Yes, you’ve heard this lecture before. You must send an interview thank you note to every person you interview with, every time you interview. Here is your check list to do it right!
While on the interview…
Make sure you get the name of every person you interview with. The correct spelling is important but can be confirmed on the company’s website or via LinkedIn after the interview. Make sure you know the name they like to go by. When you write your note, use Jen versus Jennifer if that is what they prefer.
When you have a chance, probably after the interviews are completed, take notes on points you want to follow up in the thank you notes. It may be something as simple as a passing comment, or as serious as a mistake you might have made in an answer you gave. Something personal for each person is critical for an effective interview thank you note.
Timing…
Interview thank you notes should always be completed within 24 hours of the end of your interview. Some people try to do it immediately after the day of interviews has been completed, but sending it the next morning catches people when they are refreshed and reminds them of your interest. Too immediate blurs together with the actual interview.
Length…
Being concise is very important. The best thank you notes are two to three short paragraphs. Interview thank you notes aren’t done as a courtesy unlike most thank you notes. You are using the interview thank you note to highlight your level of interest, your fit for the position and to show you effectively follow-up.
Content…
You should send an email to every person you interviewed with and every one of them should be different. Cutting and pasting the same email will be noticed unflatteringly! Follow-up on a specific discussion or question with that particular person, but you can stress your interest similarly across all the thank you notes. Your goal is to advance your candidacy while being gracious and grateful.
Awkward issues you may want to address. If the interviewer was a robot, try to get more from them by asking a question. If you answered a question poorly, use this chance to correct your mistake. If you were late, apologize, again. If you felt you rambled on too long, make it clear your nerves took over due to your enthusiasm for the position.
Panel Interview…
A panel interview is the one instance when you can send one thank you note to all of the interviewers that sat on your panel. Since they all heard the same questions and answers your comments can apply to all of them. If you need to address something specific with just one member of the panel, then you will need to do separate thank you notes for each person – more work, but more effective when there is a problem.
Email…
And last but not least, make sure you email the thank you notes. While handwritten thank you notes are lovely for personal responses, they take too long to arrive, are often difficult to read, and there isn’t room on the card for two or three paragraphs.
