Interview Follow-UP

The next step in the interview process is to follow up the interview with a thank you note. You should send both an email and a letter thanking your interviewer for their time and the opportunity to interview. Why both? The email allows you to get something to them quickly while the letter demonstrates a level of professionalism and also serves as another reminder. Frequency of contact, if not done overtly, is an excellent way to differentiate yourself and make you more memorable to the interviewer.

Remember, your thank you note is another opportunity to sell yourself and why you’re the right person for the job. You want to keep it focused on the highlights. Here are the basic items that should be covered in your follow up note:

• Thank the person for the opportunity to interview
• Go back over some of the highlights of the conversation emphasizing your strengths
• If there were answers to questions that needed to be clarified, or you need to supply some additional information, this your opportunity to do so
• Remind the interviewer why you’re the perfect fit for the job based on your experience, background, etc. providing detail based on your accomplishments or strengths

One way to improve your interviewing skills is to ask for feedback after you’ve been informed that you didn’t get the job for which you applied. However, you must approach this carefully if you want to get constructive feedback. Typically you’ll be informed by phone or email if you weren’t selected for the position. If over the phone, be prepared not to ask why you didn’t get the position but ask what suggestions do you have for me to improve my interviewing skills or what were my weak areas?

Email rejections are more difficult to respond to but you want to take a similar approach as you did over the phone. Thank them again for being given the opportunity and then ask the questions referred to above. Remember in either case, it doesn’t hurt to ask and they’ll be more helpful if you were properly prepared for the interview and showed great interest in the position.