Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Don’t forget the “Thank You”!

The campus recruiting cycle is in full swing right now with interviews.  Since early September, students have been polishing their resumes & cover letters, attending every employer event that has come to campus, networking as hard as they can and finally….. land an interview!  I have seen so many students this semester work extremely hard and truly deserve an interview spot.  The interview process for most companies is a first round followed by a final round “Super Day”.  The interviews are tough – a mix of behavioral “fit” questions, technical and some case (depending on the industry).  Students now turn all of their effort, time and attention on studying and preparing for their interviews – many hours spent preparing with CCD, Alumni, Friends and Family.  All of the hard work pays off and the student impresses the entire interview team on the day of the interview – things are looking good. But wait…. the interview team starts to ask one another “Did you receive a Thank You from NAME?”  After all of the hours spent preparing, networking, studying and overall doing a fantastic job in the interview – the missing “Thank You” could be killing your chances.  I received these comments recently from employers in regards to the importance that a Thank You note plays in their interview process:

  • We noticed some students wait for 24 hours + to respond and that feels too late for us.  We all expect an email later during the interview date.
  • Some students send the same email to everyone with a name line that is in a different font.  That’s, again, a big no no.
  • Some students send very short emails.  This implies to us that they may not be interested and we start to doubt if we should give an offer to this individual.
  • For us, the interview process only ends once we received everyone’s thank you emails.  The speed with which that email was sent, content, business writing style, personalization, and length of that email all play important role in us judging how much this individual is interested in a position.

Please take note of the importance a “Thank You” note plays in the interview process.  The interview is not over until your Thank You notes are sent.  Many people ask, should it be a hand-written note or email?  My answer is definitely email first as you want it to be received within 24 hours of your interview.  In addition, a hand-written note adds a nice touch and some companies see that as more important. You need to know the company and recruiting timeline.  If a company is going to call you that evening with results, then you would need to send an email over a hand-written.

If you are looking for some guidance with your Thank You notes, please check out the resources available on Career Beam.  Good luck and Happy writing!