When my boyfriend got his new job recently, it was all thanks to a 2nd interview that resulted from a thank you letter after initial denial. A few people were wondering what the letter said so I decided to include it here.
It may not help everyone, but I personally believe these kind of thank you letters are a special touch that you should send to your interviewer immediately following the interview. Notice this was sent after the bad news. You should really do it the right after you get home from the interview.
After reading other sample letters online I realized how his was much shorter and less detailed. I can’t help but wonder if this helped or just worked because nobody else sent anything.
Here is what it read (I omitted some things for privacy reasons):
Dear Mr. / Ms. Name,
Thank you for the recent opportunity to meet and discuss your open position at “business name.” I regret that I was not a match for this position. However, I would like to thank you for taking the time to meet me in person and allowing me to express my interest. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to contact me via email or telephone.
Sincerely,
Name
Of course people who write the thank you letter for the first time will have to adjust the wording to express gratitude and excitement for future follow-up instead of the way it’s written now, but you get the point.
He sent it to the physical business location addressed to the person who did the interview. Also included a return address with email and phone information. This is why its important to get their name and remember it!
I always send thank you letters immediately after interviews. It can’t hurt, and as we saw in this situation sometimes the result is another interview and/or a job! Love hearing stories like these.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..How to Be Awesome at Excel
In today’s tight job market you have to do everything and anything you can to set yourself apart from the rest. Sending a thank you letter, even when you didn’t get the job, shows a level of professionalism that does just that. At the very least, I’d bet employers would keep such an applicant on file and would be remembered for the next opening……Great story and great example for people to follow!
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That’s actually one of the reasons he sent them, in case they had another openings.
Woo-hoo, congrats to your boyfriend! I am so happy everything worked out for him. Great interview follow-up letter as well; concise, professional and conveying genuine gratitude.
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Thanks Jennifer, we’re both happy about it!
That is nice! I don’t usually send those letters, but I have always gotten the job when doing a face to face interview! I don’t reply to people rejecting my CV without interview or after a phone call.
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You must have excellent interview skills, or just skills to qualify for the job. That’s an awesome ability to have, to get the job after any interview
That’s great that it gave him a second chance ! They are a nice touch and interviewers appreciate it!
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I think that is awesome. Obviously he made a good first impression and the thank-you note made them reconsider. What a great idea!
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Sometimes the little things make a candidate stand out from the rest. This was one of those little things. I would always send a thank you note when I was interviewing.
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Exactly, and it’s not much effort to be honest. Just print, sign and send. All for the cost of a stamp. He opted for a typed version so that it was eligible (not the best hand writing in the world )
That is awesome! I love sending HAND WRITTEN thank you notes when in that situation. It definitely puts you a step ahead of many that are too lazy to do it.
Jason @ WorkSaveLive recently posted..Recipe: Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa
Hand written is probably a better way to go if you have legible writing.
I always send follow up thanks you letters, but I guess I’ve lost the tradition of doing it in a hand-written format. Something I should probably consider doing again.
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He actually typed it up, even a typed up version seems to let people know you care more than the rest of the candidates who don’t send anything.
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Amazing! You never know – things don’t always work out with other candidates.
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We’re really happy about it. I’m not sure what caused things to not work out with the other candidate but they obviously went back to him. It could be a number of things they passed him over though…
Wow, this is so amazing! I never would have thought to write a thank you after rejection; so glad it worked out for him and thank you so much for sharing! It’s one of those things that can truly help people as it’s applied.
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