Interview + Follow up note question

I had an interview with a great local company today, would be a smashing way to lead off 2016 if I could nab it.

It was actually three separate interviews:

1. HR generalist, and the engineering managers from both brands in the building.
2. The Director of HR.
3. The VP of Operations.

I'm currently crafting a thank you note for the interview and to follow up and what we spoke of.

I was originally going to send one email to the entire 5 person group, but now I'm thinking one thank you note to each "group" of interviewers, so 3 separate notes?

Thoughts?

I'd write three separate ones.

I've always done separate notes.

Three separate notes, capture a unique point from your conversation with each to personalize each.

pinchvalve wrote: Three separate notes, capture a unique point from your conversation with each to personalize each.

This. Make it honest and from the heart, which means addressing each conversation differently. Beginning and end can be the same for all of them (your gratitude and why you want the position won't change) but address what happened in each part of the interview and why that solidified your interest in the position.

Excellent, thanks folks. That was my plan, but wanted to make sure it wouldn't seem overkill.

Intro/outro/experience will be the same for all. But the big paragraph will touch on 3-4 points from each interview on what interests me in the position.

Going to get them written up tonight, so I can go back and reread in the morning to see if there's anything I'd like to change.

maybe I'm too old school, but I'd send the notes snail mail, as opposed to email ... might just be the last tiny little thing that could tip in your favor

Good luck!

wbjones wrote: maybe I'm too old school, but I'd send the notes snail mail, as opposed to email ... might just be the last tiny little thing that could tip in your favor

I like snail mail letters for personalized things, but I would be cautious of doing this on a interview note. There is high potential it will never reach you recipient or an important decision will be made before it arrives.

Every time I've interviewed a person, a thank you note within 24 hours is not so much a requirement, but a check box to keep them in consideration.

that's what I was getting at ... but it has to be immediate ... and you have to have figured out how to get it to the person you want it to

for me it always meant more than an email .. but that could well be nothing more than the difference in generations ... the younger 2 or 3 of the younger generations, have zero experience with snail mail as the "correct" way to interact and especially to thank folk for things they've done for you

Yeah, what I've read has said emails are acceptable if the company has been contacting you that way.

Since the decision may be made as soon as 1 week (according to the VP of Operations), I don't want to chance it not getting there in time.

I have always done separate snail mail letters. YMMV

Most of the people that work in my company (doing B2B sales of IT infrastructure and managed services), nobody really ever checks their paper mail. I'm on three-times-a-year schedule because nothing but junk comes in that way. If it's a fedex/ups envelope, the receptionist will call me so I can come and fetch it, but if it's USPS first class, it's going to age.

While I agree that you should send an individual note to each and that your typical thank-you note should always be sent USPS with a first class stamp and a hand-addressed envelope, in this case time is of the essence. For most companies, most of their business communications will be done via email anyway, so if the job you want is going to have a customer-service factor to it (and, frankly, every job does, even when you're selling BMW parts) you can further show off your communication skills by sending your thank-yous in the same media that you'll be using for the day-to-day of that job.

Don't send your thank you by text message, though. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

wbjones wrote: maybe I'm too old school, but I'd send the notes snail mail, as opposed to email ... might just be the last tiny little thing that could tip in your favor

Depends on the company, but for most I wouldn't do this. If the company is too big, too "techy", or just too busy there is a good chance that the thank you never even reaches the person in question.

NordicSaab wrote:

wbjones wrote: maybe I'm too old school, but I'd send the notes snail mail, as opposed to email ... might just be the last tiny little thing that could tip in your favor

I like snail mail letters for personalized things, but I would be cautious of doing this on a interview note. There is high potential it will never reach you recipient or an important decision will be made before it arrives. Every time I've interviewed a person, a thank you note within 24 hours is not so much a requirement, but a check box to keep them in consideration.

I agree on the wb's thought behind a personal, written note, but in today's business world the potential for delay or disappearance of a physical note far outweighs any slight benefit from the increased formality. Just send 3 good, personalized emails so they get there right away in the format most likely to be seen.

If you want to send hand written, send three emails and one hand written card to the admin.

Trust me, the Veeps will hear about the card.

I do agree that e-mail is fine (and typically expected) in todays' world. I could also go either way with having 3 separate e-mails or one to the group. You could also send just one to the HR generalist, as they will typically forward it to the group anyway.

I've hired a lot of people over the years, as I'm sure many of you have. For me, the make it or break it is from the stuff in the interview. Yes, a follow up thank you letter is expected as proper protocol. However, I've never been picky about whether it was directly to me, the group, etc... I'll hire you, or not hire you, based on your resume and your responses to my interview questions.

So my opinion is absolutely send a thank you, but I think your fate is more destined by what happened when you were there.

Sorry I am late to the thread. There is no one right way to send a thank you note. Snail mail be right for some hiring manager or companies. Here in Silicon Valley, email has been the norm for 20 years. The important thing is to send it. The majority of people never send one. It is an easy way to stand out.

Another thing I learned a few years ago is that your thank you note can extend the conversation. For example, 2 hours after the interview you think of something you should have included in one of your answers. You can put in the thank you note by saying "I was thinking about your question on (fill in the topic). Here is some additional information you may find useful."

A guy I know does architectural and engineering CAD drawings for a living. He sent a thank you note after an interview with a start-up client. In the email he said, "I have been thinking about the version control problems you have been having. Here are some ideas about how to fix the process problems. Here are links to some tools that may help." He got the gig.

Good luck. I hope this comes together for you.

Thanks everyone.

I just received a call from their HR department that they are moving to the next step and will be calling my references this afternoon and tomorrow.

Hopefully that's a good sign that 36 hours after the interview they are calling my references.

z31maniac wrote: Thanks everyone. I just received a call from their HR department that they are moving to the next step and will be calling my references this afternoon and tomorrow. Hopefully that's a good sign that 36 hours after the interview they are calling my references.

Sweet!