Modern recruitment is a stressful process that leaves many candidates struggling to set themselves apart from the crowd. When giving recruitment advice, it’s common to hear tips on constructing applications, preparing for interviews, and the types of answers interviewers seek. However, one area that hasn’t been explored in depth is sending a thank you letter after an interview. Find out why thank you letters are vital and learn how to get them right.
Why Are Thank You Letters an Important Part of Recruitment
Many candidates wrongly assume a thank you letter is optional and leave the interview thinking nothing more is needed. However, this is far from the truth!
Thank you letters are a great opportunity to cement yourself as an excellent candidate. They allow you to reinforce important points and keep yourself in the interviewers’ minds. In short, a thank you letter is as important as your application and interview. It works hard to help you be the chosen candidate!
Top Tips to Get Your Thank You Letter Right
With the understanding of why thank you letters are important, use our top tips to get yours right every time:
- Know When to Send a Thank You – the most important part of your thank you letter is sending it at the right time. Ideally, you should send it around 48 hours after the interview, but no later than 5 working days, to reinforce the interviewers’ recollection.
- Know What to Include – a thank you letter should start with genuine thanks for the opportunity to interview, followed by key highlights about why you are a great fit for the company. Don’t forget to include anything that you learned about the company to help you personalize your letter and show your commitment to them as an organization.
- Use the Letter to Cover Your Errors – many of us come out of an interview and then think of things that we should have included but didn’t. Your thank you letter is a wonderful opportunity to include any of these important points, formatted in a way that shows you are the right candidate for the job.
- Avoid Common Mistakes – many people fail to write succinct thank you letters, resulting in difficult-to-follow diatribes. Take time to proofread your letter, keeping it to one page. Seek feedback from someone you trust to ensure clarity and conciseness.
- Remember a Formal Tone – for many purposes, a thank you note is informal but when it comes to job-related writing, you should always adopt a professional and formal tone. This means formatting your letter appropriately, avoiding slang and colloquialisms, and showing respect to the recipient in your writing.
- Always End with an Opening – when you are closing your letter, work hard to ask a question and leave the recipient in a position where they want to contact you again. Common ways to do this include asking if they need more information from you. Alternatively, ask a pertinent question about the role to show you are a viable candidate.
Get Thank You Letter Advice from the Experts
If you’ve never written a thank you letter before for a job and don’t know where to start, the GeneCoda® team is ready to help. When we work with you as a candidate, we provide you with advice at every step of your recruitment journey, working hard to help you land your next great adventure. If you are a seasoned executive in the Life Sciences industry, contact us today to learn how we can support you.
