<p>I've had a few interviews already and have sent letters to each individual interviewer thanking them for their time. I only did this because I have actually been enjoying each interview and each interviewer has been very kind and made me feel very comfortable. I've been wondering if this is actually good practice? Does it make me look desperate for a good write up? I only do it because I've actually enjoyed my interviews, but could it actually hurt me?</p>
<p>I think it is a standard expectation and sending one is necessary. Good manners are always the way to proceed. You want to make a good impression. You can never be penalized for having good manners, in my book. Too many people are lazy these days.</p>
<p>I’m not sure it’s standard expectation or that it’s necessary; however, if an interviewee sends me a courteous thank-you email post-interview, I would certainly be pleasantly delighted. But if I don’t hear from you, I wouldn’t hold that against you either.</p>
<p>Okay. I was just wondering because I’ve sent three thank you letters and I don’t want it hurting me.</p>
<p>Look at it this way: many candidates, some send thank you letters, some do not. Who is the person going to notice? I would not want to be in the group who could not be bothered. Gratitude is a valuable habit to cultivate and will serve you well throughout life and opens many doors.</p>
<p>Do you all mean handwritten letters which you send through the mail? If so, how do you find out their address without prying too much or seeming stalker-y?</p>
<p>I have only had one interview so far, but I have a few more coming up soon. For the first interview I sent a thank you e-mail to my interviewer the next day. Is this all right, or would a mailed thank you letter be better?</p>
<p>marybee: I’ve interviewed hundreds of students for my Ivy alma mater. I’ve rec’d a few thank you notes. I can tell you that immediately following the session, I’ve made mental or actual notes on my write up. While niceties such as a TY note are “nice” — in no way to they influence my eventual write up. </p>
<p>That being said, I did do that for job interviewers I’ve had subsequently. I think for college interviewers, it’s nice but certainly not required nor effectual.</p>
<p>EMail TY note is fine. Frankly, I’ve not given out my mailing address and it would take the student to google me or find me on whitepages.com —kinda stalkerish, IMHO.</p>
<p>I agree with T26E4. Frankly, the most important part of the interview is your interview. A mediocre performance there and a thank-you note won’t help you at all. If I had a great conversation with you, that’s going to take up the majority of the report. It’s not as if I’d include the fact you sent a thank-you note in my writeup. The only time I include mention of written communication from the applicant is if it shows poor judgement, or other issues such as systemic problems with grammar or spelling and so on, since that’s a red flag for me. </p>
<p>You could make an argument that all things being equal, an applicant who sends a thank you know is in a better position than one who doesn’t, but I think the utility or upside is marginal at best.</p>
<p>Tip: There’s nothing wrong with asking for a business card at the end of any interview – which gives you an address without any stalking required. </p>
<p>Post-interview thank you notes are pretty standard in my [legal] world. They don’t count for much – except when you demonstrate that you were actually paying attention. If something was mentioned during the interview that you can follow up on … golden! (Or, at least bronze. Whatever.)</p>
<p>I had an interview this past weekend and I emailed a thank you note later that day. It might have sounded a little like I was kissing up but I genuinely enjoyed his company and actually had a lot of fun talking to him. I will say that in my opinion, you should only send a thank you note if you are truly thankful to them. Sending a thank you as a formality just devalues the sentiment.</p>