As you see, sending a thank you letter serves multiple purposes; it can be used as a tool for providing additional information and keeps communication open. This is another chance to set you apart from other applicants.

Tips on writing thank you letters: - Send a thank you letter to each person who interviews you. Show them you appreciate their time and decision. - Personalize every letters you send. Don't create a letter and send them to every one. Mention name of person you write to in letter. - Make it easy to read. Use plain and light stationery. - Keep letter brief. - Summarize date you spoke with interviewer and important points during interviews. - Check for any spell and grammar error with your word processor before sending. - Make sure that your thank you letter uses same heading as your resume and initial cover letters, to maintains consistency.

In any case, you have to consider your situation and develop a thank you letter appropriately. For example, handwritten note on a card may be perceived as less professional or polished. If you think personal touch aspect of it outweigh drawback, then by all means use it.

5. Pricing.

You need to price your workshop for market. Some adult education or community programs have guidelines for setting class prices. Classes are usually priced within a narrow range, usually on less expensive side. Include price of your class in your proposal. Indicate whether or not there will be a separate materials fee to cover books, workbooks, handouts or other materials. It’s important to understand an organization’s fee structure or expectations before you price your workshop. For example, some programs might pay you 50% of your class fee, yet allow you to keep 100% of materials fee. If you need to reduce your price from what you usually charge, you always have option of reducing amount of information that you offer.

6. Logistics and other details.

Make sure that you include details about when class will meet, both day of week and proposed date(s). Also, include minimum and maximum class counts. As a rule of thumb, a class minimum should not be less than 7 people. If less seven sign up, sometimes there isn’t enough “group energy” to make class feel comfortable. You can always obtain class counts in advance and change your class minimum if you really want to go ahead with class. The only caveat is that people who do come might not enjoy you or class if there just isn’t enough energy or interaction.

7. Workshop environment.

Find out about room accommodations in advance. What types of furniture and equipment will be supplied and what, if anything, do you need to supply? Will they have tables and chairs, overhead projectors, white boards, chalkboards or flip charts available for use? Will there be facility coordinators on site who can set up your room way that you need? If not, you’ll need to make plans to find resources to create environment way you will need it.

8. Prepare your material.

Make sure that you are well-prepared before your workshop is scheduled to begin. Your materials should be completed and organized for easy presentation, and should accurately reflect course title and objectives. Make sure you have extra books, workbooks, handouts or other materials to distribute to people who enroll at last minute.

9. Check details.

As soon as your proposal is accepted, you will probably receive some sort of confirmation that includes final class details. If not, ask for a proof sheet. Read it over carefully, making sure that class title, description, class fee, materials fee, and course dates and times are all correct. Also, make sure your biographical information is correct. Confirm this information, again, once catalogs are published and distributed. If you find an error at this point, it can be corrected, at least, on their website.

10. Last minute details.

Contact adult education or other venue one week in advance, as well as day before your class or workshop is scheduled to take place. You’ll be able to obtain preliminary class counts to determine quantities of materials to bring. Always bring extras to accommodate last minute enrollees. Also, if class counts are below desired minimum, you can think about whether you want go ahead with your plans to present.

Copyright 2004 by Tara Kachaturoff.