Thank You Letters Sent After Your Interview

Although interview Thank You Letters or follow up letters and emails could not really be described as 'cover letters' in the true sense, they are important to you after your interview.

This is because they can be used to remind the interviewer about you and your specific skills and knowledge, and reinforce your interest and enthusiasm for the job they have on offer.

In fact, it has been known for a job offer to be made following the receipt of a thank you letter. In that case a 'maybe' was turned into a 'yes, definitely'.

If you are reluctant to send this letter, please remember that a brief word of thanks can do no harm, and that you cannot lose what you haven't got!

There are two versions of the thank you letter and one follow up email example to help you on this page.

Go to letter example 1, or go to letter example 2, both on this page.

Also read the tips on writing interview follow-up emails with an actual example below.

Here are four very good reasons for sending thank you letters after interview:

• Very few people are actually thanked for doing their job, especially when that job is to interview someone.


• The thank you letter can reinforce a decision to hire you.


• Thank You Letters can alter the hiring manager's perception of you.


• Thank you notes can be personalized as well as being sales letters.

You can use and copy the 2 samples of 'thank you letters' on this page as the basis for writing your own post-interview letters.

Everyone who is looking for a job and sends out resumes NEEDS a Cover Letter. It is not an option. As a professional, you should have a professional job application letter, and you should send one with every resume you submit. Being too busy to get this right could cost you dearly! At the most simple, you could say that you were pleased to meet the people involved and are very keen to join the team.

Perhaps you might want to add a little extra information that you had overlooked in the actual interview itself and go on to offer further explanation of a particular attribute that there wasn't time to explore fully.

2 Sample Thank You Letters To Copy

A Thank-you letter following an interview: Simple Version

This letter template is a valuable follow up to an interview because not many people are thanked, especially for an interview, and it keeps your name in their mind and has positive associations. You can't lose by sending interview thank you letters; it won't make any difference if you weren't going to get the job, but if you're in with a chance it could tip the balance in your favor!

There are two forms of this letter; the first is a simple thank-you which is the only letter that can, and should be handwritten. In other words it's just a personal note and could be worded like this:

"Dear Mr Beamish

Thank you for taking the time to interview me yesterday, I enjoyed meeting you and would really jump at the opportunity to join your team. I assure you of my interest in this job and commitment to creating a net benefit.

I am looking forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely

Mike Jones"

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A Thank-you letter following an interview: Formal Version

The second form of these thank you letters is more formal and is also valuable as a follow up when you realize after the interview that you didn't cover an area very well!

This is then a formal sales letter and should be word-processed and printed like any other business correspondence. It still carries all of the benefits as above but may also spell out some information you didn't impart too well at the interview.

123 Grove Road
Hampton
Middlesex
RZ6 2LP

Tel: 0171 588 9704

Mr J Ashworth
Administrative Manager
XYZ Company Limited
28 Easterbrooke Avenue
Catford
London
KT7 3PZ

19 January 2008

Dear Mr Ashworth

Re: Project Engineer Vacancy

Thank you for the opportunity to expand on my background, areas of responsibility and career progression at our meeting last Tuesday.

Since then I have had an opportunity to reflect on what we discussed during the interview, including the basic requirements of the job and my own skills and abilities. I feel I can make a smooth transition and solid contribution to your organization in the capacity of Project Engineer.

You mentioned that the new Project Engineer must have considerable experience in Robotics. Since we had little time to discuss the matter, I thought it worth re-emphasizing that I have been very heavily involved with numerous hardware and software changes whilst with POR plc and in the mechanization of two major operations for clients in a similar situation to your own.

I enjoyed our meeting and am most interested in the position. As you suggested, I will telephone you in ten days, if I have not heard from you.

Yours sincerely

Jerry Bateson

Since they are not too difficult to write, you should aim to send a 'thank you' letter on the same day as the interview for the best effect. These sample thank you letters above can easily be modified to suit your particular situation and should should always be mailed to every person involved in the interview.

Interview Follow Up Emails

Interview follow up emails can also serve an important purpose, not just to say "Thank you" but also to remind the interviewer about you:

Subject line of the email should be something eye-catching like:

'Thanks for a great interview'.

Then your email follow up reads:

"Dear Mr Stevens, thanks for an informative and engaging interview today. I really appreciate you taking the time to interview me this morning, I enjoyed meeting you and I would really jump at the opportunity to join your team. If I can provide any further information for you please do not hesitate to contact me. I would further like to assure you of my interest in this job and commitment to creating a valuable contribution to your organisation.

I am looking forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely

John Jones"

Add your contact numbers and email address for convenience.

Keep it brief and don't aggravate anyone who probably has a full inbox already, so do not highlight it or set the interview follow up email up as 'high priority'

Most people's in-boxes are already too full with all manner of unwanted emails, so you run the risk of your letter being overlooked or simply deleted as spam if unrecognized.

This shows that 'Thank You' letters can also be an important part of your Personal Marketing strategy.

Return from Thank You Letters to Cover Letters Page.

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