

Ask HN: Are thank-you letters outmoded? - AlexCR

It used to be the unspoken assumption of polite behavior to send (mail) a personalized thank you note after an interview.<p>Have you yourself hired programmers? If so, I'm curious what your reaction would be to a personalized note, would it be 1) expected 2) a pleasant surprise 3) irrelevant data or 4) tacky ?
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huhtenberg
I routinely interviewed for dev positions in the past and I would find a
thank-you note mildly annoying/awkward and of absolutely zero influence on the
hiring decision. Moreover, I'd be irritated if I got a thank-you note from a
candidate that I didn't share my email address with.

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striglia
I would file it under 2), assuming it was well written rather than just a
generic dashed off thank you. In my relatively brief interview experience for
software developers, I have yet to get a thank you note (and I'm ok with
that).

I would lean toward being okay with the surprise thank you, if only on the
grounds that I think we all accept that such things are discoverable on the
internet and the intent was clearly non-malicious.

That said, I cannot imagine ever changing my decision after receiving such a
note, so I'm curious what the goal of sending it would be? Just obligation?

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lemma
I think it can't hurt. I work in a more conservative industry and I sent
thank-you emails the day after an interview (I got hired, obviously not only
because of the follow up). I would avoid physical mail because it will take
too long to reach the recipient and I would keep it short (2 or 3 sentences).

If everyone does it, you'll only stand out by not doing it and in a bad way.
If no one does it, you have the possibility of appearing more professional.

