iMentor Skills for Career Advancement (SCA) Workshop Series

SESSION #6: About Writing-Thank You Letters

(http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/thankyouletters/l/aa041398.htm)

Don't underestimate the power of a Thank-You letter. Also called a follow-up letter, it may be the deciding factor in your favor, especially when there are other candidates with your qualifications applying for the same job. Immediately after a round of interviews, always send a thank you letter to each of your interviewers by fax, mail, or email!

Email is the quickest way to get thank you letters in front of interviewers, and is perfectly acceptable these days. But avoid using “cutesy” Net stuff, like emoticons (e.g., happy faces), shorthand and acronyms (e.g., u for you and TIA for thanks in advance).

Regardless of how you send your Thank-You letters after interviews, be sure to follow professional business letter standards (like you used in your cover letter). Near the end of your interviews, always remember to ask each interviewer for his or her contact information and correct name spelling or just ask for a business card!

Most interviewers expect you to write thank you letters. It's also an effective interviewing strategy. For example, writing thank you letters:

• Shows that you are courteous, knowledgeable and professional
• Demonstrates your written communication skills
• Helps to make you stand out in the minds of the interviewers
• Elevates you above competing candidates who didn't bother to write thank you letters
• Gives you an opportunity to reinforce your good points
• Allows you to include something important you forgot to mention during your interview
• Confirms your understanding of topics discussed and helps to avoid misunderstandings

The main thing to keep in mind is that this letter is another important chance for you to make a good impression on potential employers, so be sure that yours are well-written, error-free, and brief!

Resources to help you write your next Thank-You letter:

• We have created the iMentor thank-you letter template, which you can use as a guideline for writing your own thank-you letters.

• If you want to see an example of what a completed cover letterlooks like, we have also included a sample for you to check out at the end of this packet.