Thank you letters after interviews?

[dawnoffawn]

Hey all!
I've known that it is necessary to write a thank you letter after getting interviewed, but HOW do you send it?
Is the thank you letter a written card or regular print paper?
Do you send it by mail or email?
Do you send it even to temp employment agencies such as Ajilon,for example, or only to employers who actually interview you?
Thanks all of you who replied to my previous posts and helped me understand the job process.
Thanks for any help!
best wishes to you all

[maleficent]

A card is a nice personal touch... I'd go with a plain type card in heavy stock paper (you don't need to spend a lot of money on these) Hand written, thanking the interviewer for their time. You also might want to mention something that stood out in your mind, about why you'd want to work for their company... (makes the interviewer feel like they did a good job selling the company to you)

The card gets sent thru the mail - directly to the person you interviewed with -and make sure you spell teh name correctly (primary reason why you should have gotten a business card from that person)

I'd send it just to the person who interviewed you, though a note to the temp agency, if someone was particularly helpful, isn't a bad idea, it keeps you in their face..

[optik_nerve]

I've always been under the impression that a 'Thank You' card to a company was an actual card. You can write some a personal message inside of the letter or you could just send one of those halmark cards.

I've always gone and droppped it off to the receptionist and told her to make the sure the person who interviewed or my future boss got this.

[maleficent]

hallmark thank you notes

Some of these are kind of what I have in mind.. the simple thank you notes are nice - and give you some room to make a final good impression... (just make sure you've got decent penmanship - otherwise a typed note on GOOD paper (not the plain old printer paper) is option 2.

[dawnoffawn]

Thanks, Maleficent, for the quick response. you're awesome!

[dawnoffawn]

Thanks optik, for the great help!

[Nimetic]

What?

I'd never send a thank you after an interview? And I never have... why would you do that..?

Have I been doing this totally wrong?

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by Nimetic

What?

I'd never send a thank you after an interview? And I never have... why would you do that..?

Have I been doing this totally wrong?

yes, you have...

thank you letters give you a way of standing out... it's also a polite way of thanking the interviewer for their time. (they didn't have to interview you...)

any book on job hunting tells you, justafter dressing appropriately, and a firm handshake, that it's the proper thing to do..

[Daniel_]

In the UK this is strongly DIScouraged by all the professionals I know.

Over here we have a much more reticent approach to business relationships, and hate people that are too pushy.

If I am offering a job, I want the candidate to stand out in the interview - if I need them to send me a thankyou card after the event to refresh my mind, then they can't have been that good.

Anyone crass enough to send such a card would be guilty of being hideously over-familiar (IMO, naturally), and therefore sending a card would make you less likely to be awarded the job.

If you wanted to be formal about it, wait until after you have been told that you did/did not get the job, and then send a card.

If you got the offer, send a thanks card, and if you failed to get the offer, send a structured letter aking for positive feedback about why a person that must have looked good on paper (your CV/resume got you the interview) was not suitable -- I've had call backs from companies based on this technique that got me invited to interview for subsequent posts before they were advertised; the companies realised that I had qualities that they wanted, even if I didn't fit the post that they originaly called me in for.

For my current job, I was called in for an interview before it was advertised because they had interviewed me for a different post several months earlier, liked me, but not been able to fit me to the role that they had at that time.

[dawnoffawn]

Daniel, I agree with you.
For some reason, it just didn't click with me. It feels like i'm desperate and am trying ato get hte job in any way. It also makes it feel like it's impossible to get a job without trying too hard, which makes me quite discouraged and leaving me a little hopeless on ever getting a job.
As for thank you cards, is it necessary to send cards...Can i just send a paper letter, since htey always state that you should send a thank you "letter" which i felt that it meant a letter and not a card.
Which one do you all prefer?

[Shuma]

Perhaps it's my industry (being in tech.) but I've always emailed... that is if i did send a thank you note. I personally don't see much point in doing the thank you letter dispite also reading in a few places that it should be done. To me i'm going to hire someone if they were polite and demostraited themselves well in the interview itself. But seeing that in my current round of job hunts i'm dealing with alot of HR departments.. I'm sure they might have a different opinion than I.

[thingstodo]

To me a letter shows you are a pro. A business letter. Simple. To the point.

Several years ago one of my direct reports was discussing several candidates; he was having trouble selecting between two people. When he got back to his office he found a letter had arrived from one candidate. That made the choice simple. Did I also mention that this fellow was hired 18 years ago and is still a valued employee??

[ktthequeen]

I used to do hiring for my company and I definately appreciated a nice thank-you card. I never received an email thank-you letter but that's completely impersonal and lazy, almost gives me a more negative idea of someone than if they hadn't sent one at all.

[Dilbert1234567]

Originally Posted by Nimetic

What?

I'd never send a thank you after an interview? And I never have... why would you do that..?

Have I been doing this totally wrong?

Well what happens when the letter gets there? they look at it, read it and find out who sent it, they get out your resume to find which one you were, it gets paperclip to your resume, and then gets tossed to the top of the stack of resumes. It does not always work, but it usually helps. If nothing else it puts your name back in there mind, after 20 interviews, everyone mashes together, this brings you to the forefront.

As for email or print, the print works best for getting your resume on the top of the stack, not everyone prints out there email, I know I pay much more attention to letters I get than apposed to email.

[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by ktthequeen

I used to do hiring for my company and I definately appreciated a nice thank-you card. I never received an email thank-you letter but that's completely impersonal and lazy, almost gives me a more negative idea of someone than if they hadn't sent one at all.

I agree about the e-mail. It takes minimal effort, which is part of the reason you receive sooooo many electronic resumes. When it's easy everyone will do it and it becomes meaningless.

A well written letter takes time and also shows how classy you are, if you can write well and how important the interview was and the job is to you.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by thingstodo

A well written letter takes time and also shows how classy you are, if you can write well and how important the interview was and the job is to you.

Exactly...

Originally Posted by hundove

It also makes it feel like it's impossible to get a job without trying too hard, which makes me quite discouraged and leaving me a little hopeless on ever getting a job.

Finding a job takes effort, there is no such thing as trying too hard when it comes to finding the right job for you.

Originally Posted by Shuma

Perhaps it's my industry (being in tech.) but I've always emailed...

I've worked in technology for almost 15 years... Thank you notes are still the way to go...

Originally Posted by Shuma

To me i'm going to hire someone if they were polite and demostraited themselves well in the interview itself.

Imagine yourself as an interviewer - you've interviewed 20 candidates (which is a low number in some cases) each candidate was qualified and had the necessary skills for the job. Eeenie Meenie Miney Moe might work in this case, but if 2 of those candidates took the time to send a personal thank you note for your time, most interviewers would move those two people to the top of the list (least in the US) because they've gone the extra few steps to show that they really want the job...

[Charlatan]

I just now sent one off.

This one was via email as I know the person and it was a relatively informal interview process (over a couple of very nice steaks).

However, when the interview process is a lot more formal, I much prefer to send a hand written note (or if your hand writting sucks a typed letter).

It is esential that you make a lasting impression on your prospective employer, and as someone who has done some hiring in the past, I know it works.

[Redlemon]

My wife interviews many people in a technical field. She says that emailed thank yous are completely appropriate in her line of work.

[The_Jazz]

One of the most successful young guys in my office got his job (albeit on the bottom rung) because he faxed a thank you note 3 hours after his interview. It impressed the hell out of us. Should I ever be out looking for a job again, I'll probably do the same.

[JustJess]

I'm in HR too... generally, in our culture (US), thank you notes are seen as classy. Emails are things we usually receive from kids just starting out. Letters are from professionals who understand the arena they're in, and cards are from people who felt personally about the interviewer. My boss gets cards all the time because she does so much for people.

Letters and notes put you in another level, one that is just plain more professional. And yes, we do think more highly of those who send letters. Not because they'll sway us, or showed us something we didn't see, but because it's a demonstration of qualities we like in our candidates. Professionalism, ability to follow up and follow through, awareness of the importance of good impressions and appearances, knowledge of how the working world really works, etc etc etc.

[WhiteKoopa]

I have never heard of thank you cards before. I've taken hints from various people on what to do in order to have more chances of getting a job, but nobody ever mentionned thank you cards.

[qtpye4u84]

I have never heard of thank you cards before, either. I know if you apply and they don't think your what they want they will send a "thank you for applying but you lack this or that, yada yada"
Hmm...
I would E-mail it or print it out then mail it.

[maleficent]

Originally Posted by qtpye4u84

I know if you apply and they don't think your what they want they will send a "thank you for applying but you lack this or that, yada yada"
.

that doesn't happen too often... many companies get 100s of applicants for a single job... it's rare that a thanks but no thanks letter will be sent, even if they did, it's be the typical form letter "Although your qualifications are exceptional.... blah blah...." You won't be told what you are lacking, it would open the company up to a lawsuit.