Sending a thank you email after the interview
WHAT TO WRITE TO THE RECRUITER?
The thank you e-mail makes your application stand out, because this kind of e-mail is rarely sent. It also means you can confirm your motivation, and prove your capacity for analysis and summary.
Your post-interview e-mail should contain 2/3 paragraphs and be sent soon after the interview.
The first purpose of the e-mail is to thank the recruiter: for his time, for the quality of the information exchanged, for the clarity of the technical explanations given.
It is also a way of confirming your motivation and your capacity to respond to the company’s expectations: demonstrate that you have understood the elements of the job, the challenges and the environment.
And lastly, it can allow you to add to the information you gave during your interview: put right something you had forgotten, clarify a point on which you were not very clear during the interview or emphasise a key skill.
DRAFTING THE POST-INTERVIEW
E-MAIL
Start by thanking the recruiter; you will be demonstrating your professionalism and courtesy. Use a traditional formula to do this and re-state the date of the interview and the job title, for example: "I wanted to thank you for your welcome and for your time at my interview on (...) for the job of (...)."
Then reiterate your interest in the job, citing the 2/3 elements of the job you find the most motivating and significant. This means showing that you have understood the job offered by illustrating your capacity for analysis and summary. For example, write: “Our discussion strengthened my interest in the job of (...). This is a job with diverse tasks (...) which will then help me develop towards (...), which fits in very well with my career plans. “
If the job in the end is not of interest to you, this is also the time to say so: you will make a good impression with the recruiter you saw, and he may think about you for other jobs. You may be able to provide additional information or emphasise a key skill: “Thanks to my x years’ experience as a (...), I learnt (...), qualities which I consider vital for success”.
To conclude, you can ask the recruiter for feedback on your application: this demonstrates your constructive and humble attitude. For example, you could write “I would be very happy to hear your opinion of this interview, and any tips you may have, so that I can improve”.
WHAT TO DO
- Take notes quickly after the interview, so that you can send the e-mail within 48 hours.
- Send the same e-mail to the various interviewers present at the interview.
WHAT NOT TO DO
- Redo a covering letter: the interview provided you with new information and should move your thought processes forward.
- Fail to correct spelling mistakes: make sure you check your letter and/or have it checked.
- Be too wordy: 10 lines are more than enough.