CAREER COACHING TIP OF THE WEEK: Make Your Thank You Letter Work Smarter
Do you send a Thank You letter after an interview?
Thank you letters can also be known as “cinch the job offer” letters. Many interviewees do not send thank you letters – so the ones that do send thank you letters often have an edge up on those that do not send the letters.
Thank you letters can be very generic: “Thank you for taking the time to interview me today.”
However, a well-written thank you letter is an opportunity to reinforce your main areas of expertise, expound on a topic that was discussed during the interview, and express your continued interest in the position.
Here are some tips for making the Thank You Letter valuable:
- It is acceptable to send an e-mail thank you letter.
- Compose a separate letter for each interviewer. Avoid CCing the letter to the interview panel, if you have individual email addresses.
- If you connected with the interviewer concerning some common ground (universities, sports, movies, favorite website, etc.), you might want to mention that in the letter as well to help be memorable to the interviewer.
- Use short paragraphs and bullet points to detail information discussed in the interview.
- Use the letter to discuss action items:
“Based on our discussion, I am even more interested in the position of IT Director based on the challenges you presented to me. I realize that you are seeking a leader capable of standing up a new cybersecurity program for your company to ensure the protection of its customers and help prevent costly fees associated with being hacked. As we discussed, my past performance will serve your company well. I can do the same for your company and more.
- I stood up two completely new cybersecurity programs for two different companies, stopping hackers, ensuring customer security and privacy, and preventing fines worth $$$.
- I led intense negotiations and presented my business case, maintaining our mobile communication relationship with the IT vendor to secure our various communication environments/operations and effectively renegotiated a $10M five-year technology contract.
I look forward to hearing from your office in the next 10 days. Feel free to call me to clarify anything we discussed or ask additional questions.”
Leverage the Thank You Letter to reinforce your expertise and express interest in the position.
