Hey there, and welcome to Speak English with Christina, where you’ll have fun becoming fluent in American English. I’m your English coach Christina, and today, we’re going to help you get a new job! How? With a thank-you note!

What is a thank-you note exactly? It’s a little card (or email) to express your gratitude, to say thank you to someone.

In this context, you’ll thank the recruiter who interviewed you. Thank-you notes are a key part of the hiring process in the US, and today, you’ll learn how to write one that makes a great impression and can even make the difference in who the recruiter hires.

Let’s go!

WHAT SHOULD YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR THANK-YOU NOTE?

A standard thank-you note follows this structure:

1. Thank the recruiter for giving you the opportunity to interview at their company.
2. Reiterate your interest and say why you’re a good candidate for the job, and
3. Mention something you talked about in the interview
4. Your conclusion.

Your message doesn’t have to be long, but it should be personalized and unique for each interview.

This means a simple “Dear Mrs. Thomas, Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you during our interview” is NOT enough.

So let’s look at what you can say in each part.

Part 1: Thanking the recruiter

Begin your thank-you note by addressing the recruiter by title and last name. Dear Mr. Hyatt for a man, Dear Ms. Rebuffet, for a woman, for example. Then, add an opening sentence that thanks the recruiter. Here are 3 examples:

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me about the Project Manager position at Boeing.”

A second example: “I enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with you about the Senior Accountant position available at Ernst & Young.”

A third example: “I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss the position of Head Salesperson for your Michael Kors shop in Paris.

See, easy, right?

Part 2: Reiterate your interest + why you’re a good candidate

Recruiters see a LOT of people in job interviews. On average, a recruiter receives 118 applications, and interviews 21 people for one job.

Could you remember everything about 21 people you talked to one time? I couldn’t! So you need to remind recruiters who you are and why you’re the right person.

Here are 2 examples of how to do that:

“The job seems to be an excellent match for my skills and interests. Your creative approach to managing large international teams confirms my enthusiasm to become part of your team.”

A second example:

“Our discussion reinforced my motivation to join your company, as I’m sure that my 6 years’ experience in online communication and digital marketing have given me the skills necessary to make your online marketing campaigns a success.”

Part 3: Mention something you discussed in the interview

Then, you can mention something that you talked about in the interview, this makes your letter, again, absolutely unique. And it’s a perfect opportunity to include something important that you forgot in the interview because you were stressed. Or if the recruiter asked you for something, it’s the perfect opportunity to mention that you’re sending that thing.

And we’ll look at 2 examples. For example:

“In the interview you mentioned that you’re looking for someone with experience working internationally. I forgot to mention that I managed a team based in 4 countries during my job as sales coordinator in 2015. I admit I was a bit nervous during the interview!”

So it’s ok to add a little humor there, and admit that you were nervous.

“As you requested, I’m including some samples of my written communication in English. If you would like to see more samples, or have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”  

And, of course, you’ll need a conclusion after that!

Part 4: Your conclusion

To finish, you need a short, simple conclusion. No need to go on and on with long, flowery formulas. You’re not Louis XIV here!

Something like this is fine:

“I appreciate the time you took to interview me and I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have any additional questions, feel free to call me at (and add your phone number + country code). Kind regards, (your first and last name), like Christina Rebuffet

And now you’ll have a thank-you note that will make you stand out from others, because actually, the majority of candidates don’t think to send a thank-you note!

And recruiters really appreciate the thoughtful gesture! In fact, if it’s a tough decision between 2 equal candidates, the thank-you note can make the recruiter choose you! It’s that powerful!

Now, if your interview is terrible, a thank-you note won’t save you. But if your interview goes well, the thank-you note is like the cherry on top of the cake!

Oh, and if you want to be sure that your interview WILL go well, check out my course Get The Job.

It’s already helped so many of my students succeed in their job interviews in English because they were confident, well-prepared, and knew exactly what to say. You can join the course at christinarebuffetcourses.com/join-get-the-job.

Now, what about you?

Did you know about sending thank-you notes after job interviews? Have you ever done it? Let me know in the comments over at christinarebuffet.com. Reading your stories always makes my day happier!

Thanks so much for watching Speak English with Christina.

I’m Christina, and I’ll see you next week!

P.S. Join the Get The Job Course before Monday Nov. 13th, and you get my course Conf Call Confidence for FREE! It’s worth 156€…but you can get it for free! Click here for all the details!

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