Job interviews. I have a lot of experience with those. Two years ago I’m pretty sure I went to over a dozen within twelve months. Crazy, right? I’ve worked a bunch of contracts in the past three years, but I cannot recall having emailed or mailed a thank you letter after an interview. I was just reading that 1 out of 5 managers, are less likely to hire a candidate that did not write a follow up letter.
More than one in five hiring managers also said they are less likely to hire a candidate who didn’t send a post-interview thank you note. That’s because they say omitting this step shows a lack of follow through and sends a message that the applicant is not really serious about the opportunity.
A hand written note is still the gold standard, but most managers are perfectly happy to get an email from interested applicants. And if there were multiple interviews, each interviewer should receive a personal note.
I think all cases vary, but do you always follow up with a thank you to interviews? Inquiring minds want to know, have I missed out on job opportunities due to my lack of fancy card sending?
I write thank you notes, and I always make sure to get everyone’s name so I can address them specifically. Not that it’s helped, yet (grumble, grumble, grumble).
I’m sure it’s not the only reason, but I wrote thank you notes to everyone I interviewed with for the teaching job I’m just now starting. I didn’t really do that for other jobs I applied for (and didn’t get), and I wonder if it had anything to do with it.
I found an online survey tool used to gather feedback from the people that interviewed me at the company I’m new to. I may or may not have looked. It had a spot to mark for if the interviewee followed up post interview to say thank you.
I send emails because a note would take too long to get there.
It isn’t just to say thank you, it’s to show interest AND a chance to cover your bases for anything you left out or feel you messed up on.
When I was an employment counsellor I emphasized how important this was to make you stand out. But I’ve never done it myself!
It’s so funny that we know what we should be doing but we don’t always take our own best advice.
I’m always concerned that I would be bothering someone with the extra email, or that it would seem like sucking up, but I should know it would not be perceived that way. Next interview, I will send a follow up/thanks email!
When I hire for my team (and when others hire within this agency), the thank you follow-up is always discussed. If we let the candidate know there is a short time period on the hiring decision, we usually get an email followed with a written card. Otherwise, just written and it goes to the hiring manager for the dept and the HR person who interviewed them.
It’s REALLY bad form to do neither.