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Interview Follow-up Letters

Follow-up letters, emails or phone calls are among the most crucial efforts job seekers can make, within their control, to influence a hiring decision. Yet, the percentage who do so is remarkably low! On the other side, some employers reward those who follow-up with further consideration. Making a habit of writing a follow-up letter within 48 hours of an interview removes one potential obstacle from any job seeker's path. In this age of email communications, many employers are open to an email follow-up if a decision is to made quickly. If a reasonable time allows, however, many employers are beginning to favor a hand-written follow-up sent through regular mail, their view being that such a method of follow-up shows the candidate has a more personal style.

The letter has at least three, and possibly four, purposes:

1) thanking the interviewer for the time spent together;
2) re-describing selected qualifications in light of needs confirmed during the interview;
3) declaring an interest in the next stages of the selection process, and
4) re-addressing a key question that the job seeker may not have handled as well as desired, to possibly salvage consideration.

The first paragraph, the actual thank you, should be short, but should include a straight-forward statement of continuing interest. The second paragraph, the re-exposure of qualifications, should be formulated from notes the job seeker made immediately following the interview. Knowing that this will be part of any follow-up should help the job seeker to remember to ask questions during the interview about job priorities, critical skills needed, etc. If necessary to include, a third paragraph might offer information or perspective on an area the candidate might wish had been handled better. Doing so tells the employer the writer is serious about consideration for this position. The final paragraph should declare interest again and offer to provide anything else the employer may desire to further a positive outcome.

Finally, if a job seeker really wants more consideration for a position, letters should be written to all persons with whom the job seeker interviewed. Since there may well be a chance to ask questions of any interviewer, and to ask further questions as they arise later, it is perfectly proper to ask someone for a business card to insure that proper spellings and addresses are available for such follow ups. Multiple letters should be tailored to the specific interviewer and should never be exact copies of one another.

Here is one example of a follow-up letter:

107 Circle Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13210
April 19, 2XXX

Mr. David M. Barlow, Director
Outreach for Hope
17 Curtis Street
Rochester, NY 14620

Dear Mr. Barlow:

It was a pleasure to meet you during my visit to your center last week. The services that your organization provides confirmed my expectations of what a quality human service agency should be. I am definitely interested in more consideration for the Resident Counselor position.

I was especially impressed to learn that the recently acquired grant will be used for developing a new Big Brother/Sister Program. As I mentioned during our interview, my experience in camp counseling and volunteering with youth in the Syracuse area may be of benefit in developing this program. I am sure I can bring the organizational and communicative skills necessary to build rapport with both the youth and the possible volunteers for the program. I also took note of the quick launch priority you mentioned and feel I can work within whatever pressure that brings to get the program up and running.

I want to express my sincere interest in working for Outreach for Hope. If there is any further information you would find helpful toward making a decision regarding my employment, please contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Blair