Interviewing Skills
Following up After an interview
Following Up with a Thank You
Writing a thank you letter after your interview is one way to demonstrate your good manners. But that isn't all a thank you letter does for you.
A Thank You Letter:
- shows the interviewer that you respect their time and appreciate the opportunity they have given you.
- gives you the chance to highlight key qualifications that make you stand out from the crowd.
- allows you to expressly demonstrate an interest in the position and company one more time.
- is a great opportunity to clarify something or mention whatever you may have forgotten during the interview.
See what hiring managers have to say in this 2011 CareerBuilder survey on thank you letters
Writing Thank You Letters
Not everyone enjoys writing thank you letters. In fact, some people are not sure how to write one.
Use the interactive below to learn about how to write thank you letters.
Thank You Letter Tips
- If your handwriting is difficult to read, consider typing your thank you letter. Use our Thank You Letter Template to create a professional looking letter.
Note: The template opens in a new window as a Microsoft Word 97-2003 document. Save it to your computer and replace the template text with appropriate text of your own. - Make sure there are no spelling or typographical errors in your message.
- If the hiring manager will be making a decision soon, you may want to send a thank you or follow-up letter by email first, then mail your handwritten thank you.
- It is best to send the thank you within the first 24 hours after your interview, so that your interview is fresh in your mind while you are writing the letter and fresh in the hiring manager's mind as he or she is reading it.
- If you were interviewed by more than one person, the best thing to do is to send a personalized version of the thank you to each person. However, if you find that the text of each letter is identical, you may want to address one thank you to the entire hiring team.