interview thank you letter. Write it the same day you complete the interview. The message may be sent via post or via email, but post is always best. It is simply more personal. Nowadays most of the communication happens over email, but it's always a good idea to go above and beyond. You stand a chance of making a much better impression.
• If you have had a telephone interview then you may want to highlight a few portions of the meeting in your thank you note, specifically anything that you want to emphasize to the employer. Alternatively you can do the same even if you had a face to face meeting. Use the opportunity to outline some of the interview highlights and what you understand to be the next moves going forward.
• If you are using snail mail then make sure you use professional grade paper. Do not use any of those fancy letter pads with scented paper. That may be fine for personal use, but in a professional situation it sends up wrong signals.
• Start with the date and write the full date as in April 15, 2011. Do not use any abbreviations here.
• Use a proper salutation. A "Mr." or "Ms." followed by the last name is the most appropriate.
• Now it's time for writing the body of the message. Remember, this is a thank you note and not an essay competition. Therefore keep your English simple and to the point. Keep sentences short and crisp.
• Always start the message as a continuation of the interview you have had with the employer. That lends flow to the conversation and reminds the interviewer about your last meeting.
• It's a good idea to mention your thoughts about the interview and how constructive it was in your professional development. Be a sport and appreciate some new learning that resulted as an off-shoot of the interview.
• Sign off with a positive statement. If you are writing on a piece of paper (which is preferable) then make sure to sign your name with blue ink.

That's about it! You are all set to type your own thank you for the interview letters. Good luck in your future endeavors.

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Additional Job Interview Q&A; Info

For even more information about job interview questions and how to answer them, consider the "Job Interview Success System."

One of the 5 key components of this system is a 31-page report entitled "How to Give Job-Winning Answers to Interview Questions." In addition to giving more tips and strategies on general answering techniques, it lists 45 of the easiest, toughest, silliest and most common job interview questions as well as how to respond to them.

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