Well, don't just give your interview, return home and hope for the best. You could be waiting endlessly for a call that may never come. However, a small thank you letter to the interviewer, expressing your appreciation for the opportunity, could give you the edge in a neck-to-neck situation.
You steal a lead over the others just by sending a letter because most applicants, oblivious to its worth and importance, don't send one. Even if you feel that your interview was good enough to land you the job, the letter will only enhance your chances.
Just remember that the letter should mention your core strengths and stress on the value that you are going to bring to the company. You can also use the letter to quash or justify any concerns that the employer raised and also raise the topics, which in your haste or nervousness you failed to mention during the interview.
Should I or Shouldn't I?
After the interviews with the job applicants, the interviewer narrows down his choice to a selected few. All of them have their strengths that saw them being in a preferred list. The interviewer often dithers as to who should be called. All chosen candidates seem to fit the bill. They all have the strengths the employer is seeking and yet the employer vacillates.
Imagine your thank-you note reaching the employer at this juncture. He opens your letter and reads:
Dear Sir/Maam,
It is indeed difficult to choose the right candidate. It is a task fraught with indecision and uncertainty. I, too have been in the dilemma that you are now confronted with.
Recollecting the little time we spent together during the interview, in hindsight I remember that the position that is on offer, is one to which I could bring added value, owing to reasons I did not present during the interview.
Imagine the letter continuing in the same vein and imagine what must be carousing through the interviewer's mind. He will be thinking. Whoa! Here's a fellow, who has not only remembered the problems I posed, but even thinking of solutions based on his past experience. This fellow's doing some thinking and analysis on his own. For him the interview has not concluded. Suddenly you will become present in his mind, obliterating the other competitors.
It is not humanely possibly for the interviewer to remember everything that you said during the interview. Who knows, he may have forgotten the most important thing that you said. Your highlights may be lost or forgotten.
The post-interview thank you letter is not just a courteous gesture saying, "I appreciate the opportunity." It is another chance to win someone over. It is an opportunity to show that you have a lot to offer the company and are looking forward to do your best for the company.
With apologies to John F. Kennedy, your post-interview letter tells, what you can do for the company, not what the company can do for you.
