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Woo hoo! You finished that interview you were stressing over for weeks. You are feeling good, but are wondering if you should send a thank you email or note…
YES. SEND THE THANK YOU.
It is such good practice to send a thank-you note to those who interviewed you after meeting with them. It is not only showing respect for taking time to consider you as an applicant and giving you the opportunity to show them your skills, but it also indicates a genuine interest in the job as well.
Think about it. If one person sent a thank you and the other applicant you are also considering doesn’t, which one would you feel a tad more connected to?
Ideally, you would want to send a thank you email at least 24-48hrs after the interview. It is not a lengthy email. It really is just a thank you for your time and consideration type of message.
Want to really stand out and take it a step further? Send an actual handwritten note to arrive at least a week from the interview (make sure you consider mailing time!)
Sending a handwritten note is way more personalized, and shows the effort you are putting into the job search. If you had multiple people interview you (a.k.a panel interview) you can write one for each employer. Now, if you are going to do that then you don’t want to just copy the one to two sentences for each person. They will compare it…So, what do you do?
- Make sure you know their names. You can ask for business cards if you don’t have a great memory for names.
- Right after the interview write down any casual conversations or just follow up questions/stories that were shared between each person.
- Personalize the notes with something you specifically talked about with each individual. If there really weren’t any conversations or stories shared, you can highlight something you want each of them to know about how you are qualified for the job…just make sure it isn’t a list of skills or a repeat of your interview.
It may look something like this…
“I appreciate you sharing your story on… It is great to see that professionals… Thank you for considering me for this position.”
Just like the email, this should be fairly short, only 1-3 sentences. You can still show personality in a few sentences! 🙂
You may have to do some digging to get an address to send these notes. If you can’t find anything on your own, you can call HR, let them know what you are wanting to do, and ask if they can provide an address. If you can’t find or obtain an address send another email a week later reiterating your appreciation and some specifics.
Trust me employers will read these short thank you notes and appreciate them!
Good luck!
