1. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letter advice and assignment tips A step-by-step guide for writing GREAT professional thank-you letters after an interview This slideshow will help you if: You could use a step-by-step guide for creating thank-you letters that will really make you stand out as an effective professional (REALLY potentially helpful!)

2. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters what they do SHOW audience that you are a professional  punctual, detailed, competent, helpful REMIND audience of who you are  typical on-campus interviewer talks to 10-20 people / day  you need to be in their mind when they get back to the office to go through a big stack of ~100 interviewee notes

3. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters they are formal business letters Know how to format a formal letter  Look at examples in the textbook  There are minor variations in layout, but all business letters have the same standardized basic parts in the same orderbasic parts The grading checklist assumes a formal letter format  Some job fields have different conventions For example, high level banking and finance folks often use less formal personalized cards instead of formal business letters  IF your thank-you letter is in a different format, then explain to me why in a handwritten note to me right on the letter hardcopy and tell me how to use the grading checklist to evaluate it

4. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters understand the goals #1 – Remind the interviewer who you are  Mention something SPECIFIC about what you discussed  Connect this SPECIFIC detail to why you want a job with them #2 – Show that you are a professional  Send it QUICKLY (write and send in 24-72 hrs of the interview)  Reiterate some kind of action item (usually a deadline)  DO NOT make grammar, spelling, or formatting mistakes ! This is a simple list, so the letter is just TWO paragraphs

5. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters¶ ONE Reader must know THREE things:  Who were you? (Quickly refresh their memory)  What did we talk about? (Remind them of something positive, SPECIFIC, and CONCRETE)  Why are you reminding me of it? (Connect yourself again to something they think is important)

6. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters¶ ONE Weak: Dear Ms. Pandora, Thanks for the interview. It was really great talking with you about Zortron Industries. I am very eager to work with your company. You MUST say something SPECIFIC !

7. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters¶ ONE Better: Dear Ms. Pandora, Thank you for taking the time to interview me at the Texas Tech campus on Monday, January 29 th, for the open “entry level designer” position. I especially enjoyed our discussion about proper ductwork dimensions. It is this kind of attention to detail that makes Zortron Industries a leader in the field of evil genius headquarters construction. This is just one of the reasons I am eager to work with your design firm.

8. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters LAST ¶ End with a “CALL TO ACTION”:  What EXACTLY is going to happen next?  Who is going to take this next action?  When will this next action happen?

9. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters LAST ¶ Weak: Thank you again for considering me for the position. Sincerely, JPTHeiSman (handwritten signature) Joe Theisman

10. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters LAST ¶ MUCH Better: Thank you again for considering me for the position. I hope to hear from you by the beginning of March. Sincerely, JPTHeiSman Joe Theisman Thank-you letters typically do not have complicated or detailed “calls to action” but DO mention a deadline. In general, just REMIND them of when you’d like to have a decision (this HELPS the interviewer).

11. Copyright 2012 by Arthur Fricke Thank-You Letters the goal SHOW audience that you are a professional  punctual, detailed, competent, helpful REMIND audience of who you are  typical on-campus interviewer talks to 10-20 people / day Only ~10% of interviewees will take the time & effort to follow up with a professional hardcopy thank-you, so get a business card from the person(s) you interview with and SEND THEM AN EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL HARDCOPY THANK-YOU!