Writing A Thank-You Email After An Interview Should Be The Easy Part. Don’t Let These 2 Most Common Mistakes Candidates Make Cost You The Offer
For the love of god - please do not let the reason you don’t get the offer after an interview be because you spelled the name of your interviewer wrong on the thank you email….
My SR year of college - my responsibility was to get 40 sophomores placed in internships as president of the investment banking club. A few of them screwed up pretty bad.
The top 2 mistakes they’d make were: 1) Copy & Paste / Impersonal; and 2) Waiting too long.
MISTAKE #1 - WAITING > 1HR POST-INTERVIEW
My internship final round interview ended at 5pm and they called with the offer by 8pm. It’s common for interview teams to deliberate within an hour of the interviews ending.
Time is of the essence - you want them to see it before they go to talk smack about you.
After my interview, I rushed my pit-stained, mentally drained zombie body down to the lobby and locked myself in a bathroom stall to fire off thank-you emails and change out of my suit before catching my flight home that I was already running late to…
I’d advise doing the heavy lifting ahead of time. Gather email addresses of your interviewers and type out shells of what you want to say.
That way - your mentally drained self will be able to fire them off quickly & without typos.
MISTAKE #2 - COPY & PASTE / IMPERSONAL
Last year, I got the nicest thanksgiving day text from one of my high school friends.
It was a long, well thought-out essay diving into how thankful he was to have me in his life. It warmed my heart…..until I looked over at my friend’s phone right next to me and saw that he got an exact carbon-copy text with his name inserted instead.
Interviewers will compare side by side! Don’t be that guy / girl.
Put a detail or two that shows you listened to their background during the interview & wish them safe travels on their upcoming trip to Jamaica.
Scribbling down a couple bullet points in your notebook is easiest way to do this.
Point is - Leave a sweet taste in their mouth. Plan ahead so you can send a personalized, error-free thank you email that they’ll see before making a decision.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are the key takeaways to avoid common mistakes when writing a thank-you email after an interview:
Timing is Crucial: Send your thank-you email within an hour post-interview. This ensures that your message is fresh in the interviewers' minds as they deliberate. Preparing email drafts beforehand can help you send them out quickly once the interview is over.
Personalization is Key: Avoid generic, copy-and-paste messages. Personalize each thank-you note by mentioning specific details discussed during the interview, such as a project they mentioned or a personal anecdote they shared. This demonstrates attentiveness and genuine interest.
Remember, the goal of the thank-you email is not just to show gratitude, but also to reinforce your suitability for the role by reflecting on the conversation and reiterating your interest in the position.
Sources: Thank You Email After Interview, Something wrong with my cold email?, 13 Networking Tips and Tricks, SA interviews – an interviewer’s perspective, 13 Networking Tips and Tricks
Rare high-quality post right here
Thanks man! Anything else you would like to see more of?
A high-level networking guide or tips for new prospects would be greatly appreciated
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