Writing a Follow up Letter

You may need to write a follow up letter after submitting a job application or after a job interview. Among the major reasons of writing a follow up letter after an interview include showing appreciation that the given employer was interested in you, reiterating your interest in the job position, emphasizing on your qualifications and providing information that the employer may ask.

It is, therefore, important to identify the reasons why you need to write a follow up letter since this will determine the content. This can be as simple as writing a small thank you note which should be sent shortly after the interview. Sometimes a thank you message is so important that some employers barely consider applications of those who fail to send such.

When should you write a follow up letter?

If you are simply writing a thank you note, it is wise to send this within 48 hours of attending the interview. In most cases, interviewers will provide a time frame within which to expect a response and this calls for patience. If there’s no feedback after the agreed time period, you can now write a follow up letter to enquire on the results but ensure that you use some polite language.

Before you even start writing a follow up letter, you need to decide whether this should be handwritten, a hardcopy or an email. A hard copy is formal, but a handwritten is more personal. An email should be done as a supplement to a hardcopy or a handwritten follow up letter. However, you need to consider your prospective employers preference or how you have been contacting each other.

Things to include in the follow up letter

You should start with a professional header that should include your name, physical address, city, state, zip code and your phone or email address. The date should follow like an inch below. After this, leave some space and then list the recipient’s details that should include the name, position held, name of the company/organization, physical address, city, state and zip code.

Address the recipient using his or her last name, for example, Dear Mr. Moore, and you will now be set to start the first paragraph. This should include a brief thank you note and provide a recap of the interview specifying the date of the interview, venue and the involved persons. The addressed person may not really remember your name and providing such details will bring out a clearer picture.

The second paragraph when writing a follow up letter should reiterate why you still think that you are the most suited candidate for the vacant position. This is where you should detail things like your qualifications, past similar positions that you have held and your achievements. Other related skills that you didn’t mention during the interview should be outlined here.

In the third paragraph, you should show your continued interest and provide contact details in case, the prospective employer want to reach you. After this, leave some blank space and then use professional closing whether “best regards” or “Sincerely”. This should be followed by your signature and name.

Take time to proofread 

After writing follow up letter, you should spare a couple of minutes to proofread it where you can even have a friend go through it. Check for grammar, spelling mistakes and typos among other things. Where you have to mention certain people within the company, be sure to get their correct names and titles.