As a Human Resources professional, I don’t expect a thank you note after an interview. Here’s a punk rock HR tip:
- Sending a thank you note has no bearing on whether or not you get a job. If you feel compelled to follow-up on our interview, please save a tree and send an email.
I operate differently as an aunt, a sister, and a cousin.
- If you don’t send a thank you note, you won’t get a gift on the following holiday.
Am I keeping score? You bet I am — and you’re on notice.
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Amen. Same goes for Christmas/Hanukkah and birthday cards. Two way street.
Laurie, you might be surprised (or not) at how many old-school recruiters save thank-you notes and revisit them when they have a new opening. You may also be surprised (or not) at how many “how to land the perfect job!!!!!!” articles insist that you should send a hand-written thank you and not an email.
- Chris
Laurie, you might be surprised (or not) at how many old-school recruiters save thank-you notes and revisit them when they have a new opening. You may also be surprised (or not) at how many “how to land the perfect job!!!!!!” articles insist that you should send a hand-written thank you and not an email.
- Chris
@Deidre Exactly.
@Chris I’m not surprised at how many people (recruiter, accountants, my grandmother) save thank you notes. A thank you note determines all sorts of stuff: your level of manners, your upbringing, your thoughtfulness, etc. From a Human Resources standpoint, I have never hired (or declined to hire) someone based on whether or not a thank you card was sent. On a side note: I just read an article somewhere that buyers make a home-purchasing decision within 9 seconds. I think hiring decisions in Corporate America are made in similar ways.
Hey Laurie: I’m totally with you on this. I expect some sort of follow up from an interviewee, either snail mail or e-mail. But, from my relatives and all those extended others who’ve invited me to their nuptials, christenings, 88th birthday parties, etc…. I expect an honest-to-goodness “thank you” card, call or personal thank you. Still waiting for a few too many of them….
A short note is nice. A long, drawn out email as to why you are so perfect for this job and how you really reallllllly want it, is not.
I don’t mind a little note, it’s kind of nice that people still have manners.
@Denise GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!
@HRU I like to receive a note. It makes me smile. Doesn’t make a lick of difference in my hiring decision, though.
The jobs I’ve applied for (or at least the ones not involving a uniform and some sort of visor) have all involved writing, editing and very harried editors doing the hiring. I treat the thank-you note as my first assignment and the editor as my first source. My note should show them in subtle way my powers of observation (that sounds cheesy, I know), my listening skills (even cheesier) and my ability to get folks to open up (the fondue-grade cheesiest.) If we had a good laugh at no one’s expense during the interview, I allude to it. They took a good hunk of time away from some deadline to give me a new way to do what I love. Often they pulled reporters away to talk to me too. They get their own note. That deserves more than clicking “Command N” for a new e-mail.
Every single boss, without prompting, has mentioned my thank-you note. A couple of pulled it out with a stack of others. My colleagues said it was a hint of verbal gymnastics and chattiness to come — or maybe a warning.
When I hired our paper’s interns, thank-you letters were intermittent, but noticed. If the candidates’ skills blew me away, I didn’t count it against them for not sending one (paper or electronic). But if I was wavering, and no note came … well, I took it as evidence of poor source development and deadline management. Five of the interns I hired went on to work full-time at the paper. Those interns made me thankful for my job.
I have not made a hiring decision based on a thank you note, or lack thereof, however, I have, on two occations, brought someone back for a second interview after receiving a thank you note.
@Laurie, regarding snap-hiring decisions. Unfortunately, I think you’re right… which would explain why anywhere from 50% – 75% of candidates hired end up not being the best fit.
- Chris
@Laurie, regarding snap-hiring decisions. Unfortunately, I think you’re right… which would explain why anywhere from 50% – 75% of candidates hired end up not being the best fit.
- Chris
We have three generations of people at the office, but only one group (the boomers) really owns the budget/hiring process.
I think there are two things happening in the hiring process, Chris:
1. Incorrect assumptions about what makes a good hire (i.e., using behavior-based interviewing, which never really susses out results), and
2. old personal values being interjected into the new, flat, global marketplace.
You can’t be old school in a new school economy.
Coming from an IT background with no HR experience at all:
I was part of the interview team for new hires in my last position. It was exceedingly rare for us to see a relevant, customized cover letter, well-organized resume, and a thank you email of any kind all from one candidate. When I saw those, it definitely improved my impression of the candidate (though admittedly I’d give more weight to the thoughtful cover letter than the follow-up). I don’t think it ever swayed me from a “no” to a “yes” or a “yes” to “go get this person even if he/she is expensive” but it’s plausible that it could have.
I think it’s also possible that a thank you note may not help you get hired, but may still make a good impression to your new coworkers before your first day.
On the subject of paper vs email, I think an actual paper note would have been somewhat bizarre (I don’t think we ever got one), though not a negative.
I think some sort of followup after the interview is appropriate. It shows whether the candididate is interested in continuing with the process and reminds the interviewer how the interview went.
I don’t think it matters whether the note is sent- snail mail or e-mail, but I think good manners never go out of style.
OK, let’s not just refer to it as a “thank you” note. Some kind of follow up is absolutely necessary! When I interview someone, it is their first time hearing about the details of the position and people usually give the impression they are interested in getting the job offer. Are they going to sit there and tell me “oh this isn’t what I expected, I don’t want to work here?” Their lack of any follow up tells me this. So yes, the follow up communication does usually “thank” the interviewer for his/her time but it is more about confirming the desire for the job.
Quite honestly, my best hires were the ones I stole from the competition. The ones who brought in resumes were only about half as good as they promised on paper while leg work got me face time while they were on the job filling their positions. Background checks were useless since most did not want current employers to know they were shopping around and/or their former employers did not or would not acknowledge them in order to block their advancement. What the really amusing part was in this story is that alot of times I had already hijacked their best help and was only inquiring to see what spin they would put on their departure.
Can you name your companies mail clerk? I could and I can tell you where they lived, how many kids they had, and where they went after work. I knew all of this before they even applied for the job and every position was filled from a short list of candidates I had personally selected to apply. Head hunting is much better than blind ads but the resumes provided a list of potential candidates. The resume let me know where they were currently working and I would generate a meeting before they even knew who I was or for what my real reason for being there.
As far as thank you notes go they were appreciated but I would rather see you a couple of weeks down the road and check on your progress of transitioning to your new position. If I did not hire you then a thank you note was a joke. Trust me when I say that if you did not get the job it had more to do with someone having better credentials-not better manners. If I did hire you then you can thank me in person as I continue to look in on your progress or maybe I will just happen to be at your favorite after work hangout one day out of the blue. See ya then….
I have to disagree – thank you notes are a must. Yes, of course it shows good manners and a good upbringing, but in the business world it shows that you are good at following up. I have noticed too that when I send a thank-you (esp. hand written) I am offered the job. Just my 2 cents for a Monday…
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