How to Write a Thank You Letter After an Interview

When you’re interviewing for a new role, you want to do everything you can to stand out and show the company that you’re the kind of person they want to hire. One way to do that is sending a thank you letter after your interview.

“In this day and age of quick tweets and short social media posts, the thank you note might be seen as outdated—but for many employers, they appreciate the ‘old-school’ manners and respect conveyed by sending the thank you note,” says career coach Denise Fowler.

Sending a well-written thank you letter after an interview can help establish you as a must-hire candidate—with the key phrase being “well-written.” But how, exactly, can you write your thank you note in a way that will increase your chances of getting hired? Here’s some advice.

Thank you letter after job interview: Why it’s important

There are a few different reasons it’s important to write an after interview thank you letter, including:

It helps you stand out from the competition

In today’s hiring market, companies often interview multiple candidates for a single open role. If you land an interview, you need to find a way to stand out from the competition and show you’re a desirable candidate. And a well-written thank you letter is one way to do that.

“Every time you apply for a job, applicants should ask themselves, ‘What is my competition? What is my competitive edge?,’” says Fowler. “The thank you letter is part of the competitive edge. It helps distinguish you from other candidates.”

While sending a well-written thank you note will always help you stand out against your competitors, it can be especially helpful “when you are early in your career and have less of a competitive edge due to lack of experience,” says Fowler.

It allows you to follow up on your interview

In a perfect world, you would walk out of every interview feeling like you rocked it. However, in most situations, there are at least one or two things you wish you could clarify, re-do, or follow-up on—and your thank you letter gives you the opportunity to do so.

“As most candidates leave an interview regretting something they didn't say, the thank you note is a supplemental opportunity to clarify and elaborate on those areas where they didn't feel as confident in their answer,” says Fowler.

It shows you value relationships

It doesn’t matter what job you’re interviewing for. Virtually every job requires you to interact with other people and build relationships, whether within the company or with external stakeholders, like customers or vendors.

By taking the time to send a thoughtful thank you letter after your interview, it “demonstrates your approach to relationship building,” says Fowler—and when an employer sees the high value you place on relationships, it can often help increase your chances of getting hired.

Thank you letter after interview: What to include

Clearly, writing a post-interview thank you letter is a must. But what should that letter include? Ideally, your thank you note should:

Explicitly say “thank you” 

As the name suggests, the point of a thank you letter is to express gratitude. Therefore, take the opportunity to sincerely thank your interviewers for their time and consideration during the interview process. And remember, a well-crafted thank you can be your secret weapon—no need to send a carrier pigeon, just a thoughtful email will do the trick!

Be personalized

“A generic thank you is meaningless and sends the message that the candidate is not really interested in the job,” says Bruce A. Hurwitz, Ph.D, career counselor and executive recruiter at Hurwitz Strategic Staffing. Instead, aim to personalize your thank you note as much as possible. 

“While a generic thank you email will do very little to strengthen your application, if a candidate writes a highly tailored thank you note that specifically addresses their strengths, they convey to the interviewers both their value add and how much they want the position,” says Fowler.

Highlight specifics from your interview

In addition to personalizing your thank you letter, you should also include specific details from your interview. “The letter must prove that the candidate was listening during the interview, understands the concerns of the interviewer, and has the answer to those concerns,” says Hurwitz. 

Thank you letter after interview: What to avoid

In addition to what your thank you letter should include, there are also certain things you’ll want to avoid featuring in your letter, such as:

• Too casual of a tone. Your thank you letter is like an extension of your interview—and, as such, its tone should match the same level of professionalism you showed in your actual interview.

• Salary questions. You should, of course, ask questions about a position’s compensation package—just not in your thank you letter.

• Mistakes. Don’t just write up a letter and click “send.” Instead, take the time to edit your message and ensure it’s free of any mistakes or typos.

Tips on how to write a thank you letter after an interview 

Need more insights into how to write the kind of thank you letter that helps you get hired? Here are some tips to support you during the process:

Ask the right questions during the interview

As mentioned, your thank you note should feature specific insights from your interview. Therefore, if you want those insights to help you get hired, you need to be prepared to ask the right questions during the interview process—and then work the answers into your thank you letter.

“The candidate should prepare to write the thank you by asking each interviewer, ‘If I secure the position, how will I be able to make your life easier?’” says Hurwitz. “That should be the focus of the letter and will enable the candidate to send different letters to each interviewer.”

And don’t rely on your memory to store those details! “It's important to take notes during the interview so you have specific details in order to personalize the notes related to the questions asked by each person,” says Fowler.

Get the right contact information

In most situations, you’ll want to send a personalized thank you letter to everyone you interviewed with. However, you can’t do that if you don’t have the right contact information.

“Before each stage of the interview process, applicants should ask for the names, titles and contact information for everyone part of that round,” says Fowler. “This ensures that you have all the email addresses to send individualized messages to each person.”

Talk to your recruiter

While it’s important to send a thank you letter to everyone you interviewed with, how you send that letter may vary based on how you landed the interview—particularly if you’ve been working with a recruiter (either internal or via an external recruiting agency).

“In the case of working with a recruiter, applicants should always check in to see if the employer prefers direct thank you notes or having it all filtered through the recruiter,” says Fowler. “You want to show that you respect the process and the employer's time.”

Don’t rely on AI

With tools like ChatGPT, it can be tempting to have AI write your post-interview letter for you. But if you want your thank you letter to drive results? It’s best to avoid that temptation.

“I would not recommend people use AI to write the entire thank you note—as people can often tell if it was written by a computer,” says Fowler. 

That being said, if you don’t feel like you’re a strong writer, you don’t have to avoid ChatGPT or other AI-assisted writing apps completely. Once you have a draft of your letter, you can “use AI to help re-craft lines in the note to clarify the message,” says Fowler.

Send the letter ASAP

If you're pondering, "How soon should I write a thank you email after an interview?" keep in mind, you don’t want to drag your feet on this matter. You want to send it when your interview is fresh in the interviewers’ minds—and that generally means sending ASAP. “The letter should be sent the same day as the interview,” says Hurwitz

Sample thank you letters after interview

Still not sure what an ideal thank you letter after an interview should look like? Here are a few sample letters to help you get started:

Example #1: For a Digital Marketing Specialist Role at a Tech Startup

Dear [Interviewer's Name],

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for our insightful conversation yesterday regarding the Digital Marketing Specialist position at [Company Name]. Your detailed explanation of the company's upcoming digital marketing campaigns, particularly in content marketing and SEO, was incredibly engaging and aligned well with my five years of experience in similar roles.
The challenge you mentioned about increasing web traffic and conversion rates particularly excited me. At my previous job with [Previous Company], I led a project that increased web traffic by 30% through targeted content strategies and SEO improvements. I am confident that my experience can bring similar success to [Company Name].

I was also impressed with [Company Name]'s culture of encouraging innovative ideas and teamwork, which is exactly the type of environment I’m looking for. I am enthusiastic about the prospect of contributing to your team and helping [Company Name] achieve its digital marketing objectives.

Thank you again for the opportunity to interview for this exciting role. I am looking forward to the possibility of joining your team and contributing to the success of [Company Name].

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Example #2: For a Healthcare Project Manager Position at a Nonprofit Organization

Dear [Interviewer's Name],

I wanted to reach out and say thank you for our conversation about the Project Manager role at [Organization Name]. It was incredibly inspiring to learn about your initiatives in community health and the organization's impact in underserved areas, which aligns perfectly with my background in public health and project management.

I find your upcoming project on mobile health clinics particularly exciting. In my recent role at [Previous Organization], I successfully managed a similar project, which brought essential health services to remote areas, increasing community access by over 45%. I am excited about the opportunity to leverage this experience at [Organization Name]—and bring similar results to additional underserved communities.

Additionally, the culture of compassion and innovation at [Organization Name] deeply resonates with me. I am passionate about working in an environment that values community impact and collaborative solutions—which it seems [Organization Name] does.

Thank you for considering me for this position. I am excited about the possibility of joining your team and helping to expand [Organization Name]'s crucial healthcare initiatives.

Best wishes,

[Your Name]

Example #3: For an Executive Assistant Position at a Start-Up

Dear [Interviewer's Name],

Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the Executive Assistant position at [Company Name]. Our discussion about the dynamic nature of the role, particularly in supporting the executive team and managing complex schedules, really highlighted how my organizational skills and attention to detail can contribute significantly to your team.

I was especially interested in our discussion about your need to streamline internal communication processes. In my role at [Previous Company], I implemented a digital scheduling system that significantly improved team efficiency and collaboration—and significantly cut down on the time the executive team spent managing their schedules. This experience, coupled with my proactive approach and ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, makes me confident that I can bring a high level of support and organization to [Company Name].

Thank you again for considering me for this role. I am excited about the prospect of contributing to [Company Name]'s growth and success and would be thrilled to join your team.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]