Do You Need to Write a Thank You Letter After Job Interviews?
One of the old school advice for job searchers was writing thank you letters after your job interview. Do you really need them? You probably know the answer. You probably even never wrote one in your life and got a great job. I certainly didn’t have to. So the answer is NO.
There is something interesting I found though. I interviewed this person a while back, and he was a great candidate. Not only that, he wrote a thank you letter! That stood him out above the rest. So I found out something new. Thank you letters may help if the company is deciding among its top candidates. So it only matters if you know you did well on your interview.
If you did crappy on your interview, it doesn’t matter at all. Don’t even bother writing one and concentrate on the next job interview. When I was in college long ago, I was looking for an internship. I wrote a thank you letter after every interview I went because that’s what everyone advised. I did horrible at interviews (because they were my first job interviews), and I’m 100% sure my thank you letters didn’t do anything to change their minds. Also, when I was interviewing candidates, thank you letters wouldn’t change my mind about them.
So in the end, it really doesn’t matter. It’s not worth the time to write one. It does make you stand out, but only when you’re one of the top candidates. But if you’re a top candidate, you can probably get hired anywhere else. Perhaps if you really want the job, you can write one (if your interview went well). But don’t waste your time.
Stumble it!
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I totally disagree. Utilizing and practicing professional etiquette is never a waste of time. If a candidate does not interview well it doesn’t mean they should not take the time to write a Thank You note addressing their interest, key learnings and key contributions they could make to the position and the company. As a Human Resources Manager if a candidate did not perform well on an interview and I rec’d a Thank You note, your right, it might not change my mind about hiring that particular candidate for that particular position. However, because I did receive a follow-up Thank You note, I would remember the individual above others and perhaps consider them for another future opportunity and give them another try. Now a days very few candidates follow-up with written correspondence so something that was once considered the rule is now the exception. Think twice before not writing a Thank You.