How important is an interview thank you letter?

Have you ever considered sending a thank you letter after an interview? You can guarantee that 99% of the other candidates haven’t thought of it either, so can you think of a better way ensuring that you receive prominence in the interviewers mind than by sending off a note of thanks for their time – and by way of an after though happening to mention – very briefly – why you would be perfect for the job?

According to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 650 employers, "Writing a thank you letter after an interview doesn’t just showcase a candidate’s manners – it can also make or break their chances of landing a job. Nearly 15% of hiring managers say they would not hire someone who failed to send a thank you letter after the interview, 32% say they would still consider the candidate, but would think less of him or her."

"One in four hiring managers prefer to receive a thank you note in e-mail form only, 19% want the e-mail followed up with a hard copy, 21% want a typed hard copy only and 23% prefer just a handwritten note."

"26% of hiring managers expect to have the letter in hand two days after the interview and 36% expect to have it within three to five days."

When you consider that the statistics show that less than 15% of candidates even both send thank you letters, and of those little more than 1% create a personal letter vs. a generic note of thanks, a post interview thank you letter has got to be regarded as one of your strongest ‘personal’ marketing tools.

When writing your thank you letter, remember that first and foremost that is what it is – a thank you letter – an acknowledgement of the time taken and interest displayed by the interviewer/s.

• Be brief and to the point

• Be personal, stating the name/s of the person/s present – ensuring that the spelling is correct

• Briefly – very briefly – mention any point that you would like to reiterate that positions you as an ideal candidate

• Close on a bright and positive note stating that you are looking forward to the next step in the interview process.

It’s just so simple and effective.