Have you bagged an interview opportunity with a company? If yes then one thing you should always remember to do is, express your gratitude to the person who has chosen you for the interview.
One of the best ways of expressing your gratitude is by writing a thank-you letter. You can write a thank-you letter by crafting an email to the hiring manager or the person who has affirmed your interview. Along with expressing your gratitude to that person, you can also take the opportunity to reconfirm your availability for the interview.
In the thank-you letter, you can also ask important questions related to the interview. You can reconfirm certain important details like the time of the interview, the place of the interview, what documents are required for the interview, and other such important details. By reconfirming such details, you will have all the correct information that you need for the interview.
Some questions that you can ask about the interview are:
- Whether you need to follow a dress code for the interview?
- If you are an experienced person, do you need to bring any work samples for the interview? For a content writer position, interviewers ask writers to carry writing samples with them to the interview.
- What certificates to carry for the interview? Should you bring only the recently graduated certificates or every certificate from your high school to college.
- Whether to bring all the experience letters or only the recent ones?
Now, if you have more than one question to ask, craft all the questions in one mail. Don’t send multiple email questionnaires. It’s ideal to brainstorm the questions that you want to ask and then craft the email.
Not only does a thank-you letter allow you to show your professional etiquette, but also presents you with an opportunity to impress the hiring person. You have no idea how many people have been chosen for the interview. It may be two persons or many more people. Writing a thank-you letter after receiving confirmation for the interview, will give you an upper hand over other candidates. Doing so will create a good impression of you in the eyes of the hiring person.
In this article, we will give you a detailed explanation about what a thank-you letter is, when is it required, and how to write thank you letter before interview. We will also give you examples of how to write thank-you letters.
That brings us to the next question what is a thank-you letter.
What Is A Thank-You Letter?
Maintaining some form of interaction with your potential employer is paramount even early in the recruitment process. Before the interview, you need to maintain some form of interaction that will set a positive tone in your actual interview. One way of doing this is by writing a thank-you letter. Now, what exactly does, writing a thank-you letter to a hiring manager or a person mean?
A thank-you letter is a way of expressing your gratitude for what someone has done for you. Here, writing a thank-you letter before the interview means showing your gratitude towards that person who has considered you worthy of attending the interview.
Expressing your gratitude through a thank-you letter is a good way of establishing a relationship with that person. In fact, thanking someone who has given you an opportunity for an interview, displays the professional side of you. It also provides you with an opportunity to stress the fact that you are a good fit for this position. Most importantly, a thank-you letter shows that you have taken the time and effort to craft one that shows your interest in the position.
This brings us to the next question, when is the perfect time for writing a thank-you letter to the hiring person.
When Is The Perfect Time To Write A Thank-You Letter?
After receiving an interview confirmation, you should think of crafting a thank-you letter immediately. It is ideal to write the letter within 24 hours after receiving the confirmation.
After receiving the confirmation, don’t immediately go to your mobile device or computer and start typing the letter. Sometimes without proper planning, the candidates make the mistake of writing a generic letter that doesn’t make a powerful impact. Doing so will also show that there was no proper care for crafting the letter. It is better to take some time to first think and then write a strong thank-you letter.
In some cases, once a candidate receives an interview call, the hiring persons might also mention that they plan to send another confirmation mail in a few days. In such cases, wait for the confirmation mail and after receiving it, then send the thank-you letter.
Now, let us now look at some tips on how to write thank you letter before interview.
How To Write Thank You Letter Before Interview?
Below are some tips on writing an effective thank-you letter to the hiring person.
Make Use Of Email To Craft A Thank-You Letter
Using an email to write a thank-you letter is the best choice. For one, an email is instantly delivered to the recipient. Second, most companies accept emails rather than handwritten letters. So, after receiving the interview call, immediately email a thank-you letter.
Add A Subject Line
Always include a subject line in your email. A subject line helps the recipient to understand what the email is all about. In this case, you need to include the “Thank you” message in the subject line with your name.
Ex: Subject line – Thank You Note For The Interview Call
Greet The Hiring Person
Before writing the body of the letter, you need to first greet the hiring person. Make sure to use their correct name, check the spelling and a prefix before the name. Start with prefixes like Dear Mr./Ms. or Respected Mr./Ms.
Ex: Dear Mr./Ms. (Hiring person’s name),
Let The Person Know Why You Are Writing The Letter
Start the body of the letter by writing the reason behind writing the letter. Here, your reason is thanking the hiring person for choosing you for the interview. You can start your letter by writing something like this “Thank you for inviting me for the interview” or “I am sincerely grateful for choosing me as the potential candidate for the interview”.
Ask Other Important Details Pertaining To The Interview
Apart from thanking the person for giving you the opportunity to attend the interview, you can also take the opportunity to ask for other important details pertaining to the interview. You can ask questions like what all documents are required for the interview, where is the exact location of the interview, and other such important details.
Write A Personalized Letter To Each Hiring Person
If you have multiple interviews lined up, write a unique letter to each of the hiring persons. Don’t think of writing one thank-you letter and sending the same content to multiple persons. Crafting individualized letters will showcase that you care for them and will help you establish a relationship going into the interview.
Use Professional Tone In The Email
Avoid using typos, slang, emojis, etc., in your email. Using them comes off to be too informal which will make the recipient uncomfortable. When writing an email to a company’s employee, professionalism is paramount. But also see that you don’t come off too formal.
Write Short And A Concise Message
Make sure that you don’t craft a message that is too long. Avoid writing five paragraphed messages. See that you write a short and to-the-point message. Just, like how writing a long letter is cumbersome for you, in a similar way, reading a long letter is tiresome for the hiring person.
Make Sure To Proofread Before Sending The Email
Make sure the spelling, names, grammar is correct. After writing the email, once again read the email loud. Even try to get someone to read your email that will help in identifying mistakes if any. Don’t forget to double-check the email before sending it.
Include Your Contact Information
At the end of the email, see that you include your contact number.
Send The Email Immediately
As mentioned above, send the emailed thank-you letter immediately after receiving the interview confirmation call. It is ideal that you send the email within 24 hours after receiving the interview call.
That said, let us now see some samples of writing thank-you letters.
5 Samples On How To Write Thank You Letter Before Interview
Sample 1:
To: [Recipient’s Email Id]
CC: [Your Email ID]
Subject: Social Media Manager – Thank You For Considering My Candidacy For The Interview
Dear [Mr./Ms./Mrs.] [Name of the hiring person],
Thank you for considering me as an eligible candidate for the interview for the Social Media Manager position. I appreciate the opportunity that you have provided me with. I confirm my availability and looking forward to attending the interview at your office.
Regarding the documents for the interview, should I also bring my ID cards or only the educational certificates are enough for the interview? Please let me know.
Other than this, if there is any other information you need, please let me know. Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend the interview.
Sincerely,
[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]
[Contact Number]
Sample 2:
To: [Recipient’s Email Id]
CC: [Your Email ID]
Subject: Thank You For The Interview Opportunity
Dear [Mr./Ms./Mrs.] [Name of the hiring person],
It was my pleasure of speaking with you on the phone yesterday. I am grateful to you for the invitation to the interview of IT Manager at your esteemed company. I am looking forward to the interview at 10 AM on Wednesday.
If you can take some time to reconfirm the location of the company, I would be grateful to you. Again thank you for inviting me to the interview.
Sincerely,
[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]
[Contact Number]
Sample 3:
To: [Recipient’s Email Id]
CC: [Your Email ID]
Subject: Thank You For The Invitation To The Interview Of Software Developer Position
Respected [Mr./Ms./Mrs.] [Name of the hiring person],
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about the new position at your company. I am deeply obliged to talk with you and feel privileged to get an interview opportunity for the role of Software Developer at your company. I humbly confirm my presence for the interview.
Information that you shared about the role, was clear and to the point. The role sounded interesting to me, and I am looking forward to the interview. I am eagerly waiting to share my skills and experience at the interview. Again, thank you for inviting me to the interview.
Sincerely,
[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]
[Contact Number]
Sample 4:
To: [Recipient’s Email Id]
CC: [Your Email ID]
Subject: Thank You For The Interview Invitation
Respected [Mr./Ms./Mrs.] [Name of the hiring person],
I deeply appreciate the time you have taken to personally meet me to discuss an open position at your company. I also thank you for considering me as a candidate for the interview.
During the discussion, I felt your company values people who are innovative thinkers. This is something that I can relate to. I am confident that my skills will be a good match for this position, and I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge during the interview.
If you need any further information about me, I can provide you with the same.
Sincerely,
[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]
[Contact Number]
Sample 5:
To: [Recipient’s Email Id]
CC: [Your Email ID]
Subject: Expressing My Gratitude For The Interview Invitation
Respected [Mr./Ms./Mrs.] [Name of the hiring person],
Thank you for extending an invitation to the interview. I feel privileged to be getting an opportunity for an interview at your esteemed company. Since I entered the engineering field, your company was among one of my dream companies to work for.
Regarding the role, I feel my skills will allow me to succeed in the role. When you have a moment, can you please let me know if I need to bring only education certificates? Or, are there other documents that I need to bring along. Again, I thank you for this great opportunity.
Sincerely,
[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]
[Contact Number]
To Sum Up
If you have bagged an interview recently, writing a thank-you letter to the hiring person is one thing that you should do. In this article, we have given a detailed explanation of how to write thank you letter before interview. We have also included some samples so that they will help you craft one of your own.
