sinseeho/iStock/Getty Images Plus
It’s the start of Thanksgiving week in the United States, when many of us express gratitude for family, friends and colleagues and reflect on good things that happened in the past year. Taking time to share your gratitude is an important career skill and essential to effective leadership. As Rhonda Sutton noted earlier this year in “Carpe Careers,” expressing gratitude is also key to well-being and resilience.
Often the most common way of giving thanks in professional settings is by writing thank-you notes. Across my career as a writing instructor and program manager, I have written dozens of thank-you notes to classmates, friends, faculty mentors and work colleagues who have supported me along the way. I have also coached undergraduate, graduate and postdoc job seekers who were sometimes unsure of what to say in thank-you notes as they navigated the job or internship application processes. As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, this post gives tips for composing thoughtful thank-you messages in professional settings.
Choose a medium that resonates. Paper or email? According to the etiquette experts at the Emily Post Institute, paper is the preferred medium for a heartfelt thank-you note. Handwriting your message on stationery or printing out a note shows the recipient that you took additional time and effort to thank them, and they, too, may spend more time reading your message as they appreciate a pleasant surprise in their mailbox. Recipients likewise may keep or display the cards in their offices, something they would likely not do with an email. When I was the writing program director at North Carolina State University, I sent thank-you notes on the university’s branded cards to collaborators from the library, writing center and other campus offices who presented at writing retreats every semester.
What if you are pressed for time when you need to send a thank-you note? For example, thank-you notes are customary after job interviews; a well-written, enthusiastic follow-up note can set you apart as an applicant, but hiring timelines can be condensed. In this case, email may be the better medium for thanking your interviewers, as these notes typically should be sent 24 to 48 hours after your interview. When choosing a medium to express your gratitude, you should always consider the recipient and the occasion. For instance, at the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Academic Career Development, we thank faculty, staff and alumni guest speakers using a customized LinkedIn template to share our gratitude with the entire Pitt community. This format also lets presenters repost our message to their own professional networks, further showing their support for the university.
Be specific. When you thank your work colleagues or coworkers, you should highlight the specific ways that they have helped you such as assisting during an event or sharing a new campus connection. You can also send thank-you notes about the specific, nontangible things that you appreciate about them. For example, you might have a colleague who always comes through in high-pressure situations or someone who creates an inclusive climate through their engaging meeting facilitation style. Show them that you appreciate their strengths with a cheerful thank-you note especially during a stressful time at work, and they will be grateful for your expression of gratitude.
Likewise in a job interview thank-you note, you should share particular things you learned about the job or company from each interviewer. This thank-you note is also an opportunity to show your fit with a specific role or organizational culture, since you can use it to briefly describe relevant experiences and interests that did not come up in the formal interview. For example, when I interviewed for my former role at N.C. State, I used my thank-you notes to the deans, faculty, staff and graduate students who participated in the interviews to show how my experiences teaching first-year students at Georgia Institute of Technology aligned with the role of a graduate engineering writing program manager. These notes helped me to further demonstrate my fit with a position that was not apparent from my CV, share what I learned about N.C. State from the interview (such as its identity as a land-grant institution) and hint at how I could support graduate learners in that setting.
Keep it short and professional. Never use a postinterview thank-you note to beg for the job or brag about your credentials. Stick to the message of thanking your interviewers and expressing interest in the role or organization. Remember that the postinterview thank-you is another professional writing sample in the hiring process, just like a résumé, CV or cover letter, so make sure that this brief note is well edited and free of typos. Even if you do not land the job, thank-you notes can continue the rapport that you built with your interviewers and expand your professional network.
Likewise, when you thank colleagues in your current workplace, write a concise, upbeat note. If you tend to be a verbose writer, you can use the enabling constraint of paper stationery to keep the message focused and legible. For example, my favorite stationery is a 3.5-by-5-inch botanical-print note card, which helps me to focus my message and craft concise notes.
Be genuine. Most importantly, a thank-you note should be written in your own voice to be sincere and connect with the recipient. This is not a note that you can simply outsource to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, especially in high-stakes situations such as thank-you notes for job interviews. Start by drafting your thank-you note without using AI tools to sound the most authentic, even if you use these tools to edit your message before you commit it to paper or click send.
Following these tips for professional thank-you notes will help you share gratitude and appreciation for colleagues. A concise, specific and, above all, genuine thank-you note can celebrate your professional relationships and help you build new ones as you search for your next opportunity. Wishing a happy Thanksgiving to “Carpe Careers” readers who celebrate, and best of luck in your job searches!