Moreover, most applicants overlook sending a thank-you letter. By sending a letter of appreciation you join a further shortened list of prospective job frontrunners.
Quite a portion of your thank-you letter will contain most of what you said during the interview, and you may fear being repetitive and monotonous. That’s not true. The written word is always more powerful and will help refresh your communication with the interviewer. Anyway, since you are likely one of the dozens of people they have interviewed, it’s safe to assume that they have forgotten most of the interviews, other than what they wrote down about each applicant.
Address Interviewers Concerns
During the interview the interview may have raised some reservations and doubt about your ability to justify your hiring. Address those issues in your letter and stress that you are fully prepared and ready to meet the challenges and that you do not perceive them as impediments but as challenges to be overcome.
Reservations that the interviewer may have expressed could be issues such as the fact that you are new to the area and that it will take time to establish contacts or that your inexperience could make you a misfit in an organization that has been around a long time.
Recap Your Proficiency
Tell the interviewer in your letter that your proficiency, your youth, and your enthusiasm and passion, will all help overcome any challenges you face and that you will definitely meet those challenges if provided the opportunity.
Highlight Your Strengths
Every company details what it specifically wants to see in a candidate. Mention each requirement and tell them how you fit the bill. Tick off each requirement, like you would tick-off items in your provisions list, when you’ve finished purchasing them at the mall. The company has specified definite requirements; you too should provide definite answers, by clearly outlining how you meet or surpass each prerequisite.
Determining the Length of the Letter
Ideally it should be a one page letter. Beyond that it may fail to hold the reader’s attention span. But that’s not the norm; letters can be more than one page. Write crisp, meaningful short sentences and pack in as much as possible within the confines of this brevity. The company is interested in you. Amongst possibly hundreds of applications, you were one of the chosen few summoned for an interview. A worker at their workplace is a long term commitment, and they will put a value on what you have to say. You have to market yourself for a job, and a thank you letter is another medium for you to do so.
Spell and grammar check your letter and, if possible get an experienced professional to read it.
How Should You Send It?
If you have developed a personal rapport with the interviewer you can hand write it, otherwise it should be typed. Send it by email, as it has the potential of reaching your interviewer within hours of your interview and he can still recollect your face and what you spoke about. Snail mail is tedious and slow. Unless the company is a traditional one that puts a price on old values and the old way of doing things, use email. By the time a letter by regular mail reaches the company, their decision may have already been made.
Sample Interview Thank-You Letter
Base your letter on the sample model below:
June 13, 2015
Mr. N. Solomon
Loma Linda University Medical Center
East Campus (909) 558-6000
25333 Barton Road
Loma Linda, California 92354
Dear Sir,
I thank you for meeting with me this morning to discuss my application for the accounting position at the Center. I look forward to working for you and am excited at the possibility of joining such an exciting place.
My earlier experience will come in extremely handy. In my last position as an accounting manager at Bethany Chemicals, I helped manage many aspects of the company’s financial operations, handling tasks such as bookkeeping, customer service, claims processing, financial report preparation and ongoing communications with respective banks.
You mentioned during our interview that the job calls for a person of accounting skills and a man whose integrity and commitment is above reproach.
May I humbly add that my qualifications in the field of finance will vouch for my accounting skills. In my last workplace, where I started out as a clerk, I was elevated to a position where I was required to handle all the cash transactions that included salaries, payments and purchases. My last supervisor has clearly mentioned that he thinks that I am one of the hardest-working employees that has worked under him.
May I also add that I don’t see my job as punch-the-clock, 9-to-5 job; I will gladly go beyond my work schedules and responsibilities and be there whenever the company needs me.
Again, thank you for considering me for this job. I reiterate once again that I will be a valuable asset to your company and never betray the trust and faith you will impose in me, if you feel that I am right and appropriate for the job.
I’m enclosing a list of professional references. Please feel free to call me if you need additional information, have any questions or would like to offer me the job! Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Gary Thomas
Enclosure: List of References
