Post interview Thank You Letters

OK, good job so far. You just finished your first interview, what should you do to re-emphasize the strong bonds you just created with the program?

The best way is to send a post residency interview thank you letters cards to the residency program personnel which you interviewed or met with once you have done with your interview. The thank you letter offers you one last opportunity to leave a good impression and to jog the interviewer's memory. For ultimate outcome, do it twice, once directly after the interview and once just before the ranking time about early February.

Some facts to take into consideration when sending a thank you letter.

1. Although emails are the preferred way of communication over mail and cards, however, for interview purposes in particular, especially in the busy match season where the program directors and coordinators will be receiving thousands of emails regarding the application process as well as thank you letters and so on, in our experience, a thank you card that you fill in will draw a smile on the people you interviewed and met with in the program on your interview day, we advice you to get these THANK YOU CARDS. Yes and get a lot of them, they fly like cookies.

2. Send letters to all the people with whom you interviewed with or have a sort of conversation with(Program Directors, Chairman, Chief residents, program coordinators and faculty).

3. Don't type the letter, this is not professional. You need to show them that you are a real person with perfect hand writing. Faculty will rank people with good hand writing on top.

4. Personalize them by including facts observed during the interview including the hospital anatomy, chief residents tour, program coordinator reception and interview itself. If you had observership there earlier then you can mention too about it to remind them about how much you are already interested in the program.


5. Short and sweet is appropriate. The people who interview are very busy and most likely only glance at the letter.


6. Send the cards as soon as possible after the interview. Interviews at separate programs begin to blend, and if you don't take good notes it will be difficult to personalize your letters. Also send a reminder just before the ranking period to keep your image fresh in their minds.


7. End with a simple, positive closing sentence like "I look forward to working you in the future."

8. There are many samples of these post interview thank you letters on our website, just click the label on the right that say "Thank You Letter" and you will find at least 10 of them.