Job Interviews:The Power Of Thank You

The job interview may leave you feeling optimistic or pessimistic, but it should not mark the end of your hunt for a particular job. What many people are not aware of is that the interview need not be the last interaction between you and your potential employer. Quite often, you can still work on the impression you made even after the interview by sending a simple thank-you letter.

Your letter can have a triple effect on the person reading it, apart from bringing your name to his or her attention one more time. First of all, your thank-you letter restates your interest in the job being offered. Even if you are not the one they choose for that particular position, they might consider you for future openings at the company. Second, it shows your gratitude towards the people who took the time to talk to you, which means they will feel flattered. Finally, a thank-you letter makes you look more professional in the eyes of the interviewer.

The thank-you letter should be written in a more personal style than your cover letter, since you’re writing to people you have already met and talked with. However, “personal” does not mean casual, so you should still maintain a professional tone.

One word of advice concerning the content of your letter: try not to make it more than a thank-you letter. If you feel that you omitted important details of your career during the interview and that mentioning them here could improve your chances of getting the job, you can make some discrete reference to them in the letter. However, the interviewer should still have the impression that they are reading a thank-you letter and not a disguised appendix to the interview.

The letter should be sent one or two days after the interview. Sending it later might diminish its potential impact. If all goes well, the company might soon call you back and invite you to another interview.

 

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