I've had an interview at company X. It went good, I got a coding assignment and did okay. The company is going to let me know if they want to see me again for a second interview, with CEO.

I feel they're going to see quite some other candidates who either could have better technical background or more stable school carrier (it took me longer to finish my studies and they already implied it could be an issue). Which, I'm afraid, might make them decide not to see me again.

Is it a bad idea to send them an extra motivation letter? I really feel like it could be a good thing to express 'unmatched motivation'. Or will it just be experienced as obtrusive? I would greatly appreciate any help in formulating my letter:

Dear sir Y,

Awaiting a possible invitation for a second interview, this is really on my mind. I'm impressed by company name and I'm looking forward to a second interview. My thoughts are with the other candidates who might have a better technical background, or completed their school carriers on normal term.

However, I am convinced that my motivation and soft skills are unmatched. During my schoolcarrier I didn't fount what I was looking for, I was missing a challenge. Now that I was able to taste of professional life with an internship, I notice that there's nothing that I want more than to work on a high level in a professional environment like Company Name.

I would therefore greatly appreciate an invitation to a second interview.

Is this a good idea to do? What could I improve?

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    As the answers below suggest, this doesn't look good. You make a totally baseless claim that you have certain skills which are "unmatched", when you know absolutely nothing about who else they've interviewed. It comes across as cocky and self-aggrandizing. – Nuclear Wang Dec 10 '15 at 14:46

Firstly, if you are planning on sending your letter in English then please get someone to proofread it before you send it. It is clear English is not your first language and it does not come across well.

Secondly, if I were an employer and I received a letter like this from a candidate during an unfinished interview process, at best I would ignore it. But I would probably feel that the candidate was a little desperate and it would red-flag the candidate and cause me to look again very closely at their resume and reconsider my assessment of their interview in the light of their possible desperation.

Your interview is the place to showcase yourself and your skills in the best possible light. It is assumed by the employer that you did so and that you gave it your best shot. Therefore they will compare their assessment of you against their assessments of all the other candidates and make a decision based on their own internal criteria. An attempt by a candidate to second-guess their motives and try and place themselves higher than they might otherwise achieve through their interview standing will not be well received in my opinion.

The only exception to this would be where a candidate, through nerves or some other issue made a complete mess of an interview and knew it. Then, if I received a letter where they honestly explain the causes of their failure on that day and asked for a second chance to show the worth they know they can bring to the job, then I might allow a re-interview if I thought I could see any potential within them. But if I had not seen anything noteworthy then I would not re-interview no matter how pleading the letter or the nature of the issue (with one exception, a serious medical emergency or death of a close relative as no-one would be able to interview well under those circumstances)

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    I agree with everything. You can also throw on... will this guy also annoy me randomly like this if he is working for me? – blankip Dec 10 '15 at 17:31

Personally, I think that this sounds both quite arrogant and also comes across as a bit desperate. Regardless of how desperate you actually are, it's never a good idea to look it.

I think sending a letter like this is more likely to harm your chances with the company than to improve them. If your interview went well, then they're already considering you for the second interview and this letter is unlikely to tell them anything new that's positive. If the interview went badly, then unfortunately the interviewer will assume you did your best but aren't a good fit for the role and this letter isn't going to make them change their mind.


Here is your "motivation letter" and the only appropriate thing to do: send them a message after a reasonable time has passed to be sure that you did not miss a communication from them. Lost emails or missed calls can happen. During your interview, as you exit, you should always ask what the expectation is for reaching back out to you. If they say 3 days or 3 weeks - either way is fine, but then you have a professional, well-defined reason to remind them of your interest in the job. Beyond that, you can guess at what "reasonable" is, but likely you will not time it correctly.

The interview process exists to draw in candidates and weed out those that do not qualify. During that process, how candidates conduct themselves is under very intense scrutiny. Your ability to understand the culture, expectations and needs of the company are the critical aspects of your performance during this time. If you do not know these things, then you should try to ask about them.

A letter that includes self-assessment statements like, "I feel/think I am the best candidate" implies that somehow you are aware of who they are interviewing, their qualifications, etc. Inappropriate in general.

Also, if you are the best candidate then there is no risk in allowing them to take their time to reach that conclusion. If there are other candidates that they interview that are better qualified, you are wasting your time trying to convince them otherwise.

Last, actions you take to appear eager can backfire - these actions may project you as driven, but also that perhaps you are trying to rush a decision in the hopes that the reviewers will overlook deficiencies and miss interviewing better candidates. In your case, that sounds exactly like what you are trying to do. Fight the urge - don't take that approach.

Don't try to trick them into being a better candidate. If this doesn't work out, continue to work on yourself until you are the better candidate.

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