Cover Letter World

Send a Thank-you Letter After the Interview
By Peter Fisher

There are several things you should do immediately after the interview, but one of the most important things you must do is to send a ‘Thank-you letter’.

Although this is not a cover letter in the traditional sense of the word this follow-up letter is a valuable device to follow up your interview. When you think about it, probably because not many people are thanked, especially for an interview, it works wonders to keep your name in their mind.

Sending a short handwritten ‘Thank-you letter’ after the interview will only take you a couple of minutes, yet the effect could carry you through at least to the next stage, if not to an immediate job offer.

Don’t think you might lose by sending this. If you weren’t going to get the job anyway, it won’t make any diference, but if you are in with a chance it could tip the balance of the final selection in your favour!

Whoever interviewed you will be pleased and possibly surprised to receive a letter saying “thank you”. Most people would not think to send such a letter so it will be received pleasurably. That warm feeling is transferred to the sender - YOU - and may help to influence the decision-making process.

There are two forms of this letter; the first is a very simple “thank-you”. This is really the only letter that not only can, but should be hand-written. In other words it’s just a personal note and could be worded like this:
“Dear Mr Beamish

Thank you very much for taking the time to interview me yesterday and give me greater insight into your organisation. I enjoyed meeting you and would really jump at the opportunity to join your team and contribute to the business success.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely

Mike Jones”

The positive phrasing of this Thank-You letter after the interview means that it is entirely courteous, without sounding too fawning. It will be completely inoffensive and acceptable. Only very slightly flattering in tone, it remains a positive statement of your interest in the job.

Peter Fisher is an expert Author, Career Coach and Webmaster for My Interview Guide where you can find lots more help with what to do after the interview.

Write Your Resignation Letter This Way
By Peter Fisher

The point when you come to write your resignation letter can represent a difficult period of time. Writing a resignation letter isn’t always easy - you need to handle it professionally or it could have a serious impact on your career in the future.

Resist any temptation to sound off about any grievances you held or where they can stick their job, the short-lived satisfaction really is not worth the possible consequences.

• Address the Resignation Letter to your boss by name.

• Try something courteous and professional which doesn’t ‘beat about the bush’, but gets to the point and notes positive reasons for accepting the new job, NOT negative reasons for leaving this one. Make sure you have tied up the loose ends as far as possible.

• If you have work that someone will need to take over, write a separate note to go with your resignation later which lists important things like urgent work or passwords

• State your contractual notice period, but you might offer to stay a reasonable amount of time. More often than not, it won’t be taken up, but it is a good parting gesture to make. You could offer some
  time to train up a replacement which is a good way for your employer to remember you (instead of
  just walking out).

Try this for an example:

“Mr Bill Gateson

Departmental Manager

Beesons Domestic Products Inc.

Dear Bill

Letter of Resignation

As you know I’ve been keen to develop my career in B2B sales and have been offered a superb
opportunity with Johnson Industrial, which will give me a small team to manage plus a couple of Key Accounts. I am therefore giving you the required one calendar month’s notice of resignation and will leave the company on 31st October 2006.

I will of course ensure that all my work is up to date and do all I can to help a smooth handover before I leave. If you need assistance with training a replacement I will be pleased to assist you during my remaining time.

Thank you for your guidance over the last 4 four years; although sad to be leaving, I have enjoyed working with you.

Best Regards

John Blacksmith.”

When you write your resignation letter this way, you leave responsibly without closing any doors too firmly and without cutting off contacts that you may find useful in the future.

Peter Fisher is an expert Author, Career coach and Webmaster for Cover Letter World where you can find more samples of cover letters like this resignation letter whatever stage of your job search you have reached.

Cover Letter World is the blog which tells you everything you might want to know about writing letters in general but more specifically cover letters and job application letters.

There are many different ways to write a covering letter, these will be different if it is in response to an advertised vacancy or if it is simply a speculative letter.

Thank you letters or even networking letters have another style all of their own.  So stay with us and we will be sure to develop some cover letter samples that you can copy.

 There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank piece of paper, so if we can give you cover letter writing a start, you’ll get the job you want so much quicker!!