A thank you note after an interview is a chance to stay fresh on an employer’s mind and another opportunity to tell them why you’re the best candidate for the job. Here are 4 important things to remember when you’re writing a thank you note.
Timing
Never wait longer than 48 hours to send a thank you note. Any longer than that, and you’ve likely lost the interviewer’s attention -- and some of her respect! Preferably, send your note within 24 hours after an interview.
The interviewer(s)
Remember their names! If you’re bad with names, jot them down in your notes when you’re first introduced to an interviewer. As a backup, you can always email your contact at the company (usually a recruiting coordinator or a hiring manager) and ask for the information of the rest of the crew. Just let the person know you’re looking to send thank yous.
Remember your interviewers’ quirks, motivations, and answers to your questions. Whether relating to their workplace pain points, to your potential role, or to the baseball team you bonded over, call back cues to the interview in your thank you note. Show them you were an actively engaged candidate and give them the impression you might be a similarly awesome colleague. If you mentioned any follow up material in the interview, like an article, be sure to reference back to it in the email.
You
It’s always about you, right!? Just kidding. Don’t forget to reiterate why you think you and the company are a fit and why you’re a perfect match for the role in question. Use just one or two sentences of the thank you note to do this, as the rest should be about your interaction.
Next steps
Ask for a timeline of next steps. When should you expect to hear back? If next steps were discussed at the interview, simply reiterate them. If the interviewer told you to expect to hear back by the end of the week, say that you’re looking forward to it. It gives you the opportunity to follow up with the interviewer should you not hear back in the talked-about amount of time.
When it comes to how to send the thank you note, play it by ear. We recommend email in almost all cases, but there are factors of company style or your own personal flair that could call for a wax-sealed letter delivered to their office.
A post-interview thank you note is something many candidates neglect or forget to do, despite obvious benefits. Writing a killer thank you note can be a great way to bump yourself to the top of the candidate pile.