Don't waste your "thank you" email

Everyone knows you should send a thank you email after your interview.

But many miss this opportunity to stand out.

With the ultra-competitive job market we are in right now, you want to take every possible opportunity to stand out.

Many treat the thank-you follow-up as a nonchalant standard practice. But if you use it as an opportunity to sell yourself even more, you can leave that lasting impression that is necessary to keep the decision-makers thinking of you throughout their selection process.

Here are some ways you can stand out (while still keeping your email brief):

1) Call out the specific people you interviewed with.

If you interview with a panel of professionals from the company, use their specific names in your email. Show that you remember who you spoke to and what their role is.

If you have the contact info for the people you interviewed with, email each of them directly with a personalized email based on your conversation with them.

2) Call out specific things that stood out to you in the interview.

Instead of just a generic "thank you for your time" message, show that you were actually paying attention.

Ex: "John, I really appreciated the depth you took when explaining [company name]'s plans to expand its customer base and explore new channels for targeting the ideal audience."

3) Reiterate your value.

In addition to calling out specific points from the interview, briefly recap your solutions for those pain points or re-address your experience in those areas and how it aligns.

Whenever possible, use metrics to quantify your impact (e.g. "I expanded our customer base by 35% in my last company").

4) If you want to go above and beyond, take what you learned from the interview and draw up a strategic plan to outline how you would drive success in the role if hired.

Don't wait for them to pick you for the next round. Show them that you have ideas to solve their problems or help them hit their goals NOW. Attach it to the email.

In a world where hundreds of others are applying for the roles you want, we must take every opportunity to stand out.

Use each communication/touchpoint to drive home your value for the role/company.

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