大家都知道，面試後回到家中，應該立即給面試你的hiring manager寫一個Thank-You Note，再次推銷自己。對申請競爭激烈的中、高級技術或行政職位的人來說，Thank-You Note尤為重要。

來自國內的專業人士，英文口語大都較弱，但英文寫作大都不差，為了彌補面試中口語表達的不足，就更應該重視這個面試後的Thank-You Note。一個漂亮的Thank-You Note，可以使你stand out of other candidates，不僅有利於加強hiring manager對你的信心，有時還能在面試後起到“扭轉局面”的作用，成為你獲得職位的關鍵因素。

然而，大部分求職者的Thank-You Note都有一個通病：過於簡短，結構和用詞落入俗套，內容乾癟，僅僅是直接或間接地重複resume的內容。這樣的Thank-You Note不如不寫，因為它除了費你一張郵票或讓你跑一趟腿，基本不會對你獲得職位起到作用。

據一位hiring manager說，每逢hiring season，他們都會收到不少這種Thank-You Note，基本上他們不會去讀，而是直接丟進廢紙簍。

怎樣才能寫出不會被直接丟進廢紙簍的Thank-You Note？很遺憾，這沒有固定模式，而要分析你的具體情況，然後充分發揮你的想象能力和寫作天才，“八仙過海，各顯其能”。但在寫Thank-You Note時，請注意以下幾個tips：

1．以personal letter的形式，將Thank-You Note寫成Thank-You Letter。

篇幅過長（例如超過3頁）固然不好，篇幅過短（不足1頁）更是浪費時間。合適的篇幅應為2到3頁左右。這裡強調“篇幅適中的personal letter”，是因為，據一位hiring manager說，“As an interviewer myself, I share the experience with other interviewers. When I receive thank-you notes, I throw them away immediately. When I receive real letters, I can’t help opening and reading them…”。Personal letter的形式可以起到溝通感情、建立rapport的作用。

2．對未來老闆的工作成績或事業成就表示讚賞，這樣能進一步溝通感情、建立rapport。但要發自真誠，恰到好處。切忌說過頭話。

3．找出和未來老闆的共同之處，更深一步地溝通感情、建立rapport。共同之處可以是shared vision、philosophy、work style等等。

4．清晰無誤地列明你對該職位及其職責範圍的理解。

5．再次強力促銷你的soft skills （communication skills, personal skills, self-promoting skills and personalities etc.）和hard skills（工作經驗）。如同在面試中回答behavioral questions一樣，在推銷自己時要舉例子，例子不能和所申請的職位不搭邊。關於如何應對behavioral questions，可以參考貼子“如何在北美找工作面試”。

6．再次表達你對獲取該職位的熱情。

Thank-You Letter的重中之重是要設法與未來老闆溝通感情、建立rapport，這樣就能使其在作hiring 決定時向你傾斜。對自我感覺在面試中發揮不太理想的人來說，就更應該寫好這個Thank-You Letter。

再次說明，Thank-You Letter沒有固定寫法，要具體問題具體分析，要充分發揮你的寫作才能。要邏輯嚴謹、用詞得當、結構清晰，不要有語法和拼寫錯誤。

下面是一封為hiring manager所接受的Thank-You Letter（摘自"55 Interview Traps"，下載網址：http://www.onlinetestprep.com/interview.html），以期激發靈感、拋磚引玉。這封Thank-You Letter的作者（中國同胞）申請的是北美一家上市IT公司的business analyst職位，她在競爭激烈的面試中表現平平，本來很難得到該職位，卻得到了該職位，後來她的老闆告訴她，是她的Thank-You Letter最終改變了他的hiring決定。請注意她在信中是如何對面試她的人表示讚賞，如何試圖與面試她的人溝通感情並建立rapport，如何列明她對該職位的清晰的理解，如何表達她對獲取該職位的熱情，以及如何用一種輕鬆愉快的語調配以具體事例來強力促銷她的soft skills和hard skills。

Dear Mr. [??? Last Name],

Thank you for spending time interviewing me yesterday. I very much enjoyed our pleasant meeting and am looking forward to the opportunity of working with you at [Company A].

I am most impressed by the amount you have accomplished in such a short time as the General Manager of Information Technology who heads up five divisions. This morning, I looked at the company's Web site again. The worldwide fiber optic network that [Company A] is planning and building brought me a strong feeling of connectivity, especially when I was looking at the network plan to connect China where I was born, and North America where I received my higher education. I remain very interested and enthusiastic about the business analyst position and believe that my education, professional experience, leadership competencies, and strong work ethic will definitely be great assets for [Company A].

I understand that you are seeking a business analyst/project manager who shares your vision and is open to implementing creative and cutting-edge changes. I share your vision and am looking for such a professional opportunity in the telecommunications field. I am looking for one that will allow me to create and implement policies and procedures to ensure the efficient use of internal resources, to refine and improve internal processes and to coordinate and build relationships at all levels including operations, enterprise planning, IT systems and corporate senior ????utives teams. I will be supporting internal IT projects, analyzing business information, gathering/documenting requirements and specifications, creating work plans, directing technical resources, tracking the progress of projects, communicating results, preparing ongoing assessment summaries for the senior management team and ensuring all projects are completed within the allotted timeframe.

My formal education and training in engineering and business management, particularly in telecommunications, together with my working experience involving almost every aspect of the business cycle including design, production, business analysis, project management, sales, and marketing have equipped me with strong interpersonal, facilitation, negotiation, leadership and written communication skills. I understand business/technical concepts and terminology, possess the ability to quickly understand and articulate business issues and goals, and effectively build up relationships at all levels of an organization and am able to manage multiple projects concurrently.

I share your philosophy about the importance of communication skills. I understand that in business, good communication skills are not only the way that we express ourselves, but also, more importantly, the way that we work with people. I would like to share with you some of my philosophies that have evolved from working at [Company B].

I helped start [Company B] from the ground up and expand the company into one that provides 13-language Website translation and promotion services to clients worldwide. Our continuously improving communication skills play an important role in this progress.

One of the skills that I have learned from work is the importance of keeping clients informed.

One example is when we were working on the project for [Company C], a logging equipment manufacturer in the UK. One of our translators in Argentina experienced an emergency in the middle of the work and it became impossible for us to deliver the service within the time schedule. Thanks to the telecommunications industry, I was able to call and email the client, keeping them informed of our progress. Although our work was delayed for a few days, the client understood our situation, and as a matter of fact, was quite satisfied and returned for more service. He told me that what made him happy was the way I kept them informed during the process. I believe that keeping people informed helps establish close client relationships. I also ask my employees to keep me informed so that I know what they are doing, where they are heading, and how I can integrate their individual work into my planning.

Another important skill I have learned is to put myself in somebody else's shoes when communicating with them.

One of our largest clients is [Company D] located in New York. They made an inquiry about our service, indicating that they planned to get part of their 500-page Website translated and promoted in three languages. The challenge was that they had a tight budget for the Internet marketing campaign. I organized a team of people analyzing their business and market needs and made a proposal. We earned the initial business and went on to receive repeat business. Later, the marketing director told me that they actually approached a few of our competitors before coming to us. What made us earn their business was neither our price nor our résumés; we won their business because we put ourselves in their position by analyzing their business and translating the needs into a proposal that worked within their budget, while other companies only ????ted their quotations or pricing information. This experience taught me the importance of understanding the client's perspective and is something I use to guide my work on a daily basis.

Establishing personal relationships with clients is another communication skill I have learned through experience. As a manager, I truly understand the importance of this skill. [Company E], an Internet company based in Victoria, British Columbia, is one of our largest clients. I regularly visit with the managers even when there is no urgent business to discuss. Personal visits show my respect to them and help me to establish a good working relationship. The close personal relationship smoothens our business relationship and makes my daily work much easier.

One of my strengths is the ability to motivate staff from different cultural backgrounds to work together to achieve a common goal. At [Company B], I manage 26 translators, eight proofreaders and five programmers who are based in different countries. Working with translators from one country requires a different strategy than working with translators from other countries. When I tell an American translator to correct a mistake, he/she may delightfully follow my instructions and make the same mistake the very next time. If I tell a Japanese translator to correct a mistake, he/she may feel embarrassed about the mistake and then quit the job. If I tell a German translator to correct a mistake, he/she may become angry and argue with me for the rest of my life. If I tell a Mexican translator to correct a mistake, he/she may simply ignore me until I threaten to fire him/her. I have realized that my level of cultural familiarity and ability to keep an open mind has helped me to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds.

My greatest success has been in transforming individuals into a working team and turning new programs into highly effective operations. Maintaining an attractive and stimulating physical environment is one of the keys to the success of the operations.

I like the dynamic and fast-paced environment in your IT group. Though working at a big start-up company could be frustrating sometimes, it is also challenging and rewarding. I would appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work with you and to grow with the company. I enjoy learning and am looking forward to the possibility of this challenge.

Thank you very much again for considering me for this position.

Best regards,

??? Chen