Should Your Interviewer Get a Thank-You Note or eThanks?
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Should you thank an interviewer with an email or a card? We've wondered about this for a while as well, so reader J's question strikes us as particularly interesting…
After an interview, everyone knows that it is good manners to send a perfunctory “Thank You” note. However, is it still recommended that the “Thank You” note be a hand-written note sent through snail mail or is it equally appropriate to send a “Thank You” after an interview via email? I am old-fashioned and still send a hand-written note on nice Crane & Co. stationary, however, an email “thank you” would certainly get there faster. I am not sure what is considered appropriate these days!? Any thoughts??
First, we would say that the thank-you note should be far from perfunctory — it reinforces what you spoke about in the interview, why you're qualified for the job, and allows you to clarify anything that you worry came across poorly. (Pictured: Orange notecards, 25 thermographed notecards for $152 at Fine Stationery.)
That said, we're sort of torn on how to send your interviewer their thank-you note. For us, it mostly comes down to a question of time (we are masters of the 7th-day thank you, which is just about the longest you can wait to send one). For the most part, then, we have done e-mail thank yous at least since 2003 or so. We have made exceptions for that, however. For example — a few years ago this author had a coffee catch-up with a man who has been a guiding force in my career since before grad school, the uncle of a friendly colleague, who happened to be working in my dream job. He and I have only met a few times over the past decade — I doubt he would recognize me on the street, even! — but his advice has not steered me wrong. We met for coffee, and again he gave invaluable advice, and I decided to send him a personal, hand-written thank-you note. As I was writing it out, it suddenly felt weird — my handwriting looked so messy on the page. My personalized stationery, normally reserved for Grandma and aunts, suddenly felt too “too.” It all felt maybe a little too… emotional. Girly. Not professional. Still, I struggled past these concerns and sent him the thank-note by mail.
Cut to 2 years later and I was trying to find our last correspondence to meet with him, and was alarmed to find no thank-you note in my e-mail files. Had I not sent one? It was only a very visual memory of dropping the note in a mailbox that jarred my memory. He never mentioned the note, so I have no idea what he thought about it (if anything). Still, that was the experience with the note. So our $.02 is to send the thank-you note by e-mail: gets there quicker, you know it was received, and you have a record for your files of what you sent.
But readers, what has your experience been? Let's take a poll… and please comment below.
Agree with those of you who say email for Big Law. Our recruiting office pressures us to get our interview evaluations in the same day we do an interview, and during peak hiring season, the recruiting committee will meet and a decision be made w/in a very few days — not enough time for the nicest paper note to make a difference. On the other hand, a thoughtful, well presented email can be a slight nudge upward for me when I’m writing an evaluation.
Also, if you send me an email, and I want to encourage your interest in our firm, wish you luck or otherwise follow up — I can easily reply to you at that moment. If you send me a letter, the chances that I’ll have the time to get back to you diminish accordingly….
That’s just NY big law.
Poor job candidates! There seems to be no agreement on one v. two thank-yous, and on email v. hand-written. But here are my two cents. I am an older professional who was around when Wangs were high-tech. But even I feel that handwritten thank-yous are passe for the business world, and I feel that two thank-yous (email and snail mail follow-up) look desperate. I also want to confirm that evaluations are made long before a snail-mail card would arrive. So, onward into the 21st century for me, and keep it to email.
you hit the nail on the head here : note + an email = desperate. Desperate translates to a lack of confidence. An email more than suffices. I’m California, Big Law for reference.
I’m in charge of recruiting at a boutique tax law firm. We generally make our hiring decisions the same day we interview a candidate. Even when we wait a few days to decide, a thank you note has no bearing on our decision. Personally, I feel like I can tell if someone’s grateful or not by the way they act during and after the interview. With a note or an email, there’s so much more opportunity to plan the “right” thing to say, so I don’t give it much weight.
Also, to me, a handwritten thank you note seems, I don’t know, too personal. You wouldn’t hand write a cover letter or any other sort of business document, so why would you hand write a business thank you? I wouldn’t knock someone for sending one, because I understand that someone else probably told them they needed to send a handwritten thank you note, but it just seems odd to me.
I think that an email thank you for the initial interview is good; it is quick and responsive. But if you make it to the next round, especially if you meet with someone higher up the hiring chain, I think a written note is appropriate.
One plus (or minus I suppose) about emails is that they can be forwarded. I recall the days of receiving a thank you note, photocopying it and sending it to the hiring committee.
And for what it’s worth, my law firm did choose the person who sent the thank you note over the person who didn’t – we were looking for anything to help us make the call between to good candidates.
i always like to do both; i’ll email an hour or so after the interview then drop a thank you letter in the mail the next day or so. BUT when i interviewed for the job i’m at right now, i knew they were interviewing 3 people. one was tuesday, i was wednesday morning, and the third was wednesday afternoon. i emailed my thanks after my interview and was hired at 7:30pm that night. my boss told me on my first day of work that my email had really set me apart (even more than my resume already had) and they knew going into the third interview that they would hire me.
then again, i was applying for an administrative assistant position at a church (please get better, economy…), so i don’t know that they expected that sort of thing ;)
it is funny, though. my best friend’s mom does hiring at her publishing company and the advice she gives me (“young enough to include high school stuff on your resume” “2 page resume” etc) is so conflicting with other things i read… it seems like you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
I’ve done e-mailed thank you’s following first round on campus interviews (because I know they make offers by the end of the day in most cases) and handwritten notes following call-backs.
However, my husband (junior associate on biglaw hiring committee) was just opining the other day that thank you’s should always be e-mailed. His experience has been that the interviewers in the office all talk to each other informally within hours of the interview about whether they wanted to recommend the person or not.
Thank you notes for OCI MUST be sent via email because decisions are made that same day. I had a friend who sent one via email right away, and thank goodness she did because she quickly found out that due to a snafu she had been accidentally left off the guest list for the offer party the next day.
For call backs, it can be really difficult to send handwritten notes to the 6-8 attorneys you might be interviewing with. So I also went with emails for those. You could maybe send a handwritten note to the hiring partner to go along with the email.
By the time the thank-you note arrives in the mail, your interviewer might very well have given the job to someone else. Most of my correspondence with any business contact these days is via e-mail, but especially with potential clients. I would feel very strange sending a handwritten note to someone I had only e-mailed with previously. E-mail the note.
I would never, NEVER send a handwritten notes. Those should be reserved for your wedding thank you notes and for notes to grandma. In the business world, letters are typed. Type and email or snail mail your letters. It’s another way of demonstrating to your potential employer that you know how to communicate in a business professional manner.
I completely with ESB and others about the standard of professionalism. Handwritten thank-you notes are a must-do in SOCIAL etiquette. We are talking about business etiquette, and the two are, and should be, separate. This is not the time to show off your style, personality, and taste in fine papers. A brief, professional letter of thanks (typewritten and mailed) was formerly the standard. If swift delivery can be assured, then this practice should still be fine. Otherwise, email is the way to go.
FWIW, my current job (big law lateral) was offered to me the morning after I interviewed. Although I doubt my same-day email of thanks resulted in the offer, I am glad I sent something in time for it to be considered.
And of course, I meant I completely “agree.”
Email is fine, handwritten notes may even be a bit much, but a thank-you should be sent in some form. I RARELY get any thank-yous, even email ones, from law students I interview, and I find it very rude. And then, when I complain about “kids these days” being too entitled to bother to send a thank-you, I feel old and crotchety. Baaah!
Two years ago I would have said hand-written note, hands down. Now I vote for email. People want instant gratification and often make near-instant decisions, whether it’s selecting you for a job or your agency for project. I find the email then snail-mail approach interesting though. No one has gotten backlash over too much of a thank you?
I would stay away from clarifying things that came across poorly. Unless it was really, really bad, that just serves to highlight that aspect of the interview and leave that as the last memory of the interview in the interviewer’s mind.
I agree – Thank them for their time, mention one thing about you that makes you an obvious fit for the job, and sign off — Too long and they forecast you as being the office chatterbox, too pointed and you’re pegged as desperate – desperate may not disqualify you from the job, but it won’t help you in salary negotiations.
http://ShaynaLeahK.wordpress.com
For phone interviews, I send an email thank you so it arrives quickly. I know the search committee is likely to make a decision about who to move forward before a card arrives. For face-to-face interviews, I send hand-written notes from the city of the interview to assure they arrive quickly.
I do email notes. I just landed my dream job, so the lack of handwritten didn’t hurt. I feel like it’s 2010, they are often traveling on blackberries anyway, email is just more with the times. Also, I actually AM very busy and don’t have time to do handwritten notes after negotiating contracts all day, leaving for an interview, finishing up work at night- it was the most I could do to write those emails without falling asleep. Also some of the interviewers only gave me their email addresses, which indicated to me that was what was expected.
To play devil’s advocate- I worked for a guy who was admittedly a jerk lawyer, but he was against writing thank you’s at all. His theory was that the candidate is doing him a favor too- considering working there. Since it’s a mutual thing, he thinks thank you’s are unnecessary and silly. I sort of agree but prefer to play it safe and send something.
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.
I have been on both sides of the interview desk. I like handwritten notes. As someone stated, *business* letters are typed, but business notes are still handwritten. There’s a great book titled The Art of Writing Business Notes. Handwritten notes congratulating someone for a business recognition, or thanking someone for contributing an article or speaking, or enclosing an interesting article or other information, are still common. There’s an element of snobbishness to it as well, at my very, very white shoe law firm – showing that you “fit it” with the other attorneys.
I email a thank you and write a follow up note. While the follow up note does first thank the interviewer, it goes further, elaborates on something we discussed, etc. Often the interviewer and I will discuss something that could lead to follow up. I have enclosed articles, etc. (once as an undergrad I enclosed part of my thesis – to my shock the interviewer read it, and it led to further collaboration. I had already gotten the job – investment bank).
FWIW, I have indeed gotten handwritten notes from males interviewing at our, as I said *very* conservative and white shoe law firm.
But I agree, bubbly handwriting is right out.
I think you hit it on the head with the element of snobbishness/fitting in. I don’t work for a conservative, white shoe firm, but I do know that many of my colleagues consider handwritten notes for all occasions to be de rigueur. I give and get them not just as thank yous but for congratulations, birthdays, etc. An interviewee who sends a handwritten note is, unbeknownst to the interviewee, signaling that he/she’s our kind of person. Likewise, sending a thank-you note to a firm where most people expect it via email may be signaling that you’re not their kind of person.
That’s the best part of working with a headhunter… the last time I changed jobs (to my current position), it was through a headhunter, so I got a heads-up on the company culture since he had worked to staff there before. When I went for the previous position that I had, I did so alone… And, honestly, in a brief interview, in a conference room in human resources, it is close to impossible delineate something as subtle as handwritten/e-mailed communication preferences.
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http://ShaynaLeahK.wordpress.com
If I worked in California, or in a tech related firm, or even in New York I may avoid handwritten notes.
However, remember that while today’s law firm committment is not the lifetime committment of yesteryear, at a big law firm your personal and professional life are intertwined.
The firm wants those who belong – or can belong – to city clubs, university clubs, country clubs. The firm wants those with deep contacts in the community at a specific level. The firm wants to encourage those who went to the best private schools, may sit on the board of those schools, etc. to continue to have those ties and tie those institutions to the firm.
When I look at it clinically, it’s actually somewhat disturbing and exclusive. But it’s also the way of the world in many places.
To keep track of handwritten correspondence, I type out the message and the date sent in the Notes section of that person’s entry in my Outlook contacts. Very easy to keep track of what, and when, I sent a personal message to someone.
I think handwritten notes are important. I go to interviews prepared to write one, and bring one with me. This is my chance to say anything I may have missed in the interview – I always kick myself shortly afterwards.
I like to make a quick stop at a nearby coffee house or restaurant, write out the note, taking my time, and then mail it that same day. If mailed in the same city, it will nearly always arrive the next day.
I used to ALWAYS write handwritten notes after interviews, but I had one very bad experience. After a bank interview, I wrote and mailed cards to all the people I interviewed with, and I later found out that the most senior member of the group had not received his Thank You card. It was apparently lost in the mail. I was horrified when I later found out that he saw his colleagues opening their hand-written notes and wondered why I hadn’t sent him one. Since then I have always sent email Thank Yous to ensure that they are received.
Maybe the best takeaway from this is that, as the people on the other side of the desk, we have to be careful not to judge some poor student/interviewee who has recieved nothing but conflicting advice and knows that, whatever they do, someone will find their actions to be unacceptable.
Well said – thanks!
While I was on the Recruiting Comm at my firm, I appreciated hand-written notes from students as long as they were neat. I was surprised by the bad handrwriting at times. More often, I received email notes, which are entirely acceptable these days (in my opinion).
At the partner level, I have been taught that sending thank you notes is OUT. I have researched this on recruiting firms’ websites and there seems to be agreement that thank you notes are considered odd at the partner level. Perhaps because the playing field is levelled?
Thoughts?
I would like to share my experience with thank you notes as my employers commented directly on my use of them (feedback – YAY!).
I had an interview at my firm right out of grad school. After the interview, I sent a quick “thank you for meeting with me today” email to my interviewers. I followed this with a hand-written thank you note outlining more detailed comments on why I was good for the job etc. to each person. I “even” sent one to who I thought was “just” an admin-type who was present at the interview – thank god I did because she actually runs the whole office in the practical sense!
A while later my boss commented that everyone was very impressed with how well-prepared I was at the interview and how I had all the etiquette down pat. Theysaid they especially appreciated the hand-written notes.
I understand that both email and hand written notes might be too “too.” But I think being a young enthusiastic student may have meant I got away with being extra eager!
If you are interviewing with a law firm, you should take into account the firm culture when deciding if you are going to email or send handwritten thank you notes. If you are interviewing with judges, I think you should send a handwritten note.
My law partner recently received a handwritten note of congratulations from a judge. The note was congratulating her on on her election to a bar position. She really enjoyed the note written on nice stationary and getting it in the mail. I also sent handwritten thank you notes recently to some judges I interviewed with. Although I’m not a huge fan of my handwriting, it was appropriate for the situation.
To the interviewers: please do have sympathy for us! It’s horrible to have to decide navy or black suit, skirt or pants, button down or shell, hair up or hair down, and then e-mail or hand written or typed and sent! Every decision will turn someone off!
I have chosen to send letter press cards with a little design that is in a single color with handwritten notes. I post them the same day from the same city. I do this because I feel like I’m so buttoned up and professional throughout the whole process that I lose anything that is personal or memorable about me. I’m not wearing clothing or hair or jewelry that is interesting. My resume and cover letter are professional but not unique. I feel that a card shows just a bit more of my personality and might make me that much more memorable. E-mails all look the same on the screen. It also provides a multi-media experience. You got my e-mail, and digital documents. Then you saw me in person and could evaluate my body language and voice. And now you can see my handwriting and hold a physical representation in your hand.
There are exceptions. If someone needs more information (references, writing sample, etc.) I’ll write an e-mail thank you and attach the documents. For OCI or larger firm interview where you meet 8 different people, e-mail is better because it is quicker to arrive and easier to do.
I went out on a limb once. In the phone interview we discussed winter time and holidays in tropical locals as a side topic. I was aware that the interviewer celebrated Christmas and the interview was in December. I sent a Christmas card with Santa in a hammock on the beach and wrote my note in the card. I signed “from sunny California, ‘CJ in CA’ ” I don’t know what they thought specifically, but I did get a follow up interview. My goal was to make them remember ME specifically and our conversation.
Handwritten thank you notes for job interviews in the San Francisco Bay Area is not part of the culture. Men do not do it. When I became the interviewer, I thought it was girlie and trying too hard. Never got a note from a male job candidate.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Good points- I definitely agree on the emailed thank you note. We touched on it a little bit too in this recent posting this!
I usually email a typed thank you note attachment with a digital signature. It got me noticed at the last job I interviewed for – and I got the job! Seems like a good compromise to me.
As a medical student interviewing for residency positions, I found it interesting that during a prep session one relatively young Program Director recommended emailing rather than hand-writing thank-yous largely because it keeps the line of communication open. Still, I imagine preference might vary if someone older/more traditional is doing the hiring…