The concept of making a thank you letter after a job interview is about just the same as the after-sales support given by companies in the sales or service industries. For example, when you buy a certain gadget, somebody from the supplier calls you up days later to check if the gadget has been working well or if you would want an accessory to upgrade it. Of course, you will appreciate the extra effort and will never forget that supplier again.
The job interview thank you letter works the same way. With the extra effort, you are showing your interviewer your interest in getting the job. It gives you the excuse to remind them of your existence and reiterate your qualifications and other details that you might have failed to mention during the interview.
Writing a thank you letter immediately after your job interview is as important as preparing your resume. It is an indication that you know your business etiquette.
The thank you letter should contain the following:
• Thank the employer/interviewer for allocating time to interview you. This alone is enough reason to be grateful.
• Mention what you learned about the company during the interview and how your qualifications will be able to contribute to its further growth. This is the difference between the thank you letter and the cover letter of your resume. The latter is impersonal because you only know about the company from whatever available data. In contrast, you already have a first-hand experience or “feel” of the company by the time you write the thank you a letter, and you could use this personal experience to convince the employer that you will indeed fit in.
• Encourage the interviewer to contact you in case they want to know more details about you. Again, reiterate your contact details.
• It is always good to have a positive disposition, thus, you may mention in your letter that you are hoping for the management to engage your services.
• The job interview thank you letter should be sent within 3 to 4 days after your interview.
• Write individual letters to everyone you talked to. If it was a panel interview, write all the members of the panel. If you don’t know their names, ask the person who arranged the interview. This is yet another excuse for you to call the hiring officer and inquire about the status of your job application.
As with all the other business correspondence, the job interview thank you letter should be concise, direct to the point, and typed neatly. Email or snail mail will do, whatever is the available option for you. You may be competing with a lot of applicants for the job, and writing your job interview thank you letter will give you the edge.