Creative Job Search: Thank-You Letters and Notes

Points to Consider

• Be brief and to the point.
• When thanking a potential employer restate your interest in the position and/or company.
• Always plan your follow-up. Make it a point to tell the person when and how she/he can expect to hear from you in the future.
• If there are multiple people, such as a panel interview, send a separate thank-you to each person or send a single thank you to a key person for distribution. When sending more than one thank-you, it is very effective to vary each.
• Always send a written thank-you to a person by name.
• The thank-you note is an opportunity to restate your qualifications. Briefly include any pertinent information you failed to mention earlier. Be sure to reemphasize your qualifications to do the job.
• Write and mail thank-you correspondence as soon after the contact as possible, preferably the same day, while details are fresh in your mind.
• Learn to say "thank you" when you are with the individual. But do not let that be all you do; follow up with a thank-you letter, note or phone call. Occasionally, you may want to make the effort to meet with the person again for the primary purpose of saying, "Thank you."
• Of course you should always say "thank you" whenever you are on the phone and someone helps you. But there may be occasions when you would call someone specifically to say, "Thank you."

Basic Parts of a Thank-You Note

1. Statement of appreciation

2. Expressions of interest in employment

3. Brief restatement of qualifications

4. Final "Thank you"