Express Gratitude After an Interview

A Follow-Up Note Can Make or Break A Candidate's Shot

In early November, Porter Briggs interviewed six job seekers for a management position. Not a single candidate dashed off a thank-you note, but he wasn't taken aback by the lack of gratitude.

"People don't send them quite as much as they used to," said the founder and president of A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors in Georgetown. "I've already hired one of them."

While the custom of writing thank-you notes may be on the decline, the courtesy of sending them could make a difference between getting hired and getting crossed off a manager's list, career experts say.

Most employers expect to receive a thank-you letter after an interview, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey of 650 hiring managers conducted in May. Nearly 15 percent of those surveyed said they would not hire a candidate who failed to send one.

Job seekers who don't send thank-you letters are missing an opportunity, according to Laura L. Viehmyer, chief human resources officer at the American Institute of Architects in the District.

"It is just one variable in the employer's overall analysis of a candidate's fit for the position," she said. "But from the candidate's perspective, why not add another plus in his or her column?"

Those who really want a job make it known, and one way of expressing interest is by writing that thank-you note. How swiftly and concisely they do it, experts contend, matters just as much.

"The first key to sending thank-you notes is to, you know, actually send them," said Bob Corlett, president of Staffing Advisors in Silver Spring. "Spell the names correctly and mail the notes right away. Most managers care if you sent one, not whether it was particularly good. Timing matters. The first note to arrive wins."

Thank-you notes should be sent the day after an interview "to demonstrate responsiveness and quick turnaround," said Yvonne S. Distenfeld, president of Lawyers On Call Inc. in Rockville.

Not everyone agrees on what form those thank-you notes should take. Distenfeld, who places attorneys and paralegals, said e-mail communication is commonly acceptable. And, the way Briggs sees it, time is of the essence, as the organization "may be making a decision imminently."

Others, however, favor a more traditional touch. "Handwritten is best -- unless you have handwriting like mine," Corlett said. "On personal stationery is second. E-mail is a distant third."

Not sure about which mode of transmission to employ? Try both. "There is a distinct advantage to the 'immediately and later' approach for the candidate," Viehmyer said.