Emailing Thank You letters

schmalz2

I've wondered this for awhile and figured I should finally ask since I had a really good interview today. There has been numerous times where I've only had HR contact info but HR only set up the interview, not conducted the interview. If the interviewers didn't give me their contact info but I found their work email address is it okay to email them a thank you? I tend to look up to see if I can find the interviewer's email but hesitate sending them a thank you because they didn't give me their email. I know I should ask for a business card but I rarely remember to. Today at the end of the interview they made sure I had the contact info for HR if I have any questions which is why I didn't ask for their contact info.

erpadmin

schmalz2 wrote: »

I've wondered this for awhile and figured I should finally ask since I had a really good interview today. There has been numerous times where I've only had HR contact info but HR only set up the interview, not conducted the interview. If the interviewers didn't give me their contact info but I found their work email address is it okay to email them a thank you? I tend to look up to see if I can find the interviewer's email but hesitate sending them a thank you because they didn't give me their email. I know I should ask for a business card but I rarely remember to. Today at the end of the interview they made sure I had the contact info for HR if I have any questions which is why I didn't ask for their contact info.

I can tell you from personal experience that it is acceptable. I've done it and have even had it done to me. I've always done it within 24-48 hours of an interview of a job I wanted.

N2IT

Very acceptable form of practice. I have done it and recieved return statements back from the interviewer with kind remarks. Even when I didn't get the position. I've also received <crickets> that's okay too.

nicklauscombs

I always follow up immediately and say thanks to whomever I have contact info for.

BradleyHU

even if you only have the HR person as your contact, email that person, and they will normally pass along your email to the interviewer(s).

paul78

schmalz2 wrote: »

If the interviewers didn't give me their contact info but I found their work email address is it okay to email them a thank you?

I tend to prescribe to the method that BradleyHU suggested which is to email the HR contact and ask that it be passed along. It sometimes feels like stalking to email someone that didn't offer their contact information.
But given the way that email is casually used these days, it’s probably acceptable to email someone if they haven’t shared it.
If you are unsure – perhaps you could ask the HR representative or recruiter for the email address and that you wanted to thank the interviewer directly. If they say no – that would give you an idea of what is the acceptable culture in that organization.

erpadmin

paul78 wrote: »

I tend to prescribe to the method that BradleyHU suggested which is to email the HR contact and ask that it be passed along. It sometimes feels like stalking to email someone that didn't offer their contact information.
But given the way that email is casually used these days, it’s probably acceptable to email someone if they haven’t shared it.
If you are unsure – perhaps you could ask the HR representative or recruiter for the email address and that you wanted to thank the interviewer directly. If they say no – that would give you an idea of what is the acceptable culture in that organization.

Believe me, it's fine and it is not considered stalking.

When I was emailed by two candidates that found my email I gave the "crickets" response (did not respond). The reason that is done is because folks do not want to inadvertantly give a prospective job candidate ammunition when they don't get the job--better to err on the side of caution. The two candidates I had the opportunity to interview was very light on experience. One candidate had grossly misrepresented his abilities with SQL (did not know SQL commands, even though he had done DBA-type work) and the other was just all over the place with the resume. But both of them emailed me. I myself will email my interviewers and I have always gotten the offer.

Definitely do what you feel is best, but I know what has worked for me.

buzzkill

I don't bother with this. It's painfully transparent to the interviewer that you're only thanking them to try and curry favour rather than truly expressing your gratitude at being able to partake in a process, which lets be real here, not many people enjoy.

jibbajabba

I did that once and used the mail to clarify certain points I wasn't sure of during the interview - that was well received ..

jamesbrown

What if I have a business card from the HR, IT Director and Finance Director, should I email all of them or copy them?

erpadmin

jamesbrown wrote: »

What if I have a business card from the HR, IT Director and Finance Director, should I email all of them or copy them?

Generally, whoever it was that interviewed you should get a "thank you" email. And the "thank you" email is not going to be a terribly long diatribe either....

"Dear such and such,

I just wanted to convey my deepest thanks for yesterday's interview. I feel that such and such points throughout the meeting were blahblahblah.

Thank you once again.

Regards,

blahblahblah.

When you have multiple people, it is best to do them all individually. Do not worry about not getting a response back. (The smart organizations will not do it for reasons I stated above--too much of a liability.)

But the thank you should be consice and brief. I would (and have) use it to bring a couple of points home that future boss had stressed, but I didn't live in those points.

jamesbrown

I already sent the IT director a thank you letter. I can I write 2 different tahnk yo uemail to the HR and Finance Director? Should I "cc" the both of them?

Thanks Guys

N2IT

@ OP and ERP

Just did it like that this morning

NetworkVeteran

buzzkill wrote: »

I don't bother with this. It's painfully transparent to the interviewer that you're only thanking them to try and curry favour rather than truly expressing your gratitude at being able to partake in a process, which lets be real here, not many people enjoy.

Hrm. I enjoy a good technical interview! It's fun trying to solve all the questions, explain what you know, and learn about whatever new NDA technologies the company is working on. Now, I will grant, that low-level interviewers who ask poor questions can be annoying. But usually I get to meet a company's VPs and lead/principal engineers and that in itself is a real treat.

NetworkVeteran

jamesbrown wrote: »

I already sent the IT director a thank you letter. I can I write 2 different tahnk yo uemail to the HR and Finance Director? Should I "cc" the both of them?

Thanks Guys

That sounds self-serving and transparent. I would thank exactly the people who you feel gratitude for, if anyone and no more, and state the reason you're thanking them in the message.

Then again, I've always sold companies on my integrity.