Why You Must Send a Thank You Letter After an Interview

Why You Must Send a Thank You Letter After an Interview

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I’m going to explain why sending a thank you letter after an interview is crucial for landing the job you want. From standing out in a sea of applicants to showcasing your gratitude and professionalism, a thank you letter can make a difference.

00:00 Intro
01:00 Gratitude and appreciation
01:47 It helps you stand out
02:44 A selling opportunity
03:10 Enthusiasm
03:44 It helps to build a relationship
04:214 The Tiebreaker effect
05:02 It’s the right thing to do
05:24 Summary
06:01 Outro

Should I Send a Thank You Letter Before The Weekend?

During my time in recruiting, and now as a coach, I’ve seen many people make the mistake of not sending a thank you letter after their interview. Receiving a thank you letter from someone after the interview can be a positive signal of your interest and enthusiasm for the position and tip the scales in your favor as they’re coming to decisions.

I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for no BS career and coaching advice globally. And they do it because I make things easier for people. Now, where I make it easier relates to job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, dealing with workplace issues or career transitions. And most of you are pretty well, amateurs in all those areas, and you’re figuring it out on the fly. I’m here to help.

Now, as I’ve spoken to hiring managers over the years, these are a few of the things they like to see in the thank you letter. And number one is a demonstration of gratitude and presenting in a professional way. It lets an interviewer or hiring manager know that you appreciate the time that they took to meet with you, and that you value them, that you value the fact that they took time to talk to you. Yes, they have an open position, but they didn’t have to choose you. It’s just the courtesy and respect that you’re showing to them, which from a human standpoint, from an emotional intelligence standpoint, serves you and how you conduct yourself in all situations.

Secondly, it can help you stand out from your competition. After all, markets are competitive. There are positions that you’re particularly interested in, and they’re talking to other people. A well written, well crafted thank you letter can help you do that. It can help you stand out from your competition. It can reinforce any positive impressions you made during the interview, and be used as an opportunity to remind an interviewer, remind a hiring manager of your strengths and qualifications. vis a vie their particular role.

I want to be clear–against their particular role. They don’t really care about certain things that you’ve done. They care about what it is that you’ve done that relates to what they need someone to do. So connecting the dots yet again, becomes important.

And thus, it’s a selling opportunity. It can allow you to highlight your skills and experience. Sometimes the things that you didn’t have a chance to talk about because of time constraints. And just use the phrase “I know we didn’t talk about it during the interview, but I realized that one of the things that I’ve done that really relates to what you’re doing is . . . ,” and thus, you’re able to put that out there.

It also shows that you can also demonstrate enthusiasm in your way. I’m saying it that way, because for introverts, you’re not going to be loud, obviously. But you’re going to be meticulous in how you communicate. And for those who are more extroverted, you can demonstrate enthusiasm in your particular way, too.

It’s also a way of building a relationship with the hiring manager, with the interviewer, because you never know where you’re running into them again. After all, they’re not going to be at this firm for the next 30 years. You can meet them and create an impression in their mind. And when I speak about “relationship,” it means that you open yourself up and are not presenting in a formal way– that you’re speaking as one human being to another. And in talking in this thank you letter, speaking like you would if you were working there, as opposed to some letter that you’ve pulled off the internet that sounds very rigid.

I also want to remind you that your interest, and perhaps even your enthusiasm can be seen as a tiebreaker in their mind versus another person. And I remember an article where an executive was talking about a decision that she had to make between three people. And the one that she chose was the one who expressed themselves as really being interested in the role. And thus, the others who were a little bit more standoffish or cool about it weren’t chosen. The one who put themselves out there as really being interested won.

Lastly, a thank you letter is the right thing to do. It shows that you’re gracious and appreciative. And it’s a human quality. And I’m a big believer that human connection is really important. And anytime you have the opportunity to demonstrate that, whether it’s in an interview or a thank you letter, it just makes sense.

So just to sum up, sending a thank you letter after an interview is a good step  because it can help you stand out from others, reinforce any positive impressions that you’ve created, sell yourself to them,  build relationships, demonstrate your professionalism, emotional intelligence and gratitude. So take the time to send one, it really doesn’t take a lot of time. You can send it from your phone as an email or a text depending upon how you’ve communicated with them up until this point.

So I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. There’s a lot more at my website, TheBigGameHunter.us. Go to the blog, you can go exploring. Again, a lot there to help. If you’re interested in my answering some questions from you, you can schedule time for what I call Trusted Advisor Services where you can just ask me some questions. Or if you’re interested in my coaching you in a job search, with hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, a workplace issue or a career transition, if you’re not sure, you schedule time for a free discovery call. If you are sure, put yourself on my calendar for coaching. I want to help you . . . and I know you can use some help.

Lastly, connect with me on LinkedIn/in/TheBigGameHunter. Mention that just saw the video. I like knowing I’m helping some folks. Once we’re connected, I know your network is gonna be a lot larger. Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!

FAQ’s on Thank You Letters

ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us

He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.

Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter

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Main YouTube: www.JobSearchTV.com

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