Quite frankly, I already get too many work emails as it is.
Uh huh. And how many people doing the hiring even bother to tell a candidate two weeks later that he didn’t get the job. That “courtesy” was ancient history twenty years ago.
Maybe this is specific to certain fields; personally I have never found them to be particularly common in my field.
The decision who will be hired, considered or rejected; is usually made before the interview is over. If you didn’t overwhelm them - the decision is made. No email, no flowers, no fancy card is going to make any difference.
In my experience, the letter may actually work against you; identifying you as a ‘suck up’. But, my job is in engineering, not a ‘soft science’. If you have the skills specific to the job, if you are personable, if your personality will meld with the team - you are in. If not, nothing will change that decision - most especially an email.
Wow. A guy who is actually looking for MORE emails.
There is no magic “key” that will unlock that job, certainly not a follow-up e-mail. There are a whole host of determinants in landing a job and it is a disservice to imply that finding the right, exact, secret elixer is the only way you will ever unlock a job. It ain't so.
Yep. It used to have to be a more laborious old-fashioned thank you note.
Doesn’t make sense to take the time to go in for a personal—or even have an over the phone—interview, without adding the 30 second follow up of a brief thank you.
Almost bizarre that people in her field would be skipping that step.
Sounds like a self-center prick; a Gen Y idiot that NEEDS to be thanked. In many cases the candidate doesn’t have an email address to send a thank you as all communications for the interview come from them and it is a bit nerdy to track down the interviewer to thank them.
At the end of the interview, you stand up, shake hands looking the interviewer in the eye, and you thank him for the opportunity to interview.
That should be it. I can't imagine why anyone would want sycophantic garbage clogging up his in-box the next day.
Now, if you interview with this chick, by all means send her an email, but the reason for it eludes me unless she just likes seeing people suck up to her.
To all the detractors here, consider these facts:
- A thank you email costs you nothing. Except maybe a few minute away from your Playstation.
- If nothing else, it represents civility, something that is all but lost to the last couple of generations. Practicing civility makes it habitual, which WILL make you more attractive in the job market.
- If one in one thousand thank you letters are effective, that's an extraordinary edge over someone who never writes one.
What ineffable twaddle.
Are you looking for someone who can write and edit copy, or interviewing candidates for the Queen and Her Court Rose Parade float?
If someone bothers to meet with you, they want the job. A “thank-you” at the end of the interview suffices.
Anything else is just sucking up and a sop to your outsized ego.
I think the social mores have changed. While some managers may like a thank you note, I think most would see it as a waste of their time. About being convinced that somebody *really* wants the job...in this economy, everybody really wants the job.
However, it's not hard to write a thank you note, and in my experience HR people are needy illiterates. So it may help you land the job if you throw them a bone thanking them for their precious time and consideration. Certainly don't mention all the mistakes and incongruencies in the job ad (one of my fav's was "Must Have Masters - prefer Bachelors").
ML/NJ
Send a thank you note by snail mail. That’ll really impress them because no one really does that anymore.
Email thank-you letters are impersonal and often unread.
If you really want the job, nothing beats a personalized, hand-written thank-you card, send via US Mail.
If you want the job, then you should display good manners and professionalism by writing a thank you note to the person who interviews you.
The comments on this post as well as the comments on the article’s site are eye-opening. Since when is being polite something to be disparaged?
I have not, and will not, extend an offer of employment to anyone who does not send a thank you (which basically tells me that you want the job.)
Anymore, I’m overjoyed to see applicants that can put together a resume and cover letter in passable English. Most resumes and letters all look the same anyway, but I’m really narrowing on written communication skill. I will sometimes follow up with an e-mail of my own, if only to prompt them to write a few more sentences just to see if they can do it.
I’ve never sent or received an interview thank you e-mail. I probably wouldn’t hire the person who sent me one. Thank you notes are just too touchy feely 1950s girly. Interviews are about business decisions, they’re not bridal showers, if I hire you you can thank me then.