Writing an Interview Thank You Letter

You've just come back from a job interview and you're exhausted.  Answering all those interview questions took a lot out of you and you're glad it's all over.  The bad news is that it's really not over yet; if you want to really make a good impression you've got to sit down and start writing an interview thank you letter.

Just like your resume and the job interview, your thank you letter provides one more important piece of information about you before a hiring decision is made.  Too many job candidates make the mistake of thinking that writing an interview thank you letter is optional - it's not.  But you're smarter than they are and that's why you're going to write one.

Interview Thank You Letters

In fact, studies suggest that less than 10% of all interviewees follow up with an interview thank you letter.  That's good news for you because it gives you the chance to separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

Does writing a thank you letter lock you in as the successful candidate?  It's doubtful someone would make a hiring decision based solely on receiving a thank you.  But, that's not to say that a thank you letter wouldn't be used as a "tie-breaker."  The point here is this - regardless of your success in getting a job, an interview thank you letter leaves the hiring manager with a good impression of you and that can come in handy.

Thank You Letter Format

When you're writing an interview thank you letter, the format you'll want to use includes three components:

1. You'll want to start off by thanking the interviewer for taking the time, and giving you the opportunity, to speak with them directly.  You'll personalize this section of the thank you letter by providing information specific to your interview.
2. Next, you'll want to express your interest in working for their company and the job for which you interviewed.  This section can also be customized to something that was said or an experience you had during the actual interview.
3. Finally, you'll close out the thank you letter by reiterating your appreciation for the interview; offer to provide additional information if they have a questions and tell the interviewer that you're looking forward to hearing back from them on a decision.

You don't want to oversell yourself on the thank you letter.  The format used here is clean and to the point.

Recipients of Thank You Letters

If you met with several members of the hiring company during the interview, then you many want to send out multiple thank you letters.  You don't need to send a thank you letter to everyone you met - but anyone that took a significant amount of time out of their busy schedule to talk with you deserves this courtesy.

Hand Written Thank You Letters

Some people think that the thank you letter you send after the interview needs to be hand written.  In most instances a hand written letter is not necessary.  We live in the world of personal computers.  Unless you believe that a hand written thank you is in order because of the culture of the company or the nature of the job opening, a typewritten letter is just fine.

Emailed Thank You Letters

Unless the urgency of the decision or culture of the company dictates an emailed thank you letter you'll normally drop the letter in the US mail instead.  Emails are convenient to send and that's part of the problem - they are also perceived as being far less personal.

If a decision is going to be made right away, you may want to email a thank you that same day and follow up with a thank you letter via the US mail.

Interview Thank You Letter Timing

You should compose your interview thank you letter as soon as possible following the interview itself - preferably the same day.  You should do this for two reasons.  The first reason has to do with simply demonstrating to the interviewer that you're willing to take the time to write the letter right away.

The second reason for sending the thank you letter out right away has to do with your memory.  You should write the letter while the experience is still fresh in your memory.

Proofreading the Thank You Letter

Just because you're sending out the thank you letter immediately post interview doesn't mean you should take shortcuts.  The letter is going to be read by the hiring manager or recruiter and it may be the final impression you leave with that person before they make a hiring decision.

The last thing you want to do is send out a letter with spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.  Have a trusted friend proofread the thank you letter before you send it out.

Interview Thank You Letter Samples

Now that you know what to include on an interview thank you letter and when you should send it out, we're going to help you get started by providing a couple of sample letters.  As always, our samples are free to download and written in Microsoft Word.

We're going to provide you with three interview thank you letter samples, each tailored to a slightly different purpose:

• Interview Thank You Letter Template - This first thank you letter sample simply follows the rules outlined above in terms of template / format.
• Clarifying Interview Thank You Letter - This second thank you sample is an example of how you might want to use an interview thank you letter to clarify a point you were trying to make during the interview.
• Omission Interview Thank You Letter - This final thank you letter sample is an example you can use if you forgot to mention something during the interview and later realized this may be important information to bring to the attention of the hiring manager.

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