Thanking the Prospective Employer

Is a thank you letter a nicety or critical business protocol? 

In days gone by, guests of dinner parties penned thoughtful little thank you notes to their hosts and hostesses, in gratitude for their hospitality.  Nowadays, those notes have gone the way of the fifteen-cent subway token, as have most of the genteel manners that we as a society seem to have lost, ignored, or simply trampled in our daily rush through our lives.  Sometimes, however, the tried and true remains valid, and that is the case with thank you letters (also called “follow up letters”) to your prospective employers.

It is not only courteous to thank the person or people who took time from their busy schedules to interview you; it is considered good business protocol.  Of the many would-be employees that flow through the offices of hiring managers, those managers are most likely to remember, and give serious consideration to, a select group of candidates.  Yes, those candidates must display the skill sets required to get the job done.  However, there are subtle differences that set job seekers apart from one another, and the thank you letter is one of those differences.

Keep your thank you letter relatively brief, and try to personalize it as much as possible.  Include the job title for which you had interviewed, and something that you had discussed with the potential employer.  Keep the tone professional and polite; you wish to be considered seriously for the job.

The timing of the thank you letter is important, so write and send it out as soon as possible after your meeting (a 24-hour turnaround time is ideal).   A quick response to the employer’s generosity will show that you are truly interested in the available position.

You can send your letter by email or fax, but for maximum impact, don’t!  Employers are besieged by electronic messages, and chances are, their secretaries will put the thank you emails and faxes at the bottom of the pile.  Instead, send the employer an actual letter (remember those?), written on nice, professional stationery such as 24 pound bond paper of a heavy cream or ivory or white stock, in a matching envelope upon which you place a postage stamp.

If more than one person interviewed you, be certain that every one in the group receives a letter.  Chances are, they are not going to compare your thank you letters, but you never can be 100% sure of that.  Therefore, edit the letters to some degree so that each recipient gets an individualized letter.

Must you write the letter out by hand?  You don’t have to, and if your penmanship leaves much to be desired, we don’t advise it.  But if your handwriting is legible and even pleasant to behold, you may go ahead and pick up your pen instead of pounding your keyboard.

A speedy and well-thought out thank you letter can indeed be the “make or break” factor in securing that great new job!