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Writing a thank you note and job interview follow up is something most job applicants either neglect or don’t do right. If you have a strong resume and had a good to great interview, why would you want to stop that positive momentum by failing to follow up?
How to Write a Job Interview Thank You Note
Writing a thank you note and following up properly can set you aside from other applicants because it gives you a platform to affirm your interest in the job, address any concerns that were raised during the interview, and keep you front-of-mind in the interviewers’ and hiring manager’s minds.
To write a good thank you note, you should first start off by thanking the interviewers for their time and for the opportunity to interview. It is a privilege to interview .
Next, you should consider what was discussed during the interview process. Were there any details or questions that needed to be followed up on?
As an example, I interviewed for an engineer job in an office in the same state, but several counties over. When I mentioned the projects I was working on, the hiring manager was very interested in a certain project location and asked for more details about the location and work being performed.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the information readily available in the interview, but was able to follow up in my thank you note with the details he had asked for. I ended up getting the job and, in my mind, that little piece of information only confirmed in the hiring manager’s mind that I was someone who followed through on my work and went above and beyond what was required to get the job done.
Once you’ve done that, you may want to briefly restate why you think you’re the most qualified candidate for the job and how you can help the company succeed if given the opportunity.
Armed with the knowledge from your interview, you should be able to better hone in on what specific characteristics, knowledge, experience, etc. they’re looking for to craft a well-thought-out answer to why they should hire you.
Finally, invite them to ask you any additional questions and close by saying you’re looking forward to hearing back.
When to Follow Up After the Sending the Thank You Note
Hiring managers are very busy and do not have time to constantly field phone calls from potential applicants. Because of this, you need to be careful about following up too often and hurting your chances of landing the job. Remember, these same people you’ll be bothering by calling or emailing too often, will be the same people you’ll be working with day in and day out (assuming you don’t blow it by calling too often!), so you want to start off on the right foot.
To start, hopefully you asked a question during the interview that gave you some indication when the hiring manager would make a decision. If so, do not reach back out after sending the thank you note until after the date or timeline given.
If you didn’t ask and/or weren’t given a timeline for the decision during the interview, I don’t think it hurts to call once to get some idea of when to expect a decision. I wouldn’t call again after this until after the date and timelines given. If you are selected, most likely you’ll hear back before the time is up.
Conclusion
If done right, a good thank you note and proper follow up etiquette can keep the momentum going from your interview and give you a platform for addressing any questions or concerns brought up during the interview.
For a more thorough Job Interview guide, please click here.
Do you have any other tips or tricks to writing a great thank you note?