
Ask HN: Interview Thank You Emails. Necessary? - fr22
I have been told by an older business man that it is 100% necessary to send an email to anybody you interview with thanking them for their time and to point out one or two things they said that you were really interested in.<p>To me personally, this feels like it comes across as annoying and is actually a detriment. I am under the impression that the computer science world cares much less about corporate bs and can actually harm you.<p>I do not know anybody who hires computer scientists, so I wanted your opinions on the importance of these follow up thank you emails.<p>PS: I am about to graduate from college.
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edw519
_...it is 100% necessary to send an email..._

I take it a step further. I always send a hand written Thank You Note by snail
mail. Always. I have never failed to do this.

Why? Because if someone has spent an hour of their time (I don't care if it's
on company time) to potentially change my life, the least I could do is take 5
minutes to share a sincere Thank You. I always take the time to hand write it,
I always make it personal, and I am always sincere. (If you're going to be
even 1% phony, don't bother, people will see right through it).

There are some nice byproducts. It demonstrates professional courtesy. It
demonstrates good communication skills. It demonstrates good customer service.
It gets you remembered. Every time.

But I don't do it for these reasons. I do it because it's the right thing to
do. It is never "annoying" or a "detriment". Almost everyone I have ever sent
a hand written note has told me that they really appreciated opening it and
reading it.

Sometimes I even take it a step further. Several times, I have asked public
speakers what their favorite restaurant is, and then sent a gift card in the
Thank You note. I really want them to understand what a difference their
contribution has made in at least one attendee's life. The gift card is a nice
idea because I know they will use it and enjoy it, and maybe even think of me
that night. I would _never_ send a gift to an interviewer - that's not the
same thing.

~~~
baddox
I don't quite get your reasoning here:

> _if someone has spent an hour of their time (I don't care if it's on company
> time) to potentially change my life, the least I could do is take 5 minutes
> to share a sincere Thank You._

That implies that choosing a slower method of communicating somehow shows
greater thanks than would, say, an email or phone call. I suppose to _some_
people (certainly not me), a snail mail letter may seem more personal or
professional than an email, but I don't think the mere fact that your message
arrives via snail mail vs. email would reliably earn you points with those in
charge of hiring.

~~~
rick_2047
The main reason to chose snail mail is not that it is slow, but that it shows
some amount courtesy and appreciation.The cost (in terms of time) of writing
an email v/s letter should not be measured in terms of the number of minutes.
I think of it this way, somebody who had take the time to get some postal
envelops, stamps, sat down and wrote the letter _leaving his work in some way_
and then dropping it off to a post box is much more classy than someone who
composed an email in his/her already open client and wrote a bare bone email
with a template in their drafts folder.

~~~
baddox
When you talk about the time it takes to compose and send a physical letter, I
simply don't agree or understand. How does taking more time mean you're more
thoughtful, serious, or classical? If you're just saying that snail mail seems
classy because of its cultural significance, then I understand, but just
taking a long time alone doesn't seem particularly thoughtful, serious, or
classy.

~~~
rick_2047
think of it this way, I could be doing something else while I was composing
your letter. Also hand written things are always much more personal than
email.

------
sgk284
Courtesy is courtesy no matter what field you're in. I've always sent a thank
you note no matter what. They took time out of their schedule for me, it's the
least I could do.

Here's two tips to help you:

    
    
        1) You can never be too courteous.
    
        2) There is nothing wrong with being the best dressed in the room.
    

(Note: I've never worn a suit to an interview, but still always try to dress
nicely even if I know the company is a shorts/sandals/t-shirt kind of place.
In those instances a nice pair of jeans and an ironed shirt usually work.)

~~~
cliffchang
The rule of thumb to use in most interviewing situations, not just Software
Engineering, is to dress one "degree" up from your interviewers. If you're
being interviewed by jeans and a T-shirt, wear a dress shirt and slacks. If
you're being interviewed by a dress shirt and slacks, you can't go wrong with
a casual suit.

If you're being interviewed by a formal suit, though, don't go busting out the
tux :-p. That's the top level.

------
SHOwnsYou
I've only ever hired one person, so my experience in this is limited.

I was on the fence between the two top people. Both were great, right out of
college and seemed eager to learn. One sent a thank you card, the other did
not.

I hired the one that didn't send a thank you card because I was more concerned
about keeping out a (potential) kiss-ass in the thank you note writer.

Also, I don't think a thank you note is courteous. If I believed that I'd also
need to think that not sending a thank you note is a sign of an absence of
courtesy.

Making courtesy a function of thank you notes would cause them be thrown out
ad nauseum and would lose some meaning.

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wallflower
Please read this: (this is why I was able as a very socially awkward college
student not stumble through the first job search):

[http://www.collegegrad.com/interview/thankyouletterafterinte...](http://www.collegegrad.com/interview/thankyouletterafterinterview.shtml)

Sending a Thank You email takes almost no effort. Sending a Thank You letter
in the mail takes a bit of effort. Consider a job fair where a recruiter gets
a hundred resumes. Could sending a sincere Thank You note in the mail possibly
make you stand out from the crowd? Most especially in these days of longer
hiring cycles where the difference between a minute of effort to send an email
and the ten minutes to write, print, sign (with blue ink to contrast from
black printer ink), and mail might make a difference.

There is a better site and a book, <http://collegegrad.com> that really
exposed the behind-the-scenes of hiring because it was written by a hiring
manager. Pretty much everything I'm saying here has been paraphrased. As the
site says, the secret to an effective Thank You letter is to restate your
interest in the position after thanking them and most important have a future
promise to follow-up: "I will call you next Wednesday at 3pm to discuss this
further" Even if you don't get the person on the line, by calling when you
said you would - you earn professional credibility.

------
larsberg
Certainly not necessary. I did several hundred in-person interviews of college
candidates during my time at MSFT, with at least a hundred of them while I was
the hiring manager, and I can remember only three thank-you notes (two via
e-mail, one via snail mail).

That said, I remember all three.

~~~
awa
Very few recruiters pass on the email id of the hiring manger to candidates.
Also, many candidates write an email to the recruiter thanking him/her and the
interviewers which usually never gets to the interviewers.

~~~
floodfx
always ask for a business card...

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AmberShah
As a hiring manager, most of the time my mind is made up 30 minutes into the
interview (though it's not considered polite to cut it short or notify them at
that time). However, in the very rare case of a tie, a follow up email (or
handwritten letter) will definitely swing it in your favor.

Actually, despite it being the common advice, they are quite rare to receive.
So I tend to take notice and remember that person much later even if they are
not selected. I would be likely to give the person another shot if they re-
applied for another position, or pass their resume along to another position
where I think they'd fit better. I'd never do that for someone who didn't
follow up.

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Hovertruck
It makes a big difference.

I interviewed with a Y-Combinator funded startup, and having felt that the
interview went really well I awaited the plan for moving forward. Days turned
into weeks turned into months and eventually I resigned myself to the fact
that I wasn't going to get a call. It was upsetting not only because I really
wanted the job but because I spent those weeks hoping just to hear anything at
all, whether it was good or bad, so I could move forward or move on.

Interestingly enough, 6 months later the position is still listed as open.

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thisduck
The problem I have with thank you notes - both as an interviewer and an
interviewee - is that not only are they mechanical in nature but also
manipulative. The interviewee has something to gain by sending a thank you
note.

When all the people you have interviewed send you a thank you note because
it's "the thing to do," then it is hard to gauge the level of sincerity.

For me, the enthusiasm and energy demonstrated at the actual interview is far
more indicative of whether either party really actually appreciated spending
time together.

~~~
jat850
You don't send the note because you have something to gain (in my opinion).
You send it because you wish to be courteous, and for no other reason, and
with no other expectation.

~~~
thisduck
So is not sending a note a lack of courtesy? And who should send the note? The
interviewer? The interviewee? Both?

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jwallz
it really varies from place to place and company/industry. Which probably
means its fading out. I recently went through a few rounds of interviews with
several people at a large software company and i did not send thank you
emails. I was given the job but it was brought up over beers later on with
boss and peers how i did not send thank you emails. they mentioned how during
their interview process that most people were not doing that and it seemed to
them that was becoming outdated.

Now i was briefly a hiring manager before and i hated getting follow up emails
from people i interviewed. It is so obvious that people know it's something
they have to do and just kicked out these canned scripted thank you messages.
Most people's inboxes are already full and they are busy why would they want
this?

And my personal opinion is that, honestly they should be thanking you. I mean,
they need help. They put out a "Help Wanted". You have skills that can help
them. They asked if you wouldn't mind taking 3 hours out of your work day so
you could go down to meet several of their team members so they could evaluate
you and help them make certain they are hiring the right person. Maybe they
should be thanking you?? It's a two-way street.

------
edge17
Interviews are a two way process. People seem to think it's about the
interviewer showing up and answering a bunch of questions, but the goal is to
try to make a connection. Sending a thank you is part of making that
connection.

Your 'thank you' can include specifics of the conversation that interested
you, or more questions that you have in order to show your interest. It's
another opportunity to communicate with someone you may want to work with.

------
iuguy
I generally e-mail people I interview afterwards, and call them to let them
know the decision. There's a fair few that don't make the cut, particularly
when it comes to investigations, but they're always good to keep in touch
with.

I'm also with edw519 on the courtesy front, it's just that in this modern day
and age I find that people's attention spans when it comes to job worries are
more suited to a quick email than a letter a few days later.

------
zackola
This isn't corporate BS, this is you following up and letting them know you
were listening to what they were saying, perhaps continuing a discussion that
was had or sharing links to some things you talked about.

If you can't bother or aren't excited enough to email the people you
interviewed with, who will potentially be the people you spend 50% of your
waking hours with if you get the job, why bother applying in the first place?

------
brosephius
it depends, but it couldn't hurt. I see such emails as fluff, but that's just
me. I wouldn't hold it against someone either, because that would be
incredibly petty. but, you never know, so why not? as long as it's concise and
(at least sounds) sincere, only a total jerkwad would hold it against you.

(funnily enough, the job I have now is the only one I didn't bother sending
thank you emails for, since after weeks of interviewing I got tired of the
whole ritual. go figure.)

------
nhashem
I honestly think it doesn't matter. I have about 10 years of professional
experience, and while I used to write thank-you e-mails and even snail mail
letters on every job interview I went on when I was younger, I stopped doing
it a long time ago. Here's why:

a) A startup or a mid-sized company will usually act pretty fast in making an
offer or informing the candidate they're declined. The bureaucracy at bigger
companies may mean it could be awhile before you hear back from them even if
they liked you, but for the most part I felt silly sending thank-you letters
after my employment at the company was already determined.

b) It's common to go on an interview loop and meet 4-8 people. I found myself
basically copy-pasting them same letter to everyone I had met and I felt
really foolish. The alternative was to think of something unique to everyone,
but this felt equally contrived ("I really enjoyed those questions about how
Perl handles multiple inheritance!")

c) Business cards are pretty passe now and a lot of engineers don't get them
at companies because they don't need them. So I would ask the employees I
would interview for their cards, they wouldn't have any, so I had to awkwardly
quickly jot down their full name and e-mail address while the next interviewer
was already walking into the room. Or sometimes I would forget to ask, and
then I'd e-mail the HR contact, and I doubt it ever got to the interviewer.

d) When I got older, I quickly realized I never made any difference to me as a
hiring manager. If I liked a candidate, I hired him. If I didn't, I didn't
hire him. If I received a thank-you e-mail, it didn't make a lick of a
difference. I know it can demonstrate good communication skills, etc, but I
already made my judgment on the candidate's communication skills in the 1 hour
I spoke to him, not in the 15 seconds I took to read his thank-you e-mail.

e) At a company I interviewed at, I once sent everyone a thank-you e-mail, and
then I was hired. Somehow my personal e-mail address was made the default in
everyone's Outlook address book for my name, and it was literally weeks until
it was fixed. Until then I had to keep checking my personal e-mail as well as
my work e-mail. This is obviously more a failure of Outlook or that company's
IT department, but that was basically the last time I ever sent thank-you
e-mails.

Look, it won't hurt. If you're paranoid and getting a lot of 'old-school'
advice, then go ahead and do it. But seriously, at no point does a candidate's
offer status hang in the balance on his thank-you note. An interview debrief
never ends with, "well, sounds like we could really go either way on this
guy... let's see if he's the kind of polite young chap that sends a thank-you
e-mail."

So good luck with the interviewing, and if you're concerned about coming off
as polite and well-mannered, the best way to to express is it in the interview
itself... not a contrived thank-you e-mail that the interviewer probably won't
get anyway and won't influence his decision even if it does.

~~~
aasarava
I'll disagree. Here's why you should send a thank-you note: Though it may not
matter to some hiring managers, it can make a difference for others. I put
myself in that latter category.

Whenever I'm in a hiring position, I take a close look at the candidate's
courtesy and interpersonal skills. Candidates who are polite, even to the
receptionist, and who follow up with a thank-you email always get a little
bump in "points" in my book.

The person who is thoughtful enough to thank me for my time not only
understands social protocol, but is more likely to be respectful of others
around the office.

It's not enough to get you hired if you don't have the skills for the job. But
if there's a tie, the person who sent me a thank-you note will always get the
job over the person who didn't.

And ties like this _have_ happened in my experience.

So the moral is that you just never know if it's going to matter or not -- so
you might as well do it.

------
CyberFonic
Courtesy is appreciated by most people who don't have Aspergers! I assume that
you are asking from the perspective of the interviewee. You don't have to send
e-mails if you don't want to. But don't kvetch if you are not getting jobs and
not getting any feedback after being interviewed. The interviewers might think
that you are arrogant and no matter how brilliant you might be, that cold be a
strike against you.

~~~
carbocation
Why taint good advice with a slur?

~~~
CyberFonic
Aspergers is a symptom, I did not mean it to be taken as a slur. In fact, one
difficulty with it is that people who have it are often only marginally aware
of having it. That is why they find it difficult to even seek help with the
finer nuances of social interactions.

