Resume Week II - The Thank you letter

Today is the final day of resume week. I hope you have learned a lot and found the information provided in the last two weeks helpful and rewarding in building you success to landing a wonderful job. Today we will learn the final step to making your lasting impression really last.

After you've put so much time and effort into your resume and cover letter you send it out and get that interview you worked so hard for. You go in dressed to impress, and ready to show your potential employer how good you can do the job. As you wait in the lobby you are given a application to complete while another person is being interviewed for the same position. Ten minutes later you go in for your turn and you do pretty well in your interview answering each question with total confidence. You shake the employers hand and thank him/her for the interview and you leave to go home.

Now that you're at home you wonder if there is anything else you can do to make the potential employer call you over the other applicant(s). How can you make sure they remember you without looking desperate?

The answer is the thank you letter.

You thank you can letter can be in one of 3 forms: a typed letter sent by mail, a hand written card sent by mail, an email.

If your employer has an email then this is the best way to go about this because it is the quickest form of communication rather than postal mail. If you have good hand writing you can send a hand written card, but if you prefer typing a letter then you can do so as well.

There is a certain formula that you use to write the thank you letter just like there is to write your resume and cover letter.

Step #1 The first paragraph should thank them for the interview mentioning the position you interviewed for. Next you should mention something about the interview that you found particularly interesting. Maybe it was a tour of the office, maybe you both graduated from the same school, etc.

Step# 2 The second paragraph is if they asked you for references you will state that you've attached them. You will then mention your phone number or email and address if they need to follow up.

Here's an example of a thank you letter:

Dear [Employer's Name],

I will like to thank you for the pleasant interview we had yesterday for the Administrative Assistant position. It was really an interesting experience to have a tour of the office and see firsthand how things run within your company.

I have enclosed the references you requested. If you have any questions please call me at 555-555-5555.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

As stated before remember to run a spell check to make sure everything is spelled correctly.

So when do you send your thank you letter? Immediately after your interview.

If you need to learn how to create a reference sheet follow the basic guidelines:

1. Remember to use you letter head on your reference sheet
2. Place your list of references on resume paper as well
3. Have 3-4 different professional references such as previous instructors, colleagues, or employers
4. Make sure you have permission to use the people you decide to use as a reference
   
5. Use the following format for each reference you list on your reference sheet:
   

[Reference First and Last Name]
[Job title]
[Phone number]
[Address at work or Email address]
[Number of years known]

Happy Hunting Tampa and have a great weekend!

Samara Bowling