The Perfect Follow-up Letter

Post Interview Follow-up

The Perfect Follow-up Letter

Mark  Warren

Follow-up after the interview starts with a carefully written follow-up letter as soon as you can get to your computer. If you do not send a well thought out letter using perfect English, spelling and punctuation do not count on a second interview. Remember that anything you put in writing can’t be taken back and there may be people involved in the decision making process who will not meet you but will see your correspondence. The follow-up letter could be one of the most important steps in the process. It could be your last chance to sell yourself, relate your skills and experience to the specific needs of the position, correct any misunderstandings and make a commitment as to your interest and enthusiasm. An email is perfectly acceptable and may be preferred due to timeliness.  A hand written note is not recommended. It is not viewed as professional and can hurt more than help.

Basic sample

Dear -----------

Thank you for the time we spent together this morning and for giving me the opportunity to interview for the Sales Manager position. The meeting was very informative and your enthusiasm for ABC Co., its history, success and plans for the future was infectious. It was obvious that you were not simply giving me the standard interview company line but instead you genuinely believe in and are committed to the organization, its vision and values. Believe it or not that has not been my typical interview experience.

During our conversation you mentioned that your biggest concern was finding someone who could be successful with very little guidance and support since you are located at corporate a thousand miles away and you have a limited travel budget. In my last position I worked for a hands off manager who visited the territory once in two years. We were able to overachieve our goal by 40% and successfully added twelve new national accounts.

You mentioned that you needed someone who was not only an overachiever as a sales person but was equally skilled in the service and delivery components. As a sales person with Ace Inc. I managed the entire sales process from prospecting to the final sale. I then managed the clients order process, inventory management and product in-service. Under my guidance we achieved 100% on time delivery and customer satisfaction.

Based on the needs and objectives you laid out I am convinced that I have the skills, abilities and experience that will insure success in this position. It also appears that the opportunity with ABC Co. is an ideal match with my career goals. I anxiously look forward to meeting the other members of your team. If it works for your team my schedule is wide open next Wednesday through Friday. I look forward to exploring the opportunity and my possible contributions to the company’s success in much more depth.

Sincerely

The follow up letter has three goals:

1)      A well worded thank you

2)      Directly match the needs of the interviewer to your specific abilities and experience.

3)      An enthusiastic expression of interest and the desire to move on to the next step.

Keep it to one page and address only these three goals. It is not to be an extension of your resume and unfortunately will not make up for a bad interview

 

Comments

[indranil chakraborty]

Dear Mark,
Thanks for sharing the information.
It was really informative & interesting.
Life is full of twist & turns touching on failures & success.
This is more so in corporate arena.
it will help me in concentrating on some aspects in my career which was not concentrated on till date.
Regards
Indranil

[Eric Raynard]

Mark:

Once again, I have linked to your blog from mine. Think you really nail this topic. As Sanjay says above, the three goals are very well done.

All the best,
Eric
415-242-4280
www.raynard.us

[Sanjay]

Thanks Mark.

I really like this blogpost on cover letter specially the 3 goal you have mentioned. This clears the purpose of cover letter.

Regards,

Sanjay

[prozac online]

Interesting post you have here. Thanks for sharing this information. Now I have additional knowledge regarding setting up interviews and the kind of letter to request or conduct a follow-up on the topic discussed. Thanks again.

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Leah Marie