My previous employer shut down my office about a month ago, so I’m back in the involuntary job search for the first time in a long time. I’m reading all the websites & attending training about “How to find your next job.” One of the things that has always struck me as a bit off is the advice to send a “Thank you” email to everyone you interview with.
ETA: Hit post way too soon, please wait for my next post.
Sorry about that. Continuing…
Some sites (and an outplacement firm I’m working with) even advise that if the person doesn’t give you their email address, find them on LinkedIn and send a message there.
Now when I’ve interviewed people for a job, both as a hiring manager and as a peer, I’ve never expected a thank you message later. Absolutely, be courteous and thank the interviewer at the end of the interview. But sending an email later is irrelevant at best, and intrusive at worse. And if they tracked me down by some other method, I’d quite possibly hold that against them (it’s never happened to me BTW) as borderline stalkery.
So people who interview others for positions, what do you think? Do you expect a thank you email later? Would you be impressed if they somehow tracked you down even if you didn’t give out your email address?
ETA: If you don’t mind, please let me know your industry as well. I’m in software, and it may be that software & engineering types are too practical & hardheaded to care if they get a thank you message later or not.
I recently retired from a construction-related business and only recall a couple of “thank you” emails ever, and they were from over-eager types applying for sales positions. Not something I would expect, and wouldn’t affect my opinion of the sender either way.
I interview semi frequently. I don’t want thank you emails.
Maybe a more relevant question would be, would receiving a thank you email negatively impact the prospect’s chances? Or would it just be something you hit delete on?
Bone?
This. I have interviewed hundreds of candidates over the last decade. I have gotten a handful of after-the-interview thank yous. Most by e-mail, but one or two handwritten letters. 99.9% of the time I have made my decision at the conclusion of the interview, no follow up thank you would change that.
I wouldn’t expect it, but I wouldn’t hold it against them either. Though, if it was to my personal email, not my business, I may wonder about that.
It’s not a terrible idea, it puts your name in front of the hiring manager one more time. If they haven’t made a decision, it is possible that the email may nudge you over the top.
When I was starting out, it was considered to be the “correct” way of interviewing, but many of those standards and traditions have changed.
I read them, and delete them. They are almost all generic and boiler plate. They have never helped, though they can hurt. Typically I’ve decided whether the person will move on by the end of the interview, so the email doesn’t do anything.
I’ve interviewed a lot of candidates and have only received thank you emails once or twice. It strikes me as slightly oddly over-enthusiastic. It wouldn’t affect my hiring decision, but it moves my opinion of the candidate more negatively than positively.
I have done interviews of people before and would find it really odd to get ‘thank you’ emails. I’d probably just think the person was following some bad advice and not hold it against them, but it’s definitely weird behavior, that crosses the border into creepy if the email address they send to isn’t easily found.
I interview regularly. Engineering for software, and for medical device manufacturers. I do not expect a thank you but the candidate gets major points if they send one. If they don’t, it’s normal IME.
I deliberately don’t give them my contact info so they won’t waste my time.
Don’t send me an email unless it contains information I need or unless you need something from me.
I interview candidates often and am currently interviewing for a new role myself, in tech companies for non-developer roles. I always send a thank you and think better of a person if they send one - meaning they understand and are willing to check all the boxes in a formal process. I didn’t realize it was a dying practice so will rethink doing it for myself but will think even better of people who do it.
I’ve been job-hunting and always make sure to send a thank-you, because that’s what everyone’s been telling me to do. In one case, it was really hard to find the interviewer’s address (their work one, not their home one), even though someone in their position really should have a publicly-known e-mail.
Yeah, this is the kind of thing I’m talking about. I think I come off pretty personable and not like a weirdo, so any deficiencies I have in the interview are going to be on my skills/knowledge, not my personality. And a “Spend another valuable minute and read this content-free thank you email” isn’t going to suddenly increase my skills in kernel memory management.
BTW, in the time since I started this thread, the outplacement advisor emailed me & told me that it’s “not uncommon” to request a Connection to your interviewers on LinkedIn. Which strikes me as way over a line.
FWIW, I did send the HR recruiter who first contacted me a thank you, since I had his email already. I did have an excuse - one of the originally scheduled interviewers had to bow out, so I also told him I’d be happy to schedule a return visit or phone call with that person.
When I was a college professor, the main job interviewing bit was talking to candidates for faculty positions.
Anyone who sent a thank you to be was going to me put into the “clueless suckup” pile.
Fortunately for all involved, this never happened.
No one on either side saw any reason why someone would do this.
I don’t expect them, and I have hired hundreds of people. A simple thank you, received as quick note, provided I gave them a business card, is nice and tidy. Add a snippet of info in the ‘‘thank you’’ if it helps the hiring manager.
That being said, when I interview for exec-level jobs, typically to the CEO, board, etc, I can’t fathom NOT sending a thank you.
I’ve interviewed tons of people, and got very few thank you emails, and it never made a difference. It was not like I was doing them a favor - it was part of my job.
What would count is if a candidate asked a thoughtful question based on the information he or she received during the interview. I’ve never gotten one of those, but it would show that the candidate didn’t stop thinking about the company the second they walked out our door.
Many books and people advise candidates to send thank you note/email. I don’t see why a note makes someone a “clueless suckup” but maybe academia is different .
Also I am surprised that nobody ever sent a thank you note.
Seems there is no good answer.
Some people will not care one way or the other. Some will have a higher consideration for you if you do so, and some will hold it against you for doing so. Bit of a dice roll either way.
IMHO, a good rule of thumb would be, if they give you a business card or something with their contact info on it, then go ahead and send them a note. If you need to go hunting for it, then they are more likely to be the type that would resent you for wasting a few seconds of their precious time.