Personalize Your Thank-You Note

A student recently asked about sending a thank-you note after an informational interview and if it was okay to have one ready to hand them immediately after.

My response “no”

Why?

Informational interviews are  networking opportunities and networking is about building relationships.
Relationships aren’t generic, they are personalized interactions. Don’t hand them a generic thank-you note. Personalize the thank-you note by reiterating something you talked about.

Perhaps they mentioned they recently got a dog from the local shelter, or you realized your kids attend the same school, or you are fans of the same sports team.Whatever topic you talked about that provided commonality, mention that in the note.

Send the thank-you note within 24-48 hours of your meeting.

Now enter their contact information into a spreadsheet or the tracking system you use for your network. Add the extra piece of information about the dog, kid’s school, or sports team in the notes section. 

When you interact with them in the future ask about those things. They will be impressed you remember!