Importance of the Thank You Letter!

Should you write a thank you letter/email? Yes, of course! What in the world would make anyone think they shouldn't is beyond me?

What should be included in your thank you letter? Why, I thought you'd never ask. Actually I thought you'd never ask because to most, it seems like such an easy task to accomplish. Indeed it is an easy task to complete, but evidently some job seekers miss the entire meaning of a thank you letter. Allow me to help those job seekers navigate through some simple points to keep in mind before typing out those words of thanks.

Before I do so, first let me share some very interesting facts. According to some studies out there, nearly 90% of executives out there agree that sending a thank you letter can help secure a job. Many jobs come down to a few top candidates and simple variables like a thank you letter can separate a candidate from another.

Another study reveals that nearly 50% of job seekers do NOT send out a thank you letter after an interview. Wow! I must admit, I was a bit shocked at that since it again, seems such an easy thing to do.

OK, back to the points you job seekers need to consider when writing a thank you letter.

1. When? Send it within 24 hours after the interview. The sooner the better.
2. Who? If you met with more than one person, you should send a thank you note to all individuals separately. Of course, make sure you have their names spelled correctly. Seems obvious, but as you should well know, peoples names are misspelled often. And it has often led the letter directly on a a one-way course to the trash basket!
3. The obvious - express your appreciation for the interview.
4. Show your interest - express briefly how interested you are in the opportunity with the organization.
5. Restate what you can bring to the organization with your skill-set, your motivation and your enthusiasm for the specific job opportunity.
6. Maybe make a reference to something specific from the actual interview. For example, if the interviewer mentioned a few times that the job would require working within a team structure and sometimes can lead to long hours, you might express your openness and enthusiasm towards this requirement. Chances are if it were brought up a few times, it is is a serious requirement.
7. Keep the entire thank you letter roughly 3 paragraphs and a half page long.
   

As many job seekers realize, especially in today's uncertain times, an "edge" could help get the job. The thing is, there may not be one thing that gives you this "edge". This "edge" could be attained by several things, this being just one of them!

Now wouldn't it be great to know if the individuals received the thank you letter/email? MyJobCast.com, a new application launching soon can help. One of the greatest functions within this application will be the calendar function and communication functions. For example, with an free account, you can schedule an interview in your online calendar. 24 hours before the interview, you can receive an email notification as well as an alert on your cell phone reminding you of the interview. Five hours after the interview schedule time, another email notification can go out as well as an alert on your cell phone reminding you to send a thank you letter.

You can also use the online application to send the thank you email and the system will tell you if the email was actually opened. And... it will email you indicating this and send you another alert to your cell phone.

This new application will serve as a great job seeker's tool. You should strongly consider setting up a free account. In fact you can pre-register today.