According to the UCS Career Fair document, we should send thank-you notes to each representative we met at the fair. A personal letter sets you apart from the many other people who were at the fair.

Should your personal letter be handwritten or e-mailed? Here’s my take: if you really liked the company and would like to work there, follow-up today with an e-mail and get a handwritten note in the mail before the week is out. If the company was so-so and you don’t see yourself there, send a quick e-mail note, just to keep the relationship going.

If you’re like me, you stress over what to write in a thank-you note. You think back through the conversation trying to pull out an example or a comment to reference. You worry over wording. (Or maybe that’s just me.) In any event, here and here are a few sample thank-you notes I found. They’re specifically for thanking people you met at career fairs.

The second page has some of the best correspondence samples I’ve seen. The career-fair thank yous are at the bottom under “Job Fair correspondence,” but the page also has application letters for jobs and grad school, letters of inquiry and other forms of thank yous. Bookmark this site!

This article explains what the letter should accomplish — basically a statement of gratitude that restates some of your best attributes and says you’re interested in future possibilities. If you’re not interested in a working for the company, lay off reminding them about your skills. Just say it was nice to meet the person, and you look forward to staying in touch.