It may be in the majority’s mind that the interview is the final stage of a recruitment process. Once you give it all in the interview, the next thing to do is to sit and wait.

Well, it isn’t. There’s one more thing you can do. And it can help you stand out from the crowd. The thank you letter. It can do way more than a mere expression of gratitude and appreciation.

The Power of Thank You Emails You Have Never Imagined

In the book How to write better resumes and cover letters by Patricia K. Criscito, she mentioned a survey revealing less than 20% applicants write a thank you letter after an interview.

However, most importantly, 94% of the recruiters said that a thank you letter would increase the chance of getting the job, or keeping the applicants in the contest. It seems that most applicants may have missed the most lethal weapon in their pursuit of dream jobs!

A carefully written thank you letter is not only an act of good manner. It is actually another stage for you to present yourselves and provide anything you think is important but left unspoken in the interview.

Besides, thank you letters can also remind the interviewers of your existence, with an additional good impression through your proactive expression of gratitude!

Dos and Don’ts to Turn Your Thank You Letter into a Winning Bet

Start the letter with a clear purpose, “Thank you” + [Subject]

You can’t imagine how many spamming and phishing emails are sent to a company every day. If you don’t want your email to be treated as one of them, state clearly your purpose in the subject! Before you try to maximise your chance of getting the job, it’s best to avoid your effort being wasted.

Send an individual letter to each interviewer

Recall what you have talked about with every interviewer respectively and write about the individual connection with each of them. Never send the exact same message to all the interviewers. The mail will most likely be circulated around and it is easy to find out about the copy-and-paste mail you prepared. Then your thank you letter will do you more harm than good.

Reiterate the matters you talekd about with the interviewers

On one hand, it helps the interviewers recognise you as they may have dealt with hundreds of applicants a day. On the other hand, you can add what you think you should have said in the interview. It furthers shows how you are potentially a good match for the position.

Write to the Interviewers, NOT anyone else.

Addressing the wrong people at very least doesn’t help you. In the worst case scenario, it can kill your chance if the job. The interviewers are the only employers in the company that know you. Writing to anyone else serves no purpose at all, regardless of the position they are in.

Therefore, remember to take note of the full name and position of the interviewers during the interview!

Send your letter as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours

Think from the interviewers’ perspective. You have met hundreds of unfamiliar faces a day. Can you still recognise one of them after a day or two? Therefore, it is best to send the letter promptly while their memory is still fresh and they have a clue of who you are.

Besides, they could be making the decision shortly after the interview. Then your thank you letter will be unable to make any positive impact.

Proofread the letter. Make sure it is mistake-free.

Imagine you receive a letter full of grammatical mistakes. On one hand, you find it hard to comprehend. On the other hand, you doubt the sincerity of the sender, thinking that he or she is not serious about the letter or is a very careless person.

In either case, you don’t want to be that sender. So proofread your letter. If possible, ask someone else to have a look too. They will probably discover some mistakes you overlooked.

Never correct the mistakes you made in the interview.

Don’t try to correct what you thought was inappropriate in the interview. The interviewer may have well forgotten about it. Bringing it up again simply reminds them that you did not perform well in the interview. Focus on the good and leave aside the bad.

Write in formal language. Don’t use the casual Internet language.

Despite that you write it in an email, keep all the writing in a formal style. It is a kind of respect to everyone. And after all, it is all part of a formal business setting. Stick to it. Don’t use any Internet acronyms or slangs. Memes are prohibited. Keep it formal.