First off, it's just good manners. Job interviews are stressful for hiring managers as well as for candidates. They have to read your application, prepare questions, schedule the time to get together with you and endure the high-pressure situation of evaluating another person based on one short meeting.
They are doing all of that to give you a chance at getting hired for a new job that will be a career move for you. So, it is only polite to thank them for the effort.
Secondly, by sending a thank-you note after the interview, you stand out from all of the rival candidates who didn't bother to write one.
And finally, a thank-you note gives you a chance to remind employers of your key qualifications for the role – or even bring up anything you may have forgotten to mention during the interview.
Before you leave the job interview – or sign off from the video interview – be sure that you have the email addresses of the hiring manager and any other member of the hiring committee who took the time to meet with you. This way, you can send polite individual thank-you notes to each of them.
Here's how you can write a thank-you note after a job interview to employers to boost your chances of getting hired for the job.
Start with the thank you. Since the main point of your letter – or most commonly, email – is to thank the employer for the opportunity, open with that. Then reiterate your enthusiasm for the role and mention how the interview only further convinced you that you would be a good fit.
For example:
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me this morning to discuss my candidacy for the Sales Manager position. I have been a customer of your products for years, and I would make a genuinely enthusiastic ambassador for your brand. I enjoyed meeting the team this morning, and I feel that I could be a great fit with the department and the organization as a whole.
Re-state your top selling point. This is your chance to remind the employer of what it is you bring to the table. Your perception of what this key differentiator is might even have changed after having had the opportunity to discuss the role in person. Whatever you want the hiring committee to consider most about you, mention it here.
For example:
As you noted, it is far easier to manage and grow a relationship with an existing customer than it is to acquire new clients. I have built proven up customer-relations strategies using the latest technologies over a decade of sales leadership roles. Under my management, the sales team at ACME Co. grew their profits by 25% year-over-year, directly based on leveraging CRM solutions. I can see how we could drive similar results for your team.
Conclude your message and sign off. Wrap it up by assuring the employer that you are working on any next steps on your part and that you hope to hear from them soon. Keep it personable and friendly, but professional. The whole job application and interviewing process is a business transaction.
For example:
I have included the sample business proposal that you requested, and I am following up with my references now, just to confirm their current contact information and availability. I will forward those to you in a day or two.
In the meantime, please let me know if you have any follow-up questions or if you need any further information from me.
Thanks again for considering me.
Best regards,
Be sure to send your thank-you note on the same day or the day after the job interview at the latest. You want to showcase your professionalism while you are still top-of-mind with the employer. Also, you don't want to give even a hint of procrastination in the application process. That is not a good look for a job seeker.
