How to Write a Thank You Letter After an Interview

A Thank You Note After the Interview? Yes, Lawyers & Legal Professionals, You Should!
 
Is it still required of lawyers and legal professionals to send a thank you note after the interview? Despite phone interviews, online interviews, and opportunities for remote work, you should still send a thank you note after the interview, even if your interview took place over the phone or through Zoom. In addition to being common courtesy, it’s one way to help you stand out among the competition. After all, a recent survey by Accountemps of HR managers showed that only 24% of HR managers ever get a thank you note. While your legal resume and cover letter are used to catch the hiring partner's attention and help you land the interview, sending a thank you note after the interview helps keep you at the top of their mind when the time comes for the law firm to make a decision.  


Send the Thank You Note Immediately After the Interview

It’s best to send the thank you note immediately after the interview is over. However, you could wait up to one business day before sending it. The reason you shouldn’t wait to send the thank you note boils down to your memory. The sooner you can write out the thank you note, the better. You're better able to recall the key points of the interview to include them. Of course, the sooner you mail the note, the sooner it will arrive. If necessary, research the proper mailing address of the law firm to ensure that the note arrives at the correct location. The USPS Zip Code tool is particularly handy as well.

Write a Thank You Note for Each Interviewer, Mail Each Separately

If your law firm job interview included multiple interviewers, you should write a thank you note for each job interviewer. Do not write a singular thank you note that addresses each interviewer. It makes a better impact to send one thank you card to each interviewer. If you can recall one specific thing that each interviewer said, that’s great. If you can’t, that’s fine as well. You can simply thank them for the time out of their schedule that they spent interviewing you. Then, of course, mail each thank you note separately.

What about Emailing a Thank You Note?

Should lawyers and legal professionals applying for an open legal position email a thank you note after their interview? It’s certainly acceptable; the Accountemps survey found that 94% of HR managers believe email thank you notes are acceptable, but there could be some issues with it.
 

• If you don't have the full name of each interviewer, you may not have the email address for each person. This could make sending out individual thank you notes difficult. There are some workarounds, of course. You may send one thank you note to your primary contact, provided it isn't an HR representative, and name each person and ask for the contact to extend your thanks. You could check the online employee directory, if there is one, to find each person’s email address. You could check LinkedIn. You could try an email finder tool. The downside of using an email finder tool is that they are hit or miss and they may cost you money to use. You could also call your main contact and ask for each interviewer's email address and explain that you want to send each person a personalized thank you email.
• Depending on your email address, it may go straight into the junk or spam filter. Of course, if the main interviewer spoke with you initially through email, their thank you note will likely get delivered from your email. However, if you need to send additional thank you notes and have a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail email address, the thank you note could end up in their spam folder. If you don’t hear back, it’s nothing personal.
• You're unable to locate an email address. If you apply for a law firm position through a bar journal or even a legal job board, your cover letter and resume could be sent through a blind email that goes first into an applicant tracking system (ATS), and then it lands in front of a real person. They may not email you. They may be old fashioned and call you on the phone to schedule the interview. If you’re unable to locate an email address, you won’t be able to send a thank you email. Instead, you’ll need to send the thank you note the old fashioned way!

If you do send a thank you interview, you can use a simple subject line such as “Thank you, [Name]!” It's simple, and since your name shows up as the sender (provided your email makes it into their inbox), it's much more likely that the email will get opened. 

Tips for Writing the Thank You Note

When you write a thank you note, you should start with a formal greeting, unless the interviewer told you that you could call them something else. For example, if the thank you note is for William Jones, but he told you to call him Bob, you could begin the thank you letter with “Dear Bob.”

Include the date of your interview and the title of the legal position you interviewed. For example, "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on May 25, 2018, for the position of mid-level attorney in the bankruptcy practice area."

Refer to something specific that was mentioned during the interview. This helps personalize the interview and helps you stand out. It also allows you to refer back to your experience and your skills in relation to the needs of the law firm.

Next, restate something that makes you stand out for the position. For example, “I believe that my eight years of experience as a bankruptcy attorney with Judge & Judy Law Firm where I worked daily with Trustees on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases on behalf of our clients makes me well qualified to fulfill your needs and help your clients.”

Then, express your interest in the position as well as how you look forward to hearing from them soon. You should also encourage the interviewer to reach out to you if they have any questions or need any other information from you. Your closing should be formal. You can also include your contact information beneath your name.
However, before you mail the thank you note or hit send, walk away from it for a few minutes. Let it sit and then go back and proofread it. The last thing you need is to send it out with a typo. Read it over, make sure there are no errors. Before you prepare to send it, walk away from it again. Then, come back and review it one more time. While Word and Google Docs have both spell-check and even grammar tools, they aren't perfect. They will not catch every mistake. We also grow accustomed to our own mistakes. It can make self-editing difficult. This makes walking away from our writing important, especially when writing something as important as a thank you note!