Post-interview etiquette

[x-Army-av8r]

Just wondering.... is it "proper" to write the recruiter and/or interviewer a letter/e-mail to thank them for the interview?

What do you think?
Thanks.

 

[TonyC]

Just wondering.... is it "proper" to write the recruiter and/or interviewer a letter/e-mail to thank them for the interview?

What do you think?
Thanks.

ABSOLUTELY

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Many say yes to a thank-you note. I found it to be sucking up too much to bring myself to do it. 5 for 5 in Airline interviews without them. I will say many do it, and I'm sure it won't hurt you. Another reason I didn't want to do it is that I must have missed the penmanship day in school, so I don't want them to see my messy handwriting.

I would NOT send an email for anything like that. Very Trite in my opinion.

 

[Resume Writer]

Absolutely send a thank you note. I instruct all of my clients to send these, as it puts your name in front of the company again in a positive light.

As far as Hugh said, I also do not suggest emailing them. Emails get deleted and some people have high level spam filters on their systems. The letters should be typed (not handwritten), addressing the outside of the envelope by hand. Statistics show that people are more likely to open a handwritten envelope before they will open one that is typed.

If you really want to impress, send it Fedex or UPS overnight. I do NOT suggest sending it return receipt requested, as some people are very leary of signing for those types of documents, as they are usually legal in nature!

I do not believe that sending a thank you note is "sucking up"; it is simply a matter of respect. A poll of HR people done in the past few years showed that only 1 in 300 people send a thank you and those are the people who are usually selected for the job.

I also do not suggest giving a "pre-prepared" thank you letter without a name or any personalized information in the letter. The letter is one more chance to align your abilities with the skills and philosophies of the company.

Kathy

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

A poll of HR people done in the past few years showed that only 1 in 300 people send a thank you and those are the people who are usually selected for the job.

Wow. I had no idea it was so rarely done. I bet the numbers are higher in the major airline pilot HR business just because it's so widely recommended by all the interview prep folks. Either way, knowing that bit of info, I might now be inclined to include one.

 

[350DRIVER]

I would NOT send an email for anything like that. Very Trite in my opinion.

Also along the lines of @ss kissing in more ways than one. I agree and most that I have known to secure jobs in this industry in recent times did nothing of the sort and were all successful. This does nothing more than create a paper jam, email clutter, etc, whatever you want to call it. Let your personality, skills, ability, etc, speak for itself during the interview and not a last ditch effort of a "thank you" letter after the interview is over. You will have substantial time to convey a "simple and professional" thank you at the end of your interview and that is acceptable and what is looked for. I have spoken to quite a few in the hr department and they tend to say the same thing, they are already being flooded by resumes, etc, and the last thing they are going to spend time on is going through these "thank you" emails or cards so do not waste your time. If only you knew how much "stuff" they recieve on a daily basis I think a few may see why this sort of thing is frowned upon.


Trying to salvage a bad interview experience by writing a thank you note/email will accomplish absolutely nothing at all either. IF you were "successful" during the interview then you can count on being offered the job regardless of whether or not you sent a "thank you" card/email out...

Your choice but I certainly would not waste the effort nor the time. Be successful in the interview and you are in.


3 5 0

 

[pilotman2105]

Also along the lines of @ss kissing in more ways than one. I agree and most that I have known to secure jobs in this industry in recent times did nothing of the sort and were all successful. This does nothing more than create a paper jam, email clutter, etc, whatever you want to call it. Let your personality, skills, ability, etc, speak for itself during the interview and not a last ditch effort of a "thank you" letter after the interview is over. You will have substantial time to convey a "simple and professional" thank you at the end of your interview and that is acceptable and what is looked for. I have spoken to quite a few in the hr department and they tend to say the same thing, they are already being flooded by resumes, etc, and the last thing they are going to spend time on is going through these "thank you" emails or cards so do not waste your time. If only you knew how much "stuff" they recieve on a daily basis I think a few may see why this sort of thing is frowned upon.


Trying to salvage a bad interview experience by writing a thank you note/email will accomplish absolutely nothing at all either. IF you were "successful" during the interview then you can count on being offered the job regardless of whether or not you sent a "thank you" card/email out...

Your choice but I certainly would not waste the effort nor the time. Be successful in the interview and you are in.


3 5 0

The airline industry aside, I've known other industries where it is considered rude not to send a thank-you/follow-up letter after an interview. Even if it does create a "paper jam," it gets your name in front of the HR's face one more time. It's another chance to remind them of your skills, qualifications, and other such traits.

In a tight decision between two candidates, it may come down to who sent the thank-you letter vs. who did not.

But, since aviation does not often follow the "normal" hiring processes, it may not be appropriate in all situations. You should get a sense of whether it is appropriate after the interview.

Each situation is different. Trying to come up with a blanket yes or no answer in regards to thank-you letters and interviews isn't going to work.

 

[bobbysamd]

Thank-you notes

I guess I am old-school. Yes, you should send thank-you letters. You should send them promptly and in the fashion Resume Writer described. (I hadn't thought of addressing the envelopes by hand. Great thought!)

Not only does a thank-you letter exhibit appreciation and respect, it gives you one more opportunity to sell yourself to the company. You can use a thank-you note to reiterate points made during the interview and to set forth other points you did not make. You should be brief in your thank-you notes.

You definitely want to send thank-you letters after an interview.

 

[x-Army-av8r]

Thanks

I appreciate all the thoughtful responses. The letter is in the mail.
Alice

 

[flyifrvfr]

I wish that we could be honest when sending a thank you note to a HR rep post interview. My letter would sound something like this.

Dear short-sighted ingreat,

Thank you for making my life a miserable hell. I was depending on this job to feed my family but after being denied the position I must be allowed to share my real thoughts of you and your company. I told you things you only wanted to hear, I couldn't care less about your family and your future. The CEO is an alcohol addicted, d1ckless homo who makes way too much money for a fag. As a company who's direction is like a rudder-less ship, the future looks bleek and I hope your company has to file for bankruptcy. May you be infected by cancer and suffer immense pain.


Fu<k You Very Much
Lucifer D Devil

 

[Resume Writer]

Also along the lines of @ss kissing in more ways than one. I agree and most that I have known to secure jobs in this industry in recent times did nothing of the sort and were all successful. This does nothing more than create a paper jam, email clutter, etc, whatever you want to call it. Let your personality, skills, ability, etc, speak for itself during the interview and not a last ditch effort of a "thank you" letter after the interview is over. You will have substantial time to convey a "simple and professional" thank you at the end of your interview and that is acceptable and what is looked for. I have spoken to quite a few in the hr department and they tend to say the same thing, they are already being flooded by resumes, etc, and the last thing they are going to spend time on is going through these "thank you" emails or cards so do not waste your time. If only you knew how much "stuff" they recieve on a daily basis I think a few may see why this sort of thing is frowned upon.


Trying to salvage a bad interview experience by writing a thank you note/email will accomplish absolutely nothing at all either. IF you were "successful" during the interview then you can count on being offered the job regardless of whether or not you sent a "thank you" card/email out...

Your choice but I certainly would not waste the effort nor the time. Be successful in the interview and you are in.


3 5 0

350-

I have had the opposite experience with HR people - those in and out of aviation. Most I have talked to appreciate the fact that they receive a thank you letter.

I spoke to an HR friend of mine yesterday who has hired for 15 years. He said in that time he has received exactly TWO thank you letters in all that time. His direct quote to me was this, "I did everything I could to get those two people hired, even if they did not have all the qualifications, because they showed respect enough to send me a thank you letter."

I understand that HR people get a lot of "stuff" sent to them. However, most of the time, the people reviewing the "stuff" are not the same people interviewing candidates. Do not forget the Chief Pilot and Line Pilots who participate in the interview process. At some point you will have to deal with them, either flying the line or when you need special consideration for something.

Years ago, when I was hired in as a Retail Manager and Personnel Manager, the direct quote from the District Personnel Manager as to WHY he hired me (I was fresh out of college with no retail or HR experience) was this: "The reason I decided to hire you was because you sent a thank you letter and followed-up with me to inquire about your interview process."

Further, the trend I have been seeing in sales rep interviews is the HR people are wanting to see how much someone will follow-up so they can ascertain whether the person will follow-up with customers.

I am a firm believer in following up after an interview. I teach this to all my clients and seminar participants. I believe that you cannot lose by following generally accepted principles.

Kathy

 

[bobbysamd]

Thank-you letters v. Thanks-a-lot letters

I wish that we could be honest when sending a thank you note to a HR rep post interview. My letter would sound something like this.

Dear short-sighted ingreat . . . .

I hear you. Some of these people do not realize how much control of your life they have in their hands.

I have put everything I have on the line at every job interview I've had, in three different careers. I have wanted every job for which I interviewed; otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered applying or going.

Airline interviews, at any level, are rare. I feel that people lack appreciation of how rare they are. I especially put it on the line at my four regional interviews and single cattle-call. I wanted any one of those jobs very badly; regional flying was my goal and I had put in great effort to get these interviews. It seemed insulting to send thank-you notes to these people when it appeared they were dismissive of your attendance, but, of course, I did.

In that regard, I remember a paralegal interview I attended. This was at a downtown law firm. Supposedly, the downtown firms were the cat's meow of law office employment. I arrived early. I was kept waiting long after the appointed time of my interview and began to worry if I had been forgotten. I asked at the desk again, and waited some more. Finally, this gal comes out. I will cut to the chase. She asks me about salary. I had always learned not to come out with a figure, so I said that I was sure that given my qualifications and experience that she would make me a fair offer. She then became more insistent, so I came back with a figure. She replied, "What may be fair to you may not be fair to us." The remaining five minutes of that interview went accordingly.

I sent her a three-line thank-you note. I wish now that I hadn't. In looking back, this woman did not even deserve that.

 

[TonyC]

Dear short-sighted ingreat,

Thank you for making my life a miserable hell. I was depending on this job to feed my family but after being denied the position I must be allowed to share my real thoughts of you and your company. I told you things you only wanted to hear, I couldn't care less about your family and your future. The CEO is an alcohol addicted, d1ckless homo who makes way too much money for a fag. As a company who's direction is like a rudder-less ship, the future looks bleek and I hope your company has to file for bankruptcy. May you be infected by cancer and suffer immense pain.


Fu<k You Very Much
Lucifer D Devil

short-sighted - - should not be hyphenated >>>>> - 5 for spelling

ingreat - - should be ingrate >>>>> - 5 for spelling

"my family but after" - - missing comma >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"the position I must" - - missing comma >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"wanted to hear, I couldn't" - - comma instead of semicolon >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"alcohol addicted" - - missing hyphen >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"d1ckless" - - should be dickless >>>>> - 2 for spelling ( :::: Thinks, "How ironic. He can't even spell the word correctly! Looks like HE'S the one missing the genetalia! :::: )

(so far, 20 points deducted - - minimum score is 80 /100 ... must be perfect from here on out.... )

who's - - should be whose >>>>> - 5 for spelling


:::: Stops grading Thank You note (ignoring "rudder-less" and "bleek"), picks up Applicant File from "MAYBE" pile and removes it to circular file, thinks to self, "If he had just had the spine to correctly spell dickless, I might have overlooked a few of the others." Opens next Thank You letter ... ::::


Just another day in the HR office.

 

[flyifrvfr]

I should get credit for d1ckless as I anticipated the software would censor that word.

 

[flyifrvfr]

Re: Thank-you letters v. Thanks-a-lot letters

I hear you. Some of these people do not realize how much control of your life they have in their hands.

bobbysamd, you understand what I'm saying. The people who make decisions don't care one way or the other if they hire you. I believe it won't matter if you send a thank you note or not, if they don't like you for whatever reason.

 

[350DRIVER]

You either prove yourself in the interview and get the offer or you don't, bottom line. You can send thank you letters till you get blue in the face and it will not be the "make you or break you" factor. I am sure a few on this board have sent many of these to no success. Do as you wish but it is hard for me to believe that this will accomplish much if anything.


3 5 0

 

[flyifrvfr]

short-sighted - - should not be hyphenated >>>>> - 5 for spelling

ingreat - - should be ingrate >>>>> - 5 for spelling

"my family but after" - - missing comma >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"the position I must" - - missing comma >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"wanted to hear, I couldn't" - - comma instead of semicolon >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"alcohol addicted" - - missing hyphen >>>>> - 2 for punctuation

"d1ckless" - - should be dickless >>>>> - 2 for spelling ( :::: Thinks, "How ironic. He can't even spell the word correctly! Looks like HE'S the one missing the genetalia! :::: )

(so far, 20 points deducted - - minimum score is 80 /100 ... must be perfect from here on out.... )

who's - - should be whose >>>>> - 5 for spelling


:::: Stops grading Thank You note (ignoring "rudder-less" and "bleek"), picks up Applicant File from "MAYBE" pile and removes it to circular file, thinks to self, "If he had just had the spine to correctly spell dickless, I might have overlooked a few of the others." Opens next Thank You letter ... ::::


Just another day in the HR office.

Ok Tony C, You are a dickless homo. I don't recall addressing anything to you so I will take your response as adversarial. I believe you mention something about me missing my genetalia, ask your wife, she has seen it on many occasions. Infact your wife complains to me that your lack of size and lack of stamina may cause her to leave you. Each time I drive into her she cries and says she loves me.

I did your sister the same way. Did you know that your sister is a freak, she asked me if I minded if the german shepard did her. I would lay into you more but duty calls, we will have to continue this later homo.

 

[TonyC]

Posted at 2207 GMT:

I should get credit for d1ckless as I anticipated the software would censor that word.

Posted at 2251 GMT:

Ok Tony C, You are a dickless homo. I don't recall addressing anything to you so I will take your response as adversarial. I believe you mention something about me missing my genetalia, ask your wife, she has seen it on many occasions. Infact your wife complains to me that your lack of size and lack of stamina may cause her to leave you. Each time I drive into her she cries and says she loves me.

I did your sister the same way. Did you know that your sister is a freak, she asked me if I minded if the german shepard did her. I would lay into you more but duty calls, we will have to continue this later homo.

Did it really take you that long to come up with such a lame response, or were you trying to spellcheck your rant? (You should have used a better spell-checker, by the way.)

Some people.... tssk, tssk

 

[flyifrvfr]

Actually, tony C, I don't have a spellchecker. I shoot from the hip and unlike you, I don't rely on spell checker. I know I mispell words sometimes, but I seem to spell most words correctly. It took me so long to reply because I, unlike you, have a life. I really do get out and away from the computer and socialize. You should try it, adults and children alike are enjoying the great outdoors and if you suffer from antisocial anxiety, they make drugs for that. One side effect is the inability to control ones bowels but I think noone will notice as you smell like that anyway.

 

[bobbysamd]

Thank-you letters

The people who make decisions don't care one way or the other if they hire you. I believe it won't matter if you send a thank you note or not, if they don't like you for whatever reason.

Sometimes, you may think they didn't like you, but maybe they did, after all. Therefore, I would still do it, just to be sure you have that base covered but more to satisfy yourself that you have done everything possible to get the job.

As far as my lawfirm example above goes, after the way I was treated at that interview I would not have wanted to work there. I left that interview with a very bad taste in my mouth. I have learned that a company's interview process gives you a glimpse of the company's culture and how it might treat you. That case was a prime example of what I mean.