Tips, tricks and sample thank you notes

For many, constructing a strong, professional or personalized thank you note has become a lost art. What was once considered common, whatever the need for saying thank you was, now seems to have been lost in translation; the translation between courtesy and all-too-familiar lack thereof of many people today that is.

 

A good thank you note doesn?t have to be difficult or overly time consuming, as the following sample thank you notes and basic outline highlights. So after a job interview, a great client meeting or receiving a gift let?s start our own little trend; a return to some traditional values courtesies that shouldn?t have been left behind: saying thanks and meaning it.

 

General Structure

Whether personal or professional, there are some common attributes to a well-constructed thank you note. First is the greeting, the specifics of which are dependent on the nature of the thank you, the intended recipient and the tone you want to impart. Whichever is greeting is chosen should be followed by a comma as opposed to a semi-colon.

 

A few of the more popular introductions to sample thank you notes include:

 

£     Dear Mrs./Mr. Name,

£     First Name (only),

£     Mr./Mrs. Last Name,

£     Honorific (these include Mom, Dad, etc.),

 

After a space comes the body of the thank you note. Again, the nature of the note will determine the specific verbiage; the key is to focus the message to match the recipient. If a family member a heartfelt thank you is certainly appropriate. For a prospective employer, including ?hugs and kisses? may be a bit much.

~

 

A quick hint: write your note first using whatever method you choose. This gives you the chance to tweak it and massage it until you have it just the way you want. Then transpose it using the aforementioned writing utensil.

 

We all know the advent of email and word processing software has made constructing and sending notes of all sorts more convenient than ever before. But when it comes to thank you notes and cards, avoid convenience and instead opt for personalization.

 

Though it may have been a while, dig out a pen or pencil and write your note freehand. There?s no substitute for a hand-written note, particularly in today?s environment of making everything quick and easy.

 

The closing of your thank you note should be brief and appropriate to the addressee, followed by a comma and your first name. A few examples include:

 

£     Thank you,

£     Thank you again,

£     Regards,

£     Sincerely (trite but not a bad option if you?re comfortable with it)

 

Professional Sample Thank You Notes

As a follow up to a client or prospective client meeting, a job interview or other professional situation avoid the urge to re-sell yourself or your service. A thank you note is intended for one thing, to let a person know you appreciated them spending their valuable time with you. If you didn?t adequately sell yourself or your product in the meeting, it?s too late for that now anyway. For example:

 

Mrs. Jones,

 

I wanted to drop you a quick note of thanks for your time on (Day and Time). I enjoyed our conversation and appreciate you taking valuable time out of your day (Want to make it a bit ?salesy?? Add the following). Of course if you have any questions or I can be of assistance don?t hesitate to contact me.

 

Thanks again,

(Your First Name)

 

Personal Sample Thank You Note

As you might imagine, personal sample thank you notes are generally less structured, but should include the specifics of what you are thanking this person for. An example is:

 

Mom,

 

Thanks so much for little Johnny?s new dump truck you sent for his birthday. He hasn?t stopped playing with it since he opened it; he just loves it!

 

Thanks again.

 

Love,

(Your First Name)

 

Like anything else, if you?re going to do it, you may as well do it right; and that includes the perfectly written thank you note.