An interview follow up is a great way to make sure the candidate stays in the minds of the interviewers, and it shows the interviewers that the candidate appreciated the opportunity to be interviewed. It is yet another marketing tool a candidate can use to sell himself to a company for a job, and the interview follow up can show an employer how professional, thoughtful, and willing the candidate is. An interview follow up can be sent through the mail in the form of a thank you card, but more commonly, an e-mail should be sent because it is quicker and in keeping with professional practices.
If a candidate interviewed with more than one person at a particular company, he should be sure to address his interview follow up letter or e-mail to all interviewers. An even better idea is to send an individual follow up to each interviewer rather than one letter or e-mail to everyone together. This shows the interviewers that the candidate has gone out of the way to pay attention to each individual, and it shows the candidate's willingness to develop relationships. The letters or e-mails should be sent out immediately after the interview. A candidate should not wait more than a day or two to send the interview follow up; allowing too much time to pass can allow the interviewers to forget about a particular candidate, and it might reflect poorly on the candidate if the follow up is late.
To make himself stand out, a candidate should send an interview follow up that touches upon a subject or occurrence that happened during the interview. This evokes positive memories of the interview for the employers, and it reminds them of the candidate's strengths. If the candidate forgot to mention a strength during the interview, or if the candidate has a question about the position that was not covered during the interview, the follow up is a good place to cover the topics. This also encourages the employer to continue the discussion about the job with the candidate.
Before sending the follow up, the candidate should be sure to check the letter or e-mail for proper spelling, punctuation, and so on. Remember that the letter reflects on the candidate as a professional, so if the letter is sloppy, the employer may lose confidence in the candidate. Once the letter or e-mail is sent, wait several days or weeks before following up again. If a response is not given after one or two follow ups, it it probably time to move on to another potential job interview.
