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By Heather Eagar
The interview follow up letter can make or break your chances
of becoming hired. For that reason it should become an
essential part of your job hunting tool box, right in there
with the other tools you use: resume, cover letter, thank you
note, reference sheet and salary history.
Think of the letter as a second chance. Some people don’t
interview in person as well as they can write. Living up to
the
standards your resume set for you may be difficult. If that is
the case, then the interview follow up letter will improve
your
appearance after the fact. Other people interview well in
person, and are able to use this letter to reemphasize key
points discussed with the hiring manager, and remind the
hiring
manager of the good points about the applicant. In either case
the interview follow up letter is essential and if prepared
properly will help the applicant get the job.
The following sample interview follow up letter gives an idea
of what should be included.
The time I spent interviewing with you today gave me a clear
picture of your organization’s operation as well as your work
environment. I want to thank you for the thorough picture you
painted of your organizational needs.
I left our meeting feeling very enthusiastic about the scope
of
the position as well as its close match to my abilities. I
believe the key strengths that I can offer you are:
• Experience in dealing with people of all types and
backgrounds through my life experience, education and
training.
• Proven ability to operate a business at a profit, supervise
and train personnel, facilitate activities to improve morale
and cash flow, and interact successfully with both staff and
customers.
• Excellent communication skills—particularly the ability to
gain feedback and summarize succinctly.
With my energetic work style, strong people skills and
attention to detail, I believe that I am an excellent match
for
this position. I welcome a chance to meet with you further to
elaborate on my background and possibilities of future
association.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to meeting with you
soon.
Sincerely,
John Doe
You’ll notice that it is written in a positive and upbeat
style. In sales, many successful salesmen assume the close.
This does essentially that. The applicant in writing this
letter is controlling the conversation and steering it towards
positive attributes that he or she possesses, which would make
the applicant appear valuable to the company. In addition, by
using an interview follow up letter an applicant is “walking
the walk as well as talking the talk” simply because most
applicants fail to use an interview follow up letter after an
interview. Using a letter like this shows that the applicant
is
conscientious, thoughtful, intelligent, and just the kind of
person the company needs. Using an interview follow up letter
will lead to more job offers and more jobs.
About The Author: Are you guilty of sabotaging your own job
search along with the opportunity to earn more money? Heather
Eagar, a former professional resume writer and creator of
ResumeLines.com, provides reviews of the top resume writing
services that put you in charge of your career so you can get
the job you deserve. www.resumelines.com
www.resumelines.com/ecourse.html
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