So you have not heard from that dream company of yours after you were interviewed? It has been some time since you last heard from them and you are increasingly becoming jittery about the possible outcome of the discussion you had. You tend to have negative thoughts in your mind and the chance seems as good as gone. How do you take it from here? Do you sulk and blame your luck?

Do you accept this as your fate and move on? Or do you do something else? It is this ‘something else’ that can sometimes work for you or at least draw a response from the employer.

A follow up letter can often act as a statement of intention on the part of a candidate and is seen as a positive move in the corporate circles generally. A follow up letter from a potential candidate shows that the candidate is real serious about an organization and given an opportunity, would love to grab it gleefully with both hands.

But how do you draft a follow up letter? There cannot be any standard format but sticking by certain guidelines will certainly help.

First, state how excited you were at the opportunity extended to you and would like to express your sincere acknowledgements to them. You need to speak of the organization in glorifying terms and sneak in a few words of acknowledgement for the sound organization, plans and processes it follows.

Second, never state again that you were the right candidate for the position. You have already done that before. Remember that this is a follow up letter and not a job letter. It should become a thank you letter rather expressing acknowledgement for a wonderful opportunity. A job letter states the skills and experience while a follow up letter does not.

Third, state again why you would like reiterate your interest in working for the organization. Explain that the organization has processes and personnel that can guide you the right way and help you achieve your goals. It should be kind of an excerpt from an internship letter where an intern expresses wishes to be a part of an organization.

Fourth, state that you have been wondering whether recruitment has already taken place for the position you had applied for and would appreciate if you were updated on the latest happenings on the job front in the organization.

A follow up letter hence, is very much different from a job letter. In fact, a follow up letter often does the job what a job letter seeks to do at the outset of a job application. Hence, it is critical to draft a follow up letter well.