Teacher Education Thank-You Letter Guide

Congratulations! You have successfully made it through the interview! Now what? Interviews are not over when you leave the actual interview; you must follow up!   

Listed below are the components to write an effective thank-you letter. If you have questions about writing a thank-you letter or would like your letter to be reviewed, please contact Career & Professional Development.

Following an interview, always write the interviewer a thank-you letter. This letter should be sent within two business days to express your appreciation for the interview. The purpose of the letter is to:

1. Show appreciation for the employer’s interest in you and the opportunity to interview. 
2. Reiterate your enthusiasm/interest in the position and in the school/district.
3. Remind the employer about your qualifications for the position. If you thought of something you forgot to mention in the interview, mention it in your thank-you letter.
4. Demonstrate that you have good manners and know to write a thank-you letter.
5. Follow up with any information the employer may have asked you to provide after the interview.

Format

• Thank-you letters can be handwritten or emailed.
• Email is appropriate when that has been your means of contact with the person you want to thank, if your contact has expressed a preference for email or if there is a tight timeline in which the interviewer will make the hiring decision. 

Sample Thank-You Letter

Dear Ms. Smith,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview with you for the 4th-grade teaching position at Heritage Elementary School. I found our meeting both enjoyable and informative.

After meeting with you, I am even more excited about this potential opportunity. My education at St. Norbert College and experience working with children make me a good fit for the 4th-grade teacher position. In addition to my enthusiasm, I will bring to this position my ability to quickly establish rapport with students, strong classroom-management skills, bilingual skills in English and Spanish and a strong work ethic. Through my experience student-teaching abroad in Mexico, I gained a strong appreciation of diversity, which I hope to instill in my students in the classroom. I believe my three years of experience working in a daycare center has given me the confidence and ability to manage my own classroom. As we discussed, I am also interested in becoming involved as an advisor for extracurricular activities.

Thank you again for taking the time to interview me today. I welcome the opportunity to become a staff member at Heritage Elementary School and believe I would be a strong contributing member of your staff. Please contact me if you have additional questions. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Sincerely,

Sam Knight