After a recent interview, a friend asked me if I had sent a thank-you letter to the employer. I thought that thank-you letters were out of date now. What would you suggest?

First, let me thank you for your question. Now, allow me to answer it

Thank-you letters are more than a social nicety; they have become a business necessity. By taking the time to write a short three or four paragraph thank-you, you demonstrate your written communication skills, and show that you are courteous, knowledgeable and professional. In addition, a well-written thank-you letter can be a great way to help you stand out in the employer’s mind. All these things never go out of style.

Thank-you letters also give you an opportunity to confirm your understanding of topics discussed at the interview, and reinforce the points you raised about how you could do the job better than your competition.

A thank-you letter has three basic parts:

1. Start the letter by thanking the interviewer for taking the time to speak with you. It is generally a good idea to include the actual date on which the interview occurred.

2. Reaffirm your interest in the organization by pointing out particular issues brought up during the interview that appealed to you. Try to personalize the letter by referring to some topic or common interest you discussed during the interview.

3. Close the letter with another word of appreciation, an offer to provide more information, and a statement that you look forward to hearing from them.

Remember, thank-you letters are not an opportunity to correct what went wrong in the interview, give the interviewer feedback about their interview style, or simply rehash your résumé. You should certainly point out how the skills you discussed in the interview would be of benefit to the organization, and generally convey your deeper understanding of the role.

Ensure that you have the right contact information

Near the end of the interview, ask each interviewer for his or her contact information and correct name spelling, or just ask for a business card if you haven’t received it already. If you don’t have this information, call the receptionist and ask for it.

After all interviews, send a thank-you letter to each of your interviewers by mail or e-mail. These letters should be sent out as soon as possible to arrive a day or two later. This way, your thank-you letter may have more impact by reminding a potential employer of your strengths in comparison to other candidates.

Should thank-you letters be typewritten or handwritten? What about e-mail?

There are many opinions about the presentation style of a thank-you letter. I generally recommend typing the letters in a standard business-style format (much like cover letters), triple-checking for typos and grammatical errors. You are being evaluated as a professional and typing this correspondence confirms that this meeting was important enough to take the time to present yourself in a professional manner.

There are times, however, when it may be appropriate to send a handwritten thank-you letter. For example:

• If it is to someone you know “pulled some strings” to get you the interview;
• If there was a strong mutual acquaintance of some kind; or
• If you personally know the interviewer.

Be sure your handwriting is legible and neat. If you need to expand on some of the issues presented in the interview, then a lengthier, typewritten letter is better. Generally speaking, I recommend that you type your thank-you letters.

Sending thank-you letters via e-mail is fine as long as it fits the “culture” of the organization and is used appropriately. If an employer has an e-mail account on his or her business card (most do these days) or the company is very technologically oriented, sending the letter this way may be more appropriate. Be sure there is no doubt as to the e-mail address (you may or may not be informed that the message was undeliverable). Format your letter with all the same formalities as a regular thank-you letter. E-mail tends to make us a bit less formal and you do not want the note to be overly friendly. Try to keep the message to one screen length. However, a hard copy sent by regular mail will generally be placed in a file, whereas e-mail has a tendency to be read quickly and deleted.

Thank you, thank you very much – and good luck!

Michael Mayne, M.B.A., CMA, is Managing Partner and a Certified Professional Career Counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a Career Transition, Counselling, and Outplacement firm. Michael has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for many years, and is Past President and Treasurer of ALS Canada. To contact Michael, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.

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Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.