Stream of Consciousness

Most of our team has been in the agency recruiting world for 15-20 years each. Think about how many people we’ve helped find jobs during that time (hint, it’s thousands). One thing that candidates used to do regularly that seems to now often go overlooked; is the post-interview thank you. We’ve seen it tip the scales to win a job, and today we’ll share best practices on when and how to send a thank you.

How long should you wait to send a thank you?

While you want your thank you to be well thought out, the timing of when you send it should be within 24 hours. In fact, we recommend same-day emails.

Is a group thank-you okay?

In short, no. Don’t forget that each person you interviewed took time from their schedule to meet with you. Yes, it’s important to their organization to fill the role, but everyone you met with has other duties that must still get fulfilled, and those deliverable dates don’t change due to interviewing someone. It is also key to remember that the organization thought enough of each person to include them as part of the panel, so their input is valued.

What should I write a thank you?

We recommend that you make notes on who you met with, their role, what you discussed with them, and their questions when you interview. That will help you to craft a hyper-personalized thank you where you can express your…

• Appreciation for the time that they spent with you
• Reference back to something that they shared that excites you about the opportunity
• Revisit something that they asked about that you connected on or weren’t as familiar with (if you didn’t know something, this is a great way to show that you went home and dug into it a little)
• Be the solution. Suppose the manager shared specifics about this position’s needs and desired outcomes. In that case, this is your opportunity to succinctly reaffirm precisely how your skills and experience can resolve those challenges.

How do I send the thank yous?

• If you are working with an agency, we recommend consulting with them before trying to send them on your own.
• If you only have an email for one point of contact, save each thank you as a separate document and title them “Name – Thank You.” You can then send them in an email to the individual that you have contact info for.
• Send them a personalized email directly if everyone has shared their direct contact info with you.
• And, if you do not have contact info, LinkedIn is also an option via a connection request. Please remember, however, that connection requests have character limits of 300 characters, so this should be a last resort.

These handy tips will separate you from the crowd and could help win you your dream job.