Some say thank you letters is just another way of getting yourself in front of others. They are right. The main purpose of a thank you letter is to get you ahead of your fellow candidates because after all, the only way to be hired is to show that you are best compared to other job applicants.

Thank you letters could a bit tricky especially on what to write. Don’t just write something such as:

“Thank you for the time, I had a great time and learned a lot.”

Remember your interview was not a date so you have to be more professional than that. But before we proceed on the format of your letter, let’s go first with the timing. As soon as you end up your interview, compose the thank you letter. Don’t just write a letter because you are hired. Best practice is to send the letter the next day.

One of the biggest advantages in send thank you letters after an interview is to remind your interviewer who you are and what you can do. Imagine vying for a single position with 10 or even 15 more candidates. As soon as the next interviewer comes in the room after you, your face might be already a vague idea for the interviewer.

The thank you letter will not only remind them who you are but also with what you talked about. The thank you letter should contain what you talked about in the interview. This is also the chance of clearing out some ideas that you want to convey. Sometimes there are so many things to talk about that you might have missed the most important aspects of your skills. You should also write the things that you have learned from the interviewer. This is very applicable when you were interviewed by the company owner. That is why the best time to write the thank you letter is right after the interview. This information should be written as part of your letter.

But don’t think about writing a mini-book when you send a thank you letter. A single page thank you letter is more than enough. Managers and owners don’t want to read a thank you letter and spend more than five minutes reading it. I’m sure they have better things to do so a short and concise letter should be enough to remind them of your skills and abilities.

The format of your letter should go like this:

A short thanks for the letter followed by; Reiteration of your skills and abilities as well as the things you want to clear up with the interviewer. It also the time to write what you learned from the interview such as learning first hand the goals of the company as well as its visions in the future.

Finally, end up your letter with another quick thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed. Remember that when it comes to being hired to better jobs and positions, it’s a virtual rat race out there. You have to present yourself in a continuous but in a subtle way to get the job you want.

many thanks to  Chandra Vennapoosa