Job fairs are a wonderful opportunity for people seeking jobs to connect with a whole spectrum of recruiters in a single place and occasion. Hiring managers also look for suitable candidates at such job fairs. Job seekers can make the most of this confluence and use this as a platform to perform well in interviews and land their dream jobs. One of the most significant cogs in networking and connecting with job fair hiring managers and recruiters is sending them a thank you letter after the job fair is completed.
In this article, we will get to know the nitty-gritty of sending a thank you letter and why sending it is so important. We will also discuss, how to write this thank you letter and give you some ready to use examples.
Thank you letters are in general, a way of showing gratitude. In this case, a thank you letter after a job fair is sent to the recruiters and hiring managers for participating and organizing the fair. This effort on their part is what is going to result in you making a significant leap in your career growth. So, a thank you letter after a job fair is a recognition of this contribution by the recruiters and hiring managers.
Job fairs provide recruiters and employers with a platform to showcase the talents of potential hires. These job fairs happen at a frenzied pace and the candidates who want to get recruited must stand out from the crowd. Keep in mind that in job fairs, recruiters meet scores of potential candidates and they do not have a lot of time to deeply assess each candidate. So, the candidate who makes a memorable and positive impression has the edge.
One sure shot way to make a lasting impression is by sending a thank you letter after the job fair concludes. This thank you letter will serve as a reminder of your candidature to the recruiters. It could also have the added advantage of reinstating your interest in joining their firm. It will also open up a line of communication with the recruiters outside of the job fair atmosphere. A thank you letter reaffirms your commitment to the position and also makes you come across as a genuine candidate.
Typically, the thank you letter must be sent immediately after the job fair ends. The sooner the thank you letter is sent, the more vividly the recruiters and the employers remember your candidature. Again, as mentioned before job fairs are open to all and so it is most likely that multiple people have applied for a single job. So, your thank you letter must reach the employers before they make the decision on whom to hire.
Coming to writing the thank you letter itself, there are some suggestions if followed will make for an excellent thank you letter. These are just suggestions and not carved in stone. You can modify these to suit your needs.
The basic step in sending a thank you letter is identify the intended person for the letter. This is actually very easy to identify. All recruiters hand out business cards during job fairs so that you can contact them at a later date if necessary. The business cards usually contain their contact details. Address the letter specifically to the recruiter who facilitated your interview.
Although you might think you have already introduced yourself during the interview process, make sure you do so in the letter too. Because the recruiter would be meeting a lot of people at the job fair, it is unfair to assume they remember everything about you. If you had spoken about something personal or unique you can bring that up as well.
The main objective of writing the thank you letter is personally thank the recipient for their efforts in participating in the job fair and for speaking and interviewing you. So, ensure you thank them explicitly for doing you the favor of giving you their time. Make sure you are polite and sincere in the letter and surely this will make a very good impression on the recipient.
The best way to tell them that you are very interested in working on their team is by telling them exactly that. You can start by evincing interest in what the company does and how your skills can contribute to the organization. The focus of the letter should be on the thank you statement. So, you can scale down when writing about your own skills since you would have mentioned these during the interview.
Always remember to close out the letter with a final word of thanks. This will reaffirm your gratitude towards them.
Close out the letter with your signature. After signing the letter make your you add your correct contact details, so that they have a way of contacting you if they so choose to.
Below are some tips that will help you write an excellent thank you letter.
– Keep the letter short. Brevity is always your friend. The letter should not be more than a page long.
– Keep the language of the letter simple.
– If you had met multiple people for a single job, ensure you write individual thank you letters to each of them.
– Address the recipient correctly in the letter.
– Provide correct contact details at the end of the letter.
