Sending a thank you after interview

[erin1715]

My husband has a job interview on Friday morning for a teaching position. What is the protocol now for sending a thank you? Should he write out a thank you card and mail it, or send an email thank you note?

Personally, I think sending a card in the mail is more thoughtful but they wouldn't get the card most likely until early the following week, which I guess is okay.

 

[goofyintoronto]

My husband has a job interview on Friday morning for a teaching position. What is the protocol now for sending a thank you? Should he write out a thank you card and mail it, or send an email thank you note?

Personally, I think sending a card in the mail is more thoughtful but they wouldn't get the card most likely until early the following week, which I guess is okay.

Snail mail is just that, SLOW as snails. By the time the card gets thru, it'll be about a week! I would email a thank you note. Its quicker. Thats what I did a few months back, and guess what?? I got the job!

At work I do work a lot with HR in hiring candidates. I can tell you that most people email thank you notes, maybe because thats what my boss prefers? But in all my years my boss has only received one thank you thru the mail. And by then it was too late. Not sure if the thank you note would have made a different in hiring that person, but there you have it.

Just my opinion.

 

[Micca]

I'd do both. Drop the card in the mail the minute the interview is over. Good luck

 

[erin1715]

I think to cover all the bases he will do both...thanks for the opinions!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

The About.com advice might help: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/thankyouletters/a/thankyouemail.htm

I think interviewers understand a mailed thank you note won't arrive right away, but unless they're making a decision Friday, it looks like either the mailed note or both is advised.

 

[zurgswife]

In my profession it seems that decisions are made before a snail mail thank you would arrive. I have always recently sent a thank you the day of my interview via email.

 

[LukenDC]

I'm a director of HR and I appreciate thank you notes regardless of whether they arrive via e-mail or the postman. Given the fast-paced nature of hiring, a handwritten card delivered by the postman may be impractical. It's the sentiment and gesture that truly count, so I would favor e-mail over the postal service.

Thank you notes do matter. In instances where we are deciding between two evenly qualified candidates and one candidate sent a note and the other did not, the one sending the note gets the job.

 

[Aliceacc]

When he gets to the "do you have any questions?" part of the interview, one of his questions should be "When do you expect to make a decision?"

That should certainly help guide him.

But I'll offer a third option: after the interview, have him go to a local diner or coffee shop and write up a thank you (or a set of thank yous, if there are multiple interviewers) over lunch, then drop them off with the receptionist. They'll get the personalized notes that afternoon, and it WILL help make a good impression.

What does your husband teach?

 

[erin1715]

I like the idea of hand-delivering a thank you note to the receptionist that afternoon. We live about 2 minutes from the school where hes interviewing so it wouldn't be a problem for him to run home after the interview and then go back out again.

He teaches Phys Ed and coaches 3 sports. He has been substitute teaching for the past 3 years and this will be his 7th interview in those years, so we are really praying this is it!! This is also the district where we live and where he graduated from, so hopefully that will help...it can't hurt!

 

[Bob NC]

I say email.

The purpose of a thank you note isn't really to thank them, it's to get your name in front of them one more time.

You want that to happen quickly, before any decision is made.

 

[Robinrs]

I guess it depends on the receiver but I've received both and prefer email. The letter is nice but unnecessary for ME. I've gotten some really extravagant ones, btw, one that even matched the resume! None of that sways my decision,though. Picking the right person is a science that has nothing to do with thank you notes or emails.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Great idea! do both!

I'd do both. Drop the card in the mail the minute the interview is over. Good luck

This is good too, if possible.

I like the idea of hand-delivering a thank you note to the receptionist that afternoon. We live about 2 minutes from the school where hes interviewing so it wouldn't be a problem for him to run home after the interview and then go back out again.

 

[daizieduck]

I have been at my current job for almost ten years. I actually assist the HR department and they told me that what stood out to them was that I was the only person that sent a thank you note after the interview. The funny thing is I actually wrote it before the interview and then mailed it immediately after I walked out of the building at the mailbox across the street!

 

[bballmom56]

Two years ago, I interviewed and sent the thank you by email. I got the job.

DS has recently interviewed for 2 jobs. Sent email thank yous after each interview (both jobs required multiple interviews). He got both jobs.

 

[Robinrs]

Two years ago, I interviewed and sent the thank you by email. I got the job.

DS has recently interviewed for 2 jobs. Sent email thank yous after each interview (both jobs required multiple interviews). He got both jobs.

I'm willing to bet the thank you note was not the only parameter they used to hire you both.

I just remembered my co worker showing me the thank you letter her husband used to three or four of his interviews. They were deeply detailed and long. All of the people in the office were upset because they never went out of their way to do something so detailed. I just predicted he wouldn't get the jobs (to myself).. and he didn't.

The letters sounded a little desperate and OCD. You CAN overdo a thank you, too!

 

[bballmom56]

I'm willing to bet the thank you note was not the only parameter they used to hire you both.

That's very true. The question the OP was asking was whether to email or snail mail the thank you. I was just pointing out that ours were done by email and resulted in success. It was not held against us that we did not snail mail it or deliver a hard copy. I think the important part is sending a thank you in some form.

 

[horseshowmom]

I think to cover all the bases he will do both...thanks for the opinions!!

I think the email is more than adequate. If you decide you want to do a written one, then follow the previous advice about dropping it off. I would NOT do both though. My husband is a principal, and he would consider that overkill.

 

[Aliceacc]

I would do just one, but (again, sorry) I would hand deliver it.

It's the end of July. There are parts of the country where school starts SOON. And even for the rest of us-- principals want the decisons made ASAP. They want their jobs filled and won't wait to make a decision if the right candidate comes along.

That hand delivered note could be the tipping point.

 

[Bob NC]

Hand delivering a thank you note just strikes me as a tad odd.

Also, I don't think I'd write out my thank you note before the interview. In a thank you note after an interview I like to personalize it with maybe a tidbit that was discussed during the interview.

Thank you notes are all well and good and it is nice to give the interviewer a reminder of a particularly strong point you feel you made in the interview.

However, I don't for a second believe anyone is hiring anybody based in any part on a note.

If they decide to hire someone based on a thank you note then they don't really have a very good interview process.

 

[Aliceacc]

I would never pre-write a thank you note. I agree with Bob-- you want to bring up a point or two that was made in the interview. You want to thank them for their time, for considering you, and remind them of why you're a strong candidate.

But dropping it off with the receptionist gets it into their hands that afternoon. If a decision is imminent-- and in education at the end of July, it IS-- it seems to me to be the best option. He's a Phys Ed teacher-- that's a field that has never NOT been saturated. He must bring a lot to the table to even have gotten the interview. A well written, timely thank you note could just make the difference.

Fingers and toes crossed for him, OP.