Sending a thank you note after an interview is one of those things that a lot of college students assume is akin to asking a one-night stand for their phone number-a meaningless transfer of information that no one takes seriously. You better check that assumption because this could be the one thing that sets you apart from the other guy or gal.
Check and make sure your thank you note after the interview includes the 5 following points:
1. Performance and Specific Results
Take this time to reiterate the strengths you communicated in the interview, especially focusing on specifics. In the interview you should have talked about how you delivered value to companies you worked for in the past, and ideally, you did this in a way that was quantifiable.
Now that you've gone home, believe it or not, the prospective employers didn't shut down the office, call off the rest of the interviews, and call it a day at the office on account of coming across the best damn candidate ever. Not at all. They likely waded through more interviews, left the office wishing they never had to do it again, drank a few beers at the local pub, and went home to argue with their spouse.
Too make a short story long, they probably don't remember a word you said. That might be little cynical (you think), but it certainly doesn't hurt to highlight your key selling points once again and remind them though sending a thank you note after interview.
2. Energy and Enthusiasm
Let's try not to write a letter that says in tone but not in words, "Hey, I'm bored off my ass but felt obligated to thank you blah blah blah." You want to seem enthusiastic and energetic about the letter and come across high energy. Don't scribble stars and flowers all over it either, but show some enthusiasm.
3. Personality
What often stands out the most social situations like job interviews is not a person's credentials and work history but their personality. In the end, getting hired is about creating attraction.
I don't mean the "let's just get this over with in the broom closet" kind of attraction, but the natural attraction that a charismatic person creates in the people around them. The best thing you can do in an interview is have a personality that stands out, and your thank you note after interview needs to be consistent with this same personality.
4. Interest in the Position
As always, it's best if the employer feels like you aren't just applying because you needed a job. As unfair as it is to you that you have to wade through all these different interviews and sell yourself to the different companies, your odds are best if you express real interest in each one. This comes a lot easier if you only pick positions you are actually interested in...imagine that.
Communicate this yet again in the thank you note after interview. Reconfirm your strong interest in not only the position but the company and industry as a whole. Show that you are ready to commit, even if you've been running from that same promise in the dating arena all through college.
5. Your Value to the Company
Okay, so you've gone over how you've been directly valuable for other companies in the past. You've reconfirmed your interest in an energetic, enthusiastic manner reminiscent of the personality you expressed in the interview. Now it's time to get down to what really matters-what's in it for them.
Express directly how you will use your strengths to benefit their company, preferably in a quantifiable manner. Because at the end of the day, if you don't look like dollars, you don't make sense.
What you should have gotten from these 5 points is that the thank you note after interview is not just about saying thanks, although you absolutely need to express gratitude for the time and energy invested in being given the opportunity, but it is also about reminding them of all the best things about you that you wanted to express in the interview.
Check and make sure your thank you note after the interview includes the 5 following points:
1. Performance and Specific Results
Take this time to reiterate the strengths you communicated in the interview, especially focusing on specifics. In the interview you should have talked about how you delivered value to companies you worked for in the past, and ideally, you did this in a way that was quantifiable.
Now that you've gone home, believe it or not, the prospective employers didn't shut down the office, call off the rest of the interviews, and call it a day at the office on account of coming across the best damn candidate ever. Not at all. They likely waded through more interviews, left the office wishing they never had to do it again, drank a few beers at the local pub, and went home to argue with their spouse.
Too make a short story long, they probably don't remember a word you said. That might be little cynical (you think), but it certainly doesn't hurt to highlight your key selling points once again and remind them though sending a thank you note after interview.
2. Energy and Enthusiasm
Let's try not to write a letter that says in tone but not in words, "Hey, I'm bored off my ass but felt obligated to thank you blah blah blah." You want to seem enthusiastic and energetic about the letter and come across high energy. Don't scribble stars and flowers all over it either, but show some enthusiasm.
3. Personality
What often stands out the most social situations like job interviews is not a person's credentials and work history but their personality. In the end, getting hired is about creating attraction.
I don't mean the "let's just get this over with in the broom closet" kind of attraction, but the natural attraction that a charismatic person creates in the people around them. The best thing you can do in an interview is have a personality that stands out, and your thank you note after interview needs to be consistent with this same personality.
4. Interest in the Position
As always, it's best if the employer feels like you aren't just applying because you needed a job. As unfair as it is to you that you have to wade through all these different interviews and sell yourself to the different companies, your odds are best if you express real interest in each one. This comes a lot easier if you only pick positions you are actually interested in...imagine that.
Communicate this yet again in the thank you note after interview. Reconfirm your strong interest in not only the position but the company and industry as a whole. Show that you are ready to commit, even if you've been running from that same promise in the dating arena all through college.
5. Your Value to the Company
Okay, so you've gone over how you've been directly valuable for other companies in the past. You've reconfirmed your interest in an energetic, enthusiastic manner reminiscent of the personality you expressed in the interview. Now it's time to get down to what really matters-what's in it for them.
Express directly how you will use your strengths to benefit their company, preferably in a quantifiable manner. Because at the end of the day, if you don't look like dollars, you don't make sense.
What you should have gotten from these 5 points is that the thank you note after interview is not just about saying thanks, although you absolutely need to express gratitude for the time and energy invested in being given the opportunity, but it is also about reminding them of all the best things about you that you wanted to express in the interview.
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