After a job interview, is it better to send a thank you note by email or traditional mail?
Answers
I believe e-mail is best. This also allows you to attach documents for the prospective employer's reference vs. paper they need to file or dispose of. The way you deliver theThank You note is not as important as sending a Thank You note. Soooo many people forget this critical detail.
Good luck.
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And for heavens sake, make sure they proofread it for grammar and typo's. I have actually changed my mind on more than one candidate because their post-interview letter was so bad. Everyone claims they have great communication skills, but the letter can be very telling.
Anonymous, take a look at Proformative's free
https://www.proformative.com/whitepapers/career-resources-guide
Enjoy!
Best... Sarah
I have a different philosophy. I coach my clients to send post-interview letters, not thank you letters, by snail mail.
First, a thank you letter says nothing ... really, except thanks.
Second, if your email is anything like mine, I get hundreds a day. It's easy for something to get lost, deleted without being read, deleted after a cursory read, stuck in spam. I like traditional mail. Who doesn't like to get something that isn't junk or bills today?
Third, since I believe in branding, I think it is a great opportunity to capture key elements from the interview while staying with the brand of the rest of your
And, send it within 24 hours of your interview. If you were interviewed in the morning, send it the same day. If in the afternoon, the next morning.
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Cindy - I like the idea of a post-interview letter. What items should be included in a post-interview letter? Honestly, I have never heard of sending one. All I have ever heard of is sending a thank you letter. It sounds like a post-interview letter is different, and can be more advantageous to send. But what should one include?
Chris, I have my clients include one or more from among 3 key areas ...
-- reiterating some critical point
-- covering something they forgot to cover
-- more thoroughly completing a thought not covered
Since this letter typically arrives within 24 hours of their interview, it can help to keep that candidate top of mind AND is differentiating from the other "thank you for the interview I want the job" letters.
I would much prefer to receive a thank-you E-mail from an interviewee. Once the interviews are complete, we make decisions very quickly, and a note or letter coming by US mail may be too late to affect the decision-making process. Believe me, the courtesy of receiving an E-mail thanking me for and acknowledging how much the person would like to work for us goes a long way--especially when we have similar candidates.
I recommend doing both and, as quickly as possible. One possible approach to the hand written note is to deliver it to the front desk at the interview location.