Writing Thank You Letter: The Right Way to Follow Up After Interview

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You had a mind-blowing interview, and you completely nailed it. You are now sitting and waiting for some update to come your way, on whether you got the job or not. You are grateful that the manager chose to interview you for the position and you would like to express your gratitude. Moreover, you don’t want the manager to forget that you were there and you had that awesome interview.

What do you do then? You pick up the pen and paper (or may be open up your e-mail to be more relevant to today’s times) and pen down a note of gratitude, a Thank You note.

Follow Up
A thank-you note is not just a simple way of expressing gratitude and being grateful to the managers. More than that, it is a polite and kind way of following-up with the managers. A failure to follow-up is often seen in a negative light. A thank-you note does the job of following up while expressing your continued interest in the company and the position that you were interviewed for.

Time Span
Thank you notes should be sent in 24 hours, to the maximum stretch of 48 hours after being interviewed. Sending one immediately after the interview would be too soon. Sending one a couple of days after the interview is dumb and useless.

Customization and Correction
Each manager has a different flair and a different style; and thus, has different preferences. This makes it essential that your thank-you note is customized to meet the preferences of the manager. When you meet the manager during the interview you would be able to gauge a few things about him or her, and compose the thank you note accordingly. Check it for grammatical and typographical errors. Referring to some templates or examples on the internet may help, but don’t copy. Customize it to suit your needs.

Read Related Post: Tips to Request a Recommendation Letter

Keep it Short
You can reiterate about your skills and your talent and add further explanations to the questions asked to you in the interview in the thank you note if you want to. But no matter what you do, keep it short. You are not sending a thesis, it is a simple thank you note, and let it remain like a ‘note’. Suppose the manager shared a certain problem he or she faces and you have an effective solution about it, share it in the note. It shows enthusiasm and interest. But again, keep it short. Give out only what you need to, not the whole essay.

Be Grateful
That’s the main thing. You express interest, you show potential. You want to leave an impressive impression. But the bottom line is that a thank you note is a ‘thank-you’ note, and the purpose is to thank. Of the hundreds of applicants there may have been on the position, the manager chose you to be one of the few he or she interviewed. He or she shortlisted you and wanted to speak to you or meet you. That is something to be grateful for. It is not a favour that the manager did so don’t make it sound over the board like the manager just saved your life or did a special personal favour to you by interviewing you because doing that is sure to get you rejected from consideration.

A thank you note should be succinct and polite. Put in you what you deem fit and remove what you don’t. Use a template, customize it, make it colourful with ideas or leave it plain and to the point. You decide based on your experience in the interview and your gauging of the managers preferences. Keep it short and simple and don’t forget the main purpose of writing the note. You want the job you applied for, and that’s about it!

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