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Thank-You Letters. Mrs. DiSabella English 4. Thank-You Letters the goal. SHOW audience that you are a professional punctual, detailed, competent, helpful REMIND audience of who you are typical on-campus interviewer talks to 10-20 people / day MAYBE FIX something from the interview
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Thank-You Letters Mrs. DiSabella English 4
Thank-You Letters the goal SHOW audience that you are a professional • punctual, detailed, competent, helpful REMIND audience of who you are • typical on-campus interviewer talks to 10-20 people / day MAYBE FIX something from the interview • ONLY do this if you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that something went really bad in the interview
Thank-You Letters understand the goal #1 – Remind the interviewer who you are • Mention something SPECIFIC about what you discussed • Connect this SPECIFIC detail to why you want a job with them #2 – Show that you are a professional • Be PROMPT with the letter (write and send in a week or less) • Reiterate some kind of action item (usually a deadline) • DO NOT make gr, sp, or formatting mistakes ! #3 – Perhaps fix something that went wrong • If you blew an interview question, offer more info in letter you can do all these things in TWO or THREE paragraphs
Thank-You Letters ¶ ONE Reader wants to know THREE things: • Who are you? (Quickly refresh their memory) • What did we talk about? (Remind them of a positive) • Why are you reminding me of it? (Connect yourself again to something they think is important)
Thank-You Letters ¶ ONE Weak: • Dear Ms. Blah, • Thanks for the interview. It was really great talking with you about Zortron Industries. I am very eager to work with your company. You MUST say something SPECIFIC !
Thank-You Letters ¶ ONE Better: • Dear Ms. Blah, • Thank you for taking the time to interview me at the Texas Tech campus on Monday, January 29th, for the open “entry level designer” position. I especially enjoyed our discussion about proper ductwork dimensions. It is this kind of attention to detail that makes Zortron Industries a leader in the field of evil genius headquarters construction. This is just one of the reasons I am eager to work with your design firm.
Thank-You Letters ¶ ONE This is almost always the ONLY significant paragraph you need. It answers all the questions that a good thank-you letter should: • Who are you? • What did we talk about? • Why are you reminding me of it? A good thank-you letter is very short.
Thank-You Letters ¶ TWO IF you are absolutely certain that something went bad OR you forgot to mention something really important, then this is an opportunity to provide more information. This is an OPTIONAL paragraph • Interviewers like VERY BRIEF thank-you letters • Do not try to expand the letter into job letter #2 • DO NOT make your thank-you letter longer than two very short paragraphs total unless you are CERTAIN that you missed a VERY important opportunity in the interview
Thank-You Letters ¶ TWO Example (blown answer): There is something that I would like to add to our interview discussion. At one point we discussed the possibility of world peace interfering with Zortron Corp’s income potential. I mentioned that solar technology could bring about economic changes resulting in global peace. I would like to add (although I did not mention it at the time) that these changes could also present new design opportunities for your company. Solar electric “off the grid” power could, for instance, be used to further enhance the camouflage potential of evil genius lairs. While “hippie” technologies like solar panels can be viewed as a threat to your business, they can also be adapted to new innovative evil designs – especially in potentially unstable developing nations. I think that Zortron Corporation is the kind of place where innovative designers can take advantage of these new technological possibilities.
Thank-You Letters ¶ TWO Example (forgot to mention): I forgot to mention something in the interview that you might be interested in. My sophomore-level “volcano lair design theory” course emphasized (among other things) the benefits of natural design. In addition to the ductwork final project that we talked about in the interview, I also completed a mid-term paper summarizing the latest lava tube exploration and characterization research. I think that lava tubes, rock fissures, and other natural features should be utilized much more frequently as ready-made camouflaged ductwork. This is just one of the design innovation ideas that I would enjoy working on at your forward-thinking firm.
Thank-You Letters LAST¶ End with a “CALL TO ACTION”: • What EXACTLY is going to happen next? • Who is going to take this next action? • When will this next action happen?
Thank-You Letters LAST¶ Weak: Thank you again for considering me for the position. Sincerely, Pandora Dog
Job Letters LAST¶ MUCH Better: Thank you again for considering me for the position. I hope to hear from you by the beginning of March. Sincerely, Pandora Dog Thank-you letters typically do not have complicated or detailed “calls to action”. In general, just REMIND them of when you’d like to have a decision (this HELPS the interviewer).
Format for Letter Your Name and Address Date Company’s Name and Address Salutation Body Signature