In an interview situation, the individual conducting the interview is likely speaking with many qualified applicants for the same position. This means you have competition for the position and need to take every initiative to stand out. It's to be expected that most of what is said and discussed in your interview will fade from memory almost immediately. It's your job to use the follow-up on an interview to propel yourself forward, ahead of the competition. A Difficult Choice Interviewers face a difficult choice of hiring the right person to do the job who can also mesh well with the current workforce and environment. A thirty minute or one hour interview usually isn't enough time to grasp everything about you, and you can use the follow up to make the interviewer's job easier. In your follow up letter, certainly thank your interviewer again, but really use the opportunity as one last chance to show her why you're the candidate that should stand out above the rest. The Perfect Timing You should send a follow up or thank you letter within twenty-four hours of an interview. But following up on the interview is a bit more complex. Ideally, you asked the interviewer about the hiring processes the company is using. If this is the case, you should know when a decision is going to be made. The ideal timing is after the interviewer has had a chance to sort through multiple candidates and is in the processes of making a decision about each one. If you send a follow up the day of your interview, you run the risk of seeming desperate or annoying the interviewer. Send it too late and you might miss your window of opportunity. In most cases, sending a follow up a week after the interview is ideal timing unless you know they are making a decision sooner. The Letter Email is the chosen form of communication for most business people today. Unfortunately, however, when you send an email as a thank you or follow up for an interview, it will likely be lost among the dozens, even hundreds of other emails the manager sees in her inbox every day. A phone call might very well have the same result if she checks voice mails only a few times a day. While writing a letter by hand might seem old-fashioned, the time it takes and the apparent effort is worth a great deal to the interviewer. It's the most impressive form of communication if done well. If you don't have nice handwriting, a typed and signed letter is acceptable. What to Include in a Follow Up Letter Inside your letter, you should have a standard thank you, but you should also pitch yourself to the company and interviewer again. Remind him or her of your best traits and tie each one to the skill sets she's seeking. If you can, tie in some of the issues and problems discussed in the interview to show how your abilities can handle specific issues you've only just learned about. Give him or her every reason to see you handling the position well already and there won't be a reason to hold you back from what just seems like a natural fit.
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