Should you send a thank you note after a job interview?

Sending a thank you note after an interview is a good idea for several reasons: 

1. It’s good manners 
2. It demonstrates to the interviewer that you appreciated the opportunity to meet them 
3. It reinforces your interest and enthusiasm for the job 

What should you say? 

Start off by thanking the interviewer for taking the time to meet you. Next, you could reiterate your interest in the job and perhaps mention briefly why you are the right person for the role. Following this, you should discretely encourage the interviewer to take your application to the next stage. 

Make sure you keep your wording polite and professional. Also, do not launch into a spiel about you, your skills and qualifications. It’s not another CV you are submitting. 

Address your note to the interviewer personally (use their title I.e Mr/Mrs/Ms). If there were several interviewers you could either send a thank you to each of them or just to the person who was leading the interview process. 

Example letter

Dear Mrs Smith 

Thank you for meeting me today. I was delighted to learn more about the role and hear more about [NAME OF COMPANY]. I’m very interested in the role and I am confident that I have the right skills and experience in [EXPLAIN SKILLS].

Please let me know if you need any additional information. 

I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Yours sincerely 

[YOUR NAME]

Post or email? How should you send it?

It’s best to send a job interview thank you letter using email. This way the interviewer will receive it straight away whereas if you post it the letter could take a couple of days to reach them. 

You should always try to send it within 24 hours after your interview has taken place as your interview is still likely to be fresh in the employer’s mind.

Make sure you double-check your spelling, grammar and that you have got everything correct. If you end up sending a thank you note that contains spelling mistakes you will make yourself stand out to the employer but for the wrong reasons.