Thank You Notes are Passé and Other Interviewing Myths

Stumbled across this BNET article about what What Hiring Managers Really Look For. Sure, there are lots of points made in the article I agree with, a few things I could probably argue against, but overall a decent read. The author writes from his personal experience, and I have no doubt this worked for him. What really surprised me was one of the comments about the almighty interview thank you. Yes, this is a direct quote -“A thank you card? Please. Only if you just interviewed with your mother.”

Who knew? I must be an absolute exception to this new rule because I have been told as a candidate my thank you card to my interviewer sealed the deal – more than once. In fact, my current boss actually had hers in hand when she came to the lobby to deliver me to her boss for my 2^nd interview the next day. She wanted to tell me how much she appreciated the personal touch. Maybe I’m just old school but I believe a hand written note, personalized to the interviewer, can make a positive impact. I’m not talking about the “one size fits all thank you for your time” tired old line. If not that, though – what?

Targeted to the audience. Have we not made this clear? Target your cover letter. Target your resume. And for the love of Pete, target your thank you letter! Hopefully you’ve learned a thing or two about your interviewer in the 45 minutes you spent together. Mention it! I once made reference to Scottsdale, AZ after interviewing with someone who visited every year for the Barrett-Jackson auto show. One of my job seekers referenced the new starting pitcher on the favorite baseball team he and the hiring manager shared. Keep it clean, but make it personal. You might even go hog wild and mention a point or two about what in your background makes you a fit for the actual job.

Know your audience. Seems like we’ve covered this, but think about delivery. I like hand written thank you notes. In fact, in 10+ years of recruiting I’ve kept every one I’ve received. Less than 20, I’m sad to say… what I don’t have, though, are the thank you e-mails. Because I don’t care about them. Maybe your interviewer was different. Especially in this age of smart phones, maybe they prefer an e-mail. Once I got really creative and sent a free Hallmark e-card that was sponsored by one of this agency’s best customers (who I would be recruiting for). Hiring manager loved it and told me so. Tweet them if you think that will catch their interest. Just do SOMETHING.

Show your interest. We see this all the time with applications. I’ll call a candidate who actually went through our ATS and 24 hours later they have no idea why I’m calling. But it’s different in an interview! Of course you want the job! Right….? Just looking at my corporate experience filling nearly 30 positions in the last 90 days I can tell you the candidates who followed up - with at least a thank you e-mail - are the ones who were ultimately offered a position.

If nothing else, remember what your Mother taught you. JUST SAY THANK YOU. It’s polite.

Comment by Tiffany Branch on September 16, 2011 at 11:15am: I'm not debating the "etiquette" behind the note. In my initial post, I stated I would tell clients/candidates to send a note. I am discussing how much of an impact does it really have on a hiring manager or HR/Recruiter in making a hiring decision. While of course I do not know every recruiter in the world, many that I know who fall into the Gen X,Y category don't tend to make candidate decisions based upon a note. Maybe it's sad, maybe it says something about our society these days, but too many say "they don't care or don't bother to read them."

Comment by Paul S. Gumbinner on September 16, 2011 at 11:19am: I hear you. And I get it. But if there is only a 5% chance someone might be impressed, than it is worth it.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 16, 2011 at 11:28am: Email or handwritten doesn't make a lot of difference to me. My attitude about it is, if someone opens a door for me I say "thank you". I would bet that most people of all generations do the same, unless of course they have their phone in their hands texting and almost walked into the door and never noticed that I opened it for them to keep them from breaking their nose.
In the South when our children learn to speak they learn mommy, daddy, please and thank you. We say thank you when a waiter brings our dinner, one does not say "pass the peas", one says "please pass the peas".
If someone says "good Morning" our response is "thank you,good morning".

If saying "thank you is part of the "job search game" I would suggest that when playing any game it's a good idea to thank the person who opened the door that gave one the opportunity to play.

Steve levy has an older blog on his web site Recruiting inferno with some outstanding thank you notes he wrote after interviewing for a job. Well worth the read.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 16, 2011 at 11:43am: I understand what you mean Tiffany. A thank you email or note will not make a difference if the candidate is not the top candidate but sometimes the lack of one when there are two or three seemingly equal candidates will subtly shift the mind set of a hiring manager. Probably not so much with recruiters unless that note gives us something additional to follow up with.

Comment by pam claughton on September 16, 2011 at 12:42pm: On the flip side, I've also had candidates lose offers because of a poorly edited thank you note. One instance that comes to mind is when a junior candidate had a mispelled word in a hand written thank you note....and one of her job functions would be editing.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on September 16, 2011 at 5:52pm: Good point Pam - One of the best candidates I ever interviewed ended up being one of my worst ever hires... in your case that poorly edited thank you was a Godsend

Comment by Jacob S. Madsen on September 19, 2011 at 9:58am: Compliments on the many good responses on this subject. Stats: 500 interviews over a 4 year period, - of these 8 wrote thank you notes!!!

It is really quite simple, stay top of mind with a recruiter/staffing person through a thank you note, and 'people buy from people' why if you show appreciation of something then I will likely like you better/more than those that don't

Comment by Barbara Goldman on September 19, 2011 at 11:19am: Today, it's more important than ever to follow good old fashioned mannerly behavior, and actually buy a stamp. You stand out from the crowd. Isn't that the point?

Comment by David Palmer on September 21, 2011 at 4:03am: Thank You notes are only appropriate if you got your job through an Agency that walks you in on your 1st day and sends cakes to the client upon your appointment!

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on September 21, 2011 at 10:04am: Thank you's of any sort are always appropriate but somehow your view on this doesn't surprise me, David

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