Interview and Thank You letter... What Do I do?

[Lola]

I had an interview last night. It went very well and I am in the process of writing my Thank You letter to the person who did the interview...

Here is my issue... timing is a factor. He told me yesterday he wants to hire someone by next Mon/Tues.
Now, normally i would send a thank you note via snail mail since i feel it is more formal, but since time is of the essence, do i sent an e-mail thank you?
Also, i have reason to believe he gets so many emails everyday, i am worried he will not read the email if i choose to go that round.

My final option would be to fax a thank you note to his e-mail in hopes that he gets it that way.

So, can anyone give me some advice on how to go about doing the best thing for the situation!?

Thanks.

 

[Joemonkey]

If you got the snail mail out today this morning, wouldn't he get it before COB tomorrow?

 

[tfinch2]

Uhh, today is Wednesday. Mail it today and it will be received by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
Uhh, today is Wednesday. Mail it today and it will be received by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

I know. i was thinking it should be ok if i mail it today. I just did not want to take any chances and blow it.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

 

[krunchykrome]

I've never been big on writing thank you letters after an interview. I much prefer the email, and I've always kept it short and sweet. But if I knew that the hiring manager received many emails, then yes, I would probably fax something over to him.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

 

[torpid]

I still don't understand the thank you letter. I've never written one, but then again I've not really had a lot of interviews. They seem like unnecessary formality and a bit needy to me. I'm basing that on people who wrote them after I interviewed them who weren't getting the job anyway, though. Seems like the people who write them are the ones least likely to get the job, and the people who are qualified and viable candidates don't always write them.

 

[jhayx7]

Originally posted by: torpid
I still don't understand the thank you letter. I've never written one, but then again I've not really had a lot of interviews. They seem like unnecessary formality and a bit needy to me. I'm basing that on people who wrote them after I interviewed them who weren't getting the job anyway, though. Seems like the people who write them are the ones least likely to get the job, and the people who are qualified and viable candidates don't always write them.

I have always seen the opposite. The people who write letters are the most thoughtful and have their act together.

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: torpid
I still don't understand the thank you letter. I've never written one, but then again I've not really had a lot of interviews. They seem like unnecessary formality and a bit needy to me. I'm basing that on people who wrote them after I interviewed them who weren't getting the job anyway, though. Seems like the people who write them are the ones least likely to get the job, and the people who are qualified and viable candidates don't always write them.

I never write thank you notes either. I thanked them at the end of the interview why do I need to do it again? I think its pretentious of a company to expect them.

 

[Lola]

i have written one but am worried its too long. do you think that it would be an issue? i really wanted to reiterate some important points but i don't want to drag on and on either.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
i have written one but am worried its too long. do you think that it would be an issue? i really wanted to reiterate some important points but i don't want to drag on and on either.

I would keep it to a couple of short paragraphs highlighting your strengths. There's no need to completely rehash your resume or the interview.

 

[SirStev0]

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

it is a useless gester... obviously from the post you can tell she is lacking on the job and yet they hired her because she dropped off a handwritten thank you letter. Apparently slight incompetence can be over looked if you suck up a whole lot. Can't believe they choose someone less qualified because of something stupid like this.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

it is a useless gester... obviously from the post you can tell she is lacking on the job and yet they hired her because she dropped off a handwritten thank you letter. Apparently slight incompetence can be over looked if you suck up a whole lot. Can't believe they choose someone less qualified because of something stupid like this.

The people I've spoken to like the Thank You letters because it shows attention to detail and follow through.

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

it is a useless gester... obviously from the post you can tell she is lacking on the job and yet they hired her because she dropped off a handwritten thank you letter. Apparently slight incompetence can be over looked if you suck up a whole lot. Can't believe they choose someone less qualified because of something stupid like this.

Well, you are only getting one side of the story now aren't you?

The "incompetent one" is not here to defend herself nor is the VP or the HR rep here to defend their decision...which they don't have to anyway.

There is an old saying "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you read"

I cannot think of any better place this pertains to than the internet.

 

[SoulAssassin]

When I interview people and they send a follow-up email it tends to annoy me because it's one more email I have to go through. I don't really count it against the people since their intentions are good (and at least one of the people that did it we ended up hiring) but I don't look at it as a positive. YMMV

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
When I interview people and they send a follow-up email it tends to annoy me because it's one more email I have to go through. I don't really count it against the people since their intentions are good (and at least one of the people that did it we ended up hiring) but I don't look at it as a positive. YMMV

so would it be better to mail it then? right?

 

[Uppsala9496]

Her incompetance is kind of difficult to exaplain in layman's terms.
She understands the key concepts of her job, however she is lazy as a result of not really liking what she is doing. That along with some other issues (not liking her boss, new computer system to work with, etc.) results in her being incompetant for the job.

Regardless of that, the thank you note resulted in her getting the job. It's the end result that matters.

Oh, and keep the note to no more than a couple of concise lines thanking the person for their time and consideration. You don't want to ramble on and on. My wife's were no longer than this paragraph.

 

[SirStev0]

Originally posted by: Wheezer

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

it is a useless gester... obviously from the post you can tell she is lacking on the job and yet they hired her because she dropped off a handwritten thank you letter. Apparently slight incompetence can be over looked if you suck up a whole lot. Can't believe they choose someone less qualified because of something stupid like this.

Well, you are only getting one side of the story now aren't you?

The "incompetent one" is not here to defend herself nor is the VP or the HR rep here to defend their decision...which they don't have to anyway.

There is an old saying "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you read"

I cannot think of any better place this pertains to than the internet.

You are right... none of them are here to defend themselves... however when a co-worker refers to another co-worker as stupid, I assume the is a legitimate reason. The fact that he went on to say that she was referred to by the HR rep as "less qualified" casts even more a shadow.

I have a problem with this type of thinking...

Originally posted by: Feldenak
The people I've spoken to like the Thank You letters because it shows attention to detail and follow through.

That is bs... a letter is nothing more than an after the fact knob polishing. Lets think about this logically quickly...

Would you want to find out your surgeon was hired, not because he was well qualified and the best canidate, but because he handwrote a thank-you letter and hand delivered it? Think that letter proves anything about his attention to details such as not knicking an artery?

This country needs to stop hiring people who are less qualified because they dropped off a letter and made the HR department feel all warm and good inside.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Her incompetance is kind of difficult to exaplain in layman's terms.
She understands the key concepts of her job, however she is lazy as a result of not really liking what she is doing. That along with some other issues (not liking her boss, new computer system to work with, etc.) results in her being incompetant for the job.

Regardless of that, the thank you note resulted in her getting the job. It's the end result that matters.

Oh, and keep the note to no more than a couple of concise lines thanking the person for their time and consideration. You don't want to ramble on and on. My wife's were no longer than this paragraph.

mine is a bit longer because there were some intersting issues that were discussed. I hope it is fine and will be sending it out today.

 

[Fourier Transform]

Perhaps it might be worthwhile to post your thank you letter (with some details omitted of course) so that some of the wiser and more experienced folks here can help you refine it.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: Fourier Transform
Perhaps it might be worthwhile to post your thank you letter (with some details omitted of course) so that some of the wiser and more experienced folks here can help you refine it.

no, i cannot do that. i do not want any trail at all. thank you for the offer.

 

[Fourier Transform]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz

Originally posted by: Fourier Transform
Perhaps it might be worthwhile to post your thank you letter (with some details omitted of course) so that some of the wiser and more experienced folks here can help you refine it.

no, i cannot do that. i do not want any trail at all. thank you for the offer.

Understandable.

In any case, good luck!

 

[Uppsala9496]

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: Wheezer

Originally posted by: SirStev0

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
Drop it off in person.
My wife did that the day after her interview and the company thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. She was subsequently hired and the managers that interviewed her made a point of letting her know that they thought it was very professional and appreciated.
Personally, I think it was the deciding factor in her getting the job.

The hand delivered, hand written thank you is also the reason one of my collegues was hired (she is an idiot, but the tactic worked). I overheard HR and my VP talking about how they were going to hire her even though she wasn't as qualified as some other candidates all because of the hand written, hand delivered thank you.

The art of communication is lost in today's email world. It's amazing how far a handwritten note goes.

And here I was thinking it was a useless gester...

it is a useless gester... obviously from the post you can tell she is lacking on the job and yet they hired her because she dropped off a handwritten thank you letter. Apparently slight incompetence can be over looked if you suck up a whole lot. Can't believe they choose someone less qualified because of something stupid like this.

Well, you are only getting one side of the story now aren't you?

The "incompetent one" is not here to defend herself nor is the VP or the HR rep here to defend their decision...which they don't have to anyway.

There is an old saying "believe none of what you hear and only half of what you read"

I cannot think of any better place this pertains to than the internet.

You are right... none of them are here to defend themselves... however when a co-worker refers to another co-worker as stupid, I assume the is a legitimate reason. The fact that he went on to say that she was referred to by the HR rep as "less qualified" casts even more a shadow.

I have a problem with this type of thinking...

Originally posted by: Feldenak
The people I've spoken to like the Thank You letters because it shows attention to detail and follow through.

That is bs... a letter is nothing more than an after the fact knob polishing. Lets think about this logically quickly...

Would you want to find out your surgeon was hired, not because he was well qualified and the best canidate, but because he handwrote a thank-you letter and hand delivered it? Think that letter proves anything about his attention to details such as not knicking an artery?

This country needs to stop hiring people who are less qualified because they dropped off a letter and made the HR department feel all warm and good inside.

I refer to her as incompetant because, well she is. I am the senior member on our team and review all of her work before it is sent out. She gets the concepts, but just doesn't complete things in a thorough and correct manner. She is a year and half into her job and we haven't granted her any authority because we just don't trust her. She should have been granted authority around 6 months if she was proficient at the position.

The handwritten and delivered thank you note did work. I'll give her credit for that. My VP and HR manager are not the sharpest tools in the shed and have made some horrible hires in the last 4 years, and if a thank you note swayed their decision, than there is something to say for the technique. Afterall, if you are the one delivering the thank you note, you want them to hire you. You do what you have to in order to get the job.

My co-worker will be unemployed in the next couple of months unless some drastic change in attitude changes and she takes her job seriously. A lot of it stems from the position not being what she thought it was. At this point, she needs to just find a new position and move on.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
When I interview people and they send a follow-up email it tends to annoy me because it's one more email I have to go through. I don't really count it against the people since their intentions are good (and at least one of the people that did it we ended up hiring) but I don't look at it as a positive. YMMV

so would it be better to mail it then? right?

In your case, if you are set on sending it in one form or another, I would mail it (by dropping it off in the post office) or hand deliver (assuming this wasn't a phone interview) to the front desk to be given to him. Stay away from email as a last resort but if you have to send the letter in a Word attachment. I would try not to do it at lunch time or another time when you might run into your interviewer as that might be an awkward situation. Personally, I would prefer that the people I interview didn't send anything but I won't try to persuade you not to send it at all if that's what you want to do.