Thank You Letters

To close our Thanksgiving week, I want to recommend that you get in the habit of writing thank you letters. You should follow up any meeting, phone call, other conversations in person or via email with a thank you letter. You can also do that via email especially if the person you are thanking is someone that you feel comfortable doing that with. However, I still recommend sending a letter as well. Email has become an accepted way to communicate and almost everyone does it, so that is exactly why you should make your "Thank You" stand out by also writing a letter.

In my book, Job Finding Formula, I explain the steps you can take to get decision makers to want to meet with you. The "Formula" also spells out what you should do during these relationship building meetings. After any such meeting you should write a letter something like the following example:

Dear _______________:

Thank you for meeting with me yesterday. I greatly appreciate the time you took from your schedule to review my resume and discuss the various opportunities that I might pursue. Your ideas will be most helpful.

As you suggested, I have already written letters to Sam Smith, Julie Jones, and Paul Green, and I plan to follow up with phone calls early next week to arrange to see them. Of course, I will let you know what results from the meetings.

It was very thoughtful of you to offer to do some further thinking about people I should contact - particularly at Acme Company, Beta Company, and Gamma Institute. Of course, I will approach any contact you provide me in the same way that I did you.

Because I know that any referral you suggest will prove to be a valuable contact, I plan to call you next Wednesday afternoon.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Of course, always change the words to match your own style and to make them appropriate for the person that is receiving the letter. The letter above not only thanks that person, but lays out your plan for future contacts with them.

Even a short thank you note will be appreciated by most people you meet and make them more inclined to help you further.

Mike Britner
Job Finding Master