quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
Hell, I'm not even particularly nice in interviews anymore, much less writing a damn thank you note. . I am totally myself, I do not embellish - this is what I can do for you, this is how I like to do it. If that is something you desire, hire me If not, save us both the trouble.

I like your style.

Geez I'm surprised by most of your reactions here. I thought thank you notes were standard, basic etiquette. Plus it is an opportunity to remind the interviewer who you are, and underscore your suitability. If people are not savvy enough to send one, i think it reflects poorly on them

I’m sort of with Quirt on this, not that I expect thank you notes to be a two way street, but I would never have sent one because it sends the wrong message. I just wasn’t the supplicant and wasn’t going to act like one.

I could imagine giving my 22 year old different advice.

A much more elegant way to say what I did. Not a supplicant.

Depends on who needs whom more.
The needier party are more motivated to make gestures to move things along.
It just so happens that it’s usually the job seekers who need the hiring party more. Hence the lopesided expectations when viewed from the outside.

Wonder what “thank you” notes were exchanged between Amazon.com and the verious municipalities who bid for HQ2 after the parties are done reviewing municipalities’ bids in person.

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:

quote:

Originally posted by BeeLady:
We are experiencing rolling layoffs..One is our star recruiter.

I talked to her today..She does it all by the book and then some (she knows this inside and out).. with a resulting ...silence....

She had a 4 hour second interview and then never so much as a "thank you for your time"....And that for a job for which she was referred by a friend...Her friend did call to apologize..

Next layoff will be in a few weeks..we are all on pins and needles..

I am not sure a thank you note will make much difference, really...though I would send one just to hedge my bets...

I hate that. It's so unprofessional and just so tacky.

I've encouraged my kids to write thank you emails after interviews. Heck, I even suggest they toss in a line like "As I'm new to the job market, if you can provide any feedback for me regarding future interviews I would be forever grateful." You'd be surprised at how many people took the time to respond, sometimes in great detail, and usually very encouraging.

I've also suggested they email back if it's past the time the decision was to be made, asking for an update if they've heard nothing. Shockingly, the response in almost every case has been crickets.

HATE IT.

If you want information, that's an excellent idea.

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
I’m sort of with Quirt on this, not that I expect thank you notes to be a two way street, but I would never have sent one because it sends the wrong message. I just wasn’t the supplicant and wasn’t going to act like one.

I could imagine giving my 22 year old different advice.

Being gracious and appreciative does not make you a supplicant.

Maybe I should be more harsh with applicants who don't write thank you notes. I hadn't realized that their decision not to send a thank you email was meant to put me in my place.

There are certainly people in the workplace who believe an expression of gratitude is a sign of weakness or is unimportant. Those people are a chore.

That’s one way to think of it. Another would be that if it’s the case that even people from more-or-less the same subculture in the American professional class have widely divergent views on post interview thank you notes, it’s probably best not to use it as a definitive hiring criterion.

I ended up changing jobs quite a bit due to working in industries with a lot of turmoil in my career. I never sent a thank you note for an interview, because I never thought of it is anyone doing me a favor.

I interviewed probably hundreds of job candidates over my career. I considered most thank you notes I received empty formalities, not meaningful communication or real gratitude. I could generally tell they were straight out of the “how to interview for a job” textbook at a glance, and would toss them immediately.

I like Nina’s advice. If they wrote to me or called with an actual question, I’d respond. And, in those cases, it would help them if the question was well written, and actually relevant.

This is not me giving advice. This is just giving one former employer’s viewpoint on thank you notes I received.

I've never had the presence/absence of a thank you note sway me in any way when I've hired someone. But I know there are people like that out there, and I've always figured it can't hurt. But to Doug's point, I think it should contain something that indicates it was written for you, and not just your boilerplate, "thank you for taking the time to talk to me about (insert job title here]. I'm excited about the difference I could make at [insert company name here]" drivel.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
I’m sort of with Quirt on this, not that I expect thank you notes to be a two way street, but I would never have sent one because it sends the wrong message. I just wasn’t the supplicant and wasn’t going to act like one.

I could imagine giving my 22 year old different advice.

Being gracious and appreciative does not make you a supplicant.

Maybe I should be more harsh with applicants who don't write thank you notes. I hadn't realized that their decision not to send a thank you email was meant to put me in my place.

There are certainly people in the workplace who believe an expression of gratitude is a sign of weakness or is unimportant. Those people are a chore.

hear hear

the idea that you don't owe an interviewer a thank you note because they need you more than you need them and you are not a supplicant strikes me as incredibly arrogant. i would not want such a person working for me. i know plenty of people who far beyond me in their bona fides who wouldn't dream of not sending a thank you.

when you get a thank you note that is personalized to you, and it is clear that that person's status is beyond yours, it just is that much more impressive. they have humility, they don't think they are more special than anyone else, and they have excellent interpersonal skills.

The value of a simple thank you is no longer recognized in our society, Pique.

I was in an airport recently. It was crowded, and I remember a family needed to get past me. First came the pre-teen boy, the teen boy. Neither said a word as the blasted past me -- in a situation where you would definitely say, "Excuse me" or "Sorry, but they're calling my flight." Nope, not a word.

Then came dad, who did the same thing. So I guess I know where they got it.

There are most definitely people out there (and I could name names) who believe either that it is a sign of weakness to utter an "excuse me" or "sorry." There is also a group who believe that these things are meant literally, so you should only say "sorry" when you have committed a grievous offense and genuinely wish you had not.

That attitude is very Trumpian, IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
I’m sort of with Quirt on this, not that I expect thank you notes to be a two way street, but I would never have sent one because it sends the wrong message. I just wasn’t the supplicant and wasn’t going to act like one.

I could imagine giving my 22 year old different advice.

Being gracious and appreciative does not make you a supplicant.

Maybe I should be more harsh with applicants who don't write thank you notes. I hadn't realized that their decision not to send a thank you email was meant to put me in my place.

There are certainly people in the workplace who believe an expression of gratitude is a sign of weakness or is unimportant. Those people are a chore.

I have great disdain for people who believe that an expression of gratitude is necessary on one side of the employment relationship, but not the other.

But hey, some people believe employees should be treated like indentured servants. I tend not to respect those people.

So far every male on this board has said some version of it would never occur to them to send a thank you note after an interview.

Surely we're not all Trumpian.


Maybe it's just the case that different people, all basically decent and intelligent and reasonably successful in their own domains, can have different views on the subject.

Maybe because of that, it shouldn't be a litmus test for employment.


(Aren't we the 'ban the box' party, by the way?)