7 Steps to Send a Great Post-Interview Thank You Note - Coffee Break

7 Steps to Send a Great Post-Interview Thank You Note - Coffee Break This week is all about giving thanks. In that spirit, were talking about the importance of sending a thank you note after a job interview. A thank you note not only makes you stand out, it also reminds the hiring manager about you. So before you dig into turkey and cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving, remember you have one more thing to be thankful for. Well discuss the whole methodology for sending the perfect thank you note after the break. 1. Send the Letter Within 24 Hours Its incredibly important to send the thank you note soon after the interview. Otherwise, you risk missing your window of recognition. Sending it shortly after gives them a  reminder about you. Whether that reminder is good or bad is reflected by how you performed in the interview. Either way, in order to meet the 24 hour mark, you should send an email. 2. Email the Note While email may lack the personal touch of a  handwritten note, it makes up for it in the speed category. Begin to compose an email directed towards the hiring manager, or whoever you interviewed with. Make sure you leave the To  section blank until it is ready to send however. Nobody wants a partially written thank you! 3. Keep it Professional Given the popularity of texting, many young professionals naturally use text lingo when emailing. However, this type of behavior should never be used to address those who interviewed you. It would reflect poorly on you, and hurt your chances instead of helping. This also ties in to the next point. 4. Think About Who Youre Writing To Occasionally, it can be difficult to mentally put yourself in the shoes of someone else. However, in this case it will strengthen your thank you note greatly. Look at yourself from the interviewers perspective. What skills and qualities of yours would the company benefit the most? Think about your abilities and how they can address the projects or tasks the company needs someone to carry out. Thank them, but also demonstrate your excitement and ability to fill their needs. 5. Put in a Personal Note This may not be the case for every thank you note. However, many times in an interview you may find common ground with their interviewer. As the dialogue flows, think of if there is a non interview related topic you connected on. For example, if you both discuss your love of fishing or another hobby, mention it briefly in the thank you. This gives them a reminder of how you two connected. 6. Have Someone Proofread It. This point cant be stresed enough. Misteaks like thes will make youre thank u note look week. Now youve already formed an opinion on the mistakes in those two sentences. Think about how poorly those errors would make you look as a job candidate. This is especially true if you are expected to be good with grammar or a proficient writer. Check your note yourself, but have someone else look it over  as well. Its much too easy for you to miss your own mistakes, so let someone else check for you. 7. Send It, Remain Patient At this point, youve done all the work you can. The only thing you can do now is wait patiently. While you may feel the urge to check back in every day or the next week, give it some time. Youve already followed up, and they are likely deciding between candidates. The thank you note already gave you an edge, and all you can do now is wait for a decision. Pestering the interviewer about a decision may make them see you negatively instead of having positive effect. Give it at least two weeks post-thank you to follow up one last time.