Comments on: Should Your Interviewer Get a Thank-You Note or eThanks?

By: Alison

Alison — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:55:43 +0000

Good points- I definitely agree on the emailed thank you note. We touched on it a little bit too in this recent posting this!

By: Should You Thank Your Interviewer By Email?

Should You Thank Your Interviewer By Email? — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:43:22 +0000

[...] haven’t talked about how to thank your interviewers since March 2010 (aww, back when I was anonymous and writing in the plural). I’m curious [...]

By: Layla

Layla — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:36:33 +0000

I feel like this can be a regionally specific answer. Being from and working in the Deep South, I know that a handwritten note is almost always preferred, though it should be really simple in terms of design and actual wording. Of course, an email is much better than a really ornate thank you card.

By: Bitter News, 3-9-10 | Bitter Lawyer

Bitter News, 3-9-10 | Bitter Lawyer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:48:03 +0000

[...] • Hiring partners are split. We’ve called them harassing. And you old-fashioned types bristle every time we suggest not shoving a piece of worthless stationary that says nothing in front of interviewers’ faces. To “thank-you note” or not to “thank-you note?” Handwritten or emailed? Pro forma, “perfunctory” bullshit or the perfect finishing touch? The debate wages on. [Corporette] [...]

By: Bitter News, 3-11-10 | Bitter Lawyer

Bitter News, 3-11-10 | Bitter Lawyer — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:45:55 +0000

[...] You can debate the whole “thank you note for an interviewer” issue til your blue in the face, but it doesn’t matter if you never even get an interview. [...]

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:48:42 +0000

I send thank you notes by email for phone interviews because they get there fast. However, if my interviews are in person, especially if I visited the office, I send hand written notes.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:13:15 +0000

I have recently struggled with this and gone with the snail mail, typed note (for same reasons here – stationary seemed to personal, handwriting too messy); but now I’m faced with subsequent interviews where I’m working via a recruiter; I’ve had no emails of the individuals that I’ve interviewed with (all been through phone for now) and several are outside the US (so snail mail seems ludicrous). Here are my questions:

What’s the best timing of the thank you note? Only after F2F interviews? After phone interviews, too (especially if interviewers are in another country)?

When working via a recruiter who is interfacing to set up all interviews, I can ask that recruiter for contact emails or perhaps ask her how to get the “thank you” back to her?

What about when you’ve had a ‘screening’ interview? When you’ve talked directly to the company’s HR group and they’ve gone through the very basics and then decide you can move to the next round. Send thank you’s to them, too?

The interviewing world has changed SO MUCH in the 10 years since I’ve done it and any advice is welcomed.

Thanks!
Carrie

By: LizM

LizM — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:28:49 +0000

I’ve never heard of someone not getting a job because they sent a thank you (unless it was bad and/or had typos), but not sending it could hurt you. It would take a huge jerk to penalize you for following social niceties.

By: annabag

annabag — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:33:05 +0000

I work at a law firm in San Francisco and have received hand-written thank you notes from male applicants. My reaction to them was they were different and showed strong interest in the position. My main problem was what to do with them afterwards. Throwing them away seemed wrong yet we don’t really maintain physical files for job applicants anymore.

By: SheLawyer

SheLawyer — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:01:02 +0000

I don’t understand the point of thank you notes. I’ve been on both sides, interviewer and interviewee. In my experience as an interviewer, I can tell you that nothing in a thank you note will ever save a bad interview. I think that a thank you note can only hurt your chances and never help. If you do one poorly, then it can kill your chances. But even if you do one well, I just don’t see how it would make a difference.

And as the person above said, I never received a thank you note from a male applicant. Always female.