The professional world, as you well know, requires guidelines of education and courtesy that it is important that you take into account in certain situations. In fact, it is more common than you think to write a job thank you letter to send it, for example, after having done a job interview.
It is a simple gesture but it can undoubtedly help you get the job you want since not all candidates are going to send it, either because they consider that they do not have the option of actually getting the vacancy, because they believe that it is not necessary to send a letter or because they are no longer interested in the position, among other reasons.
Sending a thank you letter in this situation is highly recommended, not only out of courtesy but also to avoid closing doors in the future. Of course, it is not worth sending any letter. It is important to write it well and stop to think about the information that is going to be included so that it is effective. At OneHOWTO, we explain how to write a thank you letter for work following some easy tips.
When to write a thank you letter
Normally, when writing a letter of thanks for work, the objective is to thank or show kindness for the attention that has been given by the company or a certain department in a selection process for a vacancy.
However, the reasons can also be other, since it is a system that is also used, for example, when leaving a company to start a new professional path or to thank a job recommendation. Whatever the reason, the most important thing before you start writing is to define the objective you are looking for with said letter. This is key because, in the case of a selection process for a vacancy, it is a way of differentiating oneself, highlighting the motivation and skills that one has for the job, or reinforcing the possible bond that has been established with the recruiter during the interview. interview.
After this first step, it is time to think about the content of the thank you letter, its structure, and its length.
The content of the thank you letter
The most important part of any letter is the content, which is always included in a few paragraphs located in the center of the page. But what should be included in this section? It all depends on the objective you have defined and the reasons why you send this type of letter. In any case, as a guideline, the letter of appreciation for work usually includes information and data on :
- Your skills and abilities: you can make some allusion to aspects of your training, academic record, experience, or personal skills that, perhaps, you have not addressed in depth in the interview. It is nothing more than influencing that you are the ideal candidate.
- The topics that were addressed in the interview should also appear in the job appreciation letter. Obviously, not all of them can be discussed for reasons of space, but it is important to refer specifically to those for which the person with whom we have spoken has shown more interest.
- Motivation and interest in the job are aspects that should be included in the content of the letter, not only from a personal point of view but also from an external point of view. You can talk, for example, about what you can really contribute to the company due to your knowledge or experiences.
- The positive impressions you had during the interview should also be part of the content of the letter.
But, to write all this content well, there are some tips that you cannot forget:
- Everything that is told must be true and authentic and you must write it in a personalized way for the recruiter and the company. Do not use already published or generic content.
- It is important that you allude to some aspect -always positive-, of the interview that only you and the interviewer can know. Otherwise, the letter could be from any other candidate (even if you put the name) and you would not be associated with it.
Structure of the job appreciation letter
Although the content is the most important thing in a job thank you a letter, shaping it is also key. That is to say, it has an adequate structure and each content and data is placed in the place where it really should appear. They are basic and simple rules that we show you below:
- Issuer data: you must always include name and surname, complete address with postal code and town, contact telephone number (landline and mobile), and email. They are placed in the upper right part of the folio.
- Receiver data: here you have to put the data of the person with whom you conducted the interview. Put your name and surname with the appropriate treatment, your position, department within the company, and the name and address of the company. They are written in the upper left part of the page, but a few lines below the issuer’s data.
- Date: the letter must always include the location from which you write, as well as the day, month, and year. The date is indicated below the issuer data, leaving a few lines as a space.
- Greeting: under these data, it is time to start with the content of the letter. It begins with a greeting alluding to the person who has interviewed us, taking into account the treatment of “you” or “you”, depending on the tone of the interview. For example, some greeting models would be: “Dear Mr. García” or “Dear Pablo”.
- Introduction: Next, you must write a brief introduction in which you thank the time spent on the interview. Do not forget to refer, here too, to the date on which the interview was conducted.
- Core: it is time to incorporate the content that we have worked on in the previous section; the most important paragraphs within the job appreciation letter.
- Conclusion: dedicate a small paragraph or a few lines to indicate that you remain at their disposal for further contact or to provide more information or data.
- Farewell: it is important to always say goodbye cordially and remember
- ering that you are waiting for a response from them.
- Signature: do not forget to sign the letter – you must always do it by hand, even if you have written it on a computer – as well as put the name and surnames.
Extension, spelling, and tips for writing a job appreciation letter
In addition to the content and the correct structure of the letter of appreciation for work, there are other factors that are fundamental and that should not be forgotten:
- Extension: it is not convenient to exceed the folio. Also, in the case of content, the ideal is that it be three paragraphs at most. Counting the introduction, conclusion, and closing, they can be four or five small paragraphs.
- Spelling: check the spelling carefully before sending the letter. Do not miss any detail and also take into account the punctuation (periods, commas, etc.)
- Verbs: it is always better to speak in the present, although in the introductory paragraph in which the interview is carried out, it is possible to use verb tenses in the past.
We hope, at OneHOWTO, we have helped you discover how to write a thank you letter for work. It is always important that you think carefully about the content and that you are sure of what you are going to send so that the letter does not play against you.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to write a thank you letter for work, we recommend you visit our Training category.