Say “Thank You” for Your Interview

Congratulations—you got the interview, and you nailed it. Don’t forget to thank your interviewing committee within 24 hours.

You know you’re the right person for the job and you think you gave all the right answers during your interview. You’re pretty sure they’re going to call you back with the job offer.

You think you’re done with the interview process, but you’re wrong.

You forgot to send each member of the hiring committee a post-interview thank you letter. Your professional resume writing service can help you say “thank you” for your interview–and change the hiring manager’s mind.

Witness these recent statistics. Robert Half reports that only 5% of job seekers send thank you letters after their interviews. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) adds to this—their study said 88% of hiring managers report that thank you letters influence their hiring decision.*

So does this mean that 5% of the job seeking population has a leg up on the majority of interviewers who simply aren’t playing by the rules? When you acknowledge an interview with a post-interview thank you letter, you have a huge opportunity to accomplish three  tasks.

1. You thank the committee, individually, for their time. Until you are hired, you’re simply a liability in terms of the amount of time and effort that it takes to get you on board.
2. You respond to the interview process, emphasizing how you can solve the hiring committee’s pain beginning on your first day at work.
3. You tell the hiring executive that you want the job. Remember, we don’t get what we don’t ask for, so make sure that you are 100% clear about your enthusiasm for the role.

If you are not accomplishing these three goals in your post-interview thank you letter, you’re failing to participate in a critical aspect of the interview process. In fact, you might have lost the chance to reiterate your interest in the position or to add to the data you provided in your interview. Make sure you send an individualized, well-conceived, thoughtful thank you letter to every member of your interviewing committee–it’s an investment in time and effort that you will not regret.

*Data used with many thanks to Susan Guarneri and her amazing presentation at Career Directors International 2010.

Updated July 2018.