This week's tip covers interview follow-up. Thank-you letters are probably the best way to follow up after a job interview. If you interview for a job you are very interested in but you're not convinced after leaving the interview that the recruiter has put you at the top of their list of candidates, a thank-you letter may be able to help you boost your standing with them. Recruiters and hiring managers are busy people. You may be tempted to call the person to follow up. A follow-up call will often be perceived as being pushy, or that the candidate is too eager for the job.

GOAL OF THANK-YOU LETTERS

The primary goal of a follow-up letter is to create positive feelings on the part of the interviewer, and for those feelings to be associated with you. A secondary goal can be to remind the interviewer of your strengths and what talents you can bring to the job. This can be especially helpful to mention if you're unsure if the interviewer understood in the interview how skilled you are in a particular area.

FORMAT OF THE LETTER

A thank-you letter should be fairly short. Keep in mind it's being received by a busy person who is probably having a stressful day. Making the letter positive and perhaps including a tasteful joke can make the interviewer feel good about having taken the time to read the letter. You may also express your appreciation for the time they spent with you in the interview and the information they provided. If you have good handwriting, you can even send a hand-written note to make the letter seem more personal.

You should only mail a thank-you letter after an in-person interview. Sending a thank-you letter or email after a phone-only interview could make you seem too eager. Plus, at the phone interview stage, interviewers are generally still busy screening out a lot of people and your email could be viewed as being pushy.

The salutation you use in the letter should be the same salutation you used with the interviewer in person. So if the interviewer said to "call me John" then that's the salutation you should use in the letter. If you're unsure, it's always safest to use a formal salutation like "Mr. Smith."

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Friday regarding the position of Senior Accountant at your firm. I was very impressed with your operation and the people I have met so far in your office. I appreciate how critical it is for your firm to revamp its financial reporting systems, and I would appreciate the opportunity to help ABC Corporation reach that goal. In my experience revitalizing the financial reporting systems at my current employer, DEF Company, I have seen how beneficial a successful resolution of these issues can be. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you and I remain interested in joining your team.

Sincerely,

Joe Doe