Thank You notes Email vs Letters

Cerberus said:

Probably been 50 threads on this already, but I couldn't find one on my cursory search.

So whats the consensus on sending Thank You Letters via email?

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http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=676853

Looks like the consensus is that handwritten is probably better especially for older docs, but email isn't the horrific etiquette violation it once was. Plenty of people are sending them via email if that's more comfortable for you.

at my last program a chief resident told us to send emails because of a few reasons, first of all you'll know 100% that the person got the email, it will be much easier for the interviewer to reply to you if you email them instead of a thank you card. Also if you mail a thank you card there's always the possibility of it getting lost either in the mail or just simply the secretary/Program Coordinator forgot to place the card in the interviewers mailbox and it ends up sitting on her desk for weeks, or they could lose the card. However, 97% of people told me to hand write it.

For your interviewers, I would send e-mails. You should also keep their information in case you have additional questions about the program.

For the program director, a hand written note on expensive stationary traditionally is going to be the classy and higher impact maneuver.

If you did not like a program, don't send one... it's a waste of everyone's time, especially if you are not ranking it.

Bottom line: Post-interview contact is considered good manners but likely not to have a huge impact on the success of your application.
Showing up for the interview costs a ton of money and means much (especially if it went well).

Frugal Traveler said:

For your interviewers, I would send e-mails. You should also keep their information in case you have additional questions about the program.

For the program director, a hand written note on expensive stationary traditionally is going to be the classy and higher impact maneuver.

If you did not like a program, don't send one... it's a waste of everyone's time, especially if you are not ranking it.

Bottom line: Post-interview contact is considered good manners but likely not to have a huge impact on the success of your application.
Showing up for the interview costs a ton of money and means much (especially if it went well).

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I've read about the expensive stationery on a few threads. Can someone elaborate on this?

ResidentMD said:

I've read about the expensive stationery on a few threads. Can someone elaborate on this?

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What do you want to know?

Its generally heavier weight, with matching envelopes (no clowns, puppies or other such "art" on it), may be engraved or monogrammed. See Crane Stationery for examples.

ResidentMD said:

I've read about the expensive stationery on a few threads. Can someone elaborate on this?

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One company that is nationwide and does good work is:
http://www.embossedgraphics.com/

There is usually a retailer near most major cities. It costs about $ 50 for 50 notes with shipping included. The paper is heavy. The styles tend to be conservative. You can have your name imprinted on the card as well.

Crane is also a good option.

Think of resume paper grade... that is typically a good quality stationary.

You obviously don't have to go all out for thank you notes and waste some more money... I think what is important is the thought in the process. A distinctive stationary with a well-written note is a pleasure to receive. I really think nowadays that e-mail is almost equivalent, and people actually expect to receive that instead of a handwritten note... so do what you are most comfortable with... no need to get very elaborate.

Frugal Traveler said:

One company that is nationwide and does good work is:
http://www.embossedgraphics.com/

There is usually a retailer near most major cities. It costs about $ 50 for 50 notes with shipping included. The paper is heavy. The styles tend to be conservative. You can have your name imprinted on the card as well.

Crane is also a good option.

Think of resume paper grade... that is typically a good quality stationary.

You obviously don't have to go all out for thank you notes and waste some more money... I think what is important is the thought in the process. A distinctive stationary with a well-written note is a pleasure to receive. I really think nowadays that e-mail is almost equivalent, and people actually expect to receive that instead of a handwritten note... so do what you are most comfortable with... no need to get very elaborate.

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Yes - thats what I was coming to. So I have resume quality paper - but does one need to get it personalized? I was thinking of personalizing it but I later thought it may come off as too flashy. Do a lot of people personalize their stationery?

ResidentMD said:

Yes - thats what I was coming to. So I have resume quality paper - but does one need to get it personalized? I was thinking of personalizing it but I later thought it may come off as too flashy. Do a lot of people personalize their stationery?

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It probably does not matter that much as long as you have nice paper. If you personalize it in a conservative fashion, I think that is fine as well. I tend to get personalized stationery.

Now we need to talk about pens ... just kidding... you can tell we are IM applicants... so many details.

Monogrammed stationery is not flashy, as long as your initials are not in flaming red or some "ghetto" font.

What I tell other medical students is --

handwritten thank you cards for the old school docs
email for the youngsters -- residents, fellows, etc.

You can't go wrong with all handwritten notes.

tarlovcyst said:

What I tell other medical students is --

handwritten thank you cards for the old school docs
email for the youngsters -- residents, fellows, etc.

You can't go wrong with all handwritten notes.

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This may sound neurotic but if you are really interested in a program, would it be too much to send both? (only to the PD - assuming you didnt get a reply to the email)

ResidentMD said:

This may sound neurotic but if you are really interested in a program, would it be too much to send both? (only to the PD - assuming you didnt get a reply to the email)

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Yes, I think that would be too much.

I was always told to send a thank-you note (on an actual thank-you card, not just some generic "greeting card").

So I sent a few cards out but don't know if the interviewers got them or not because they didn't reply back to me. Do you guys think that it's too forward to email the PD or interviewer with a question and then as a PS say "I hope that you recieved my thank you card and I would just like to thank you again for the wonderful time I had during my interview at your program." this way they will think i am emailing them because I have a question but in reality I am emailing them to find out if they recieved the thank you card or not.

RussianJoo said:

So I sent a few cards out but don't know if the interviewers got them or not because they didn't reply back to me. Do you guys think that it's too forward to email the PD or interviewer with a question and then as a PS say "I hope that you recieved my thank you card and I would just like to thank you again for the wonderful time I had during my interview at your program." this way they will think i am emailing them because I have a question but in reality I am emailing them to find out if they recieved the thank you card or not.

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I think its okay (disclaimer: current applicant) but let there be a gap of at least 2 weeks between the card and the email; or else it will appear way, way gunner.

P.S. DO NOT think that they will 'think' something else - they have been at this game for many, many years, with many, many applicants ; many of whom think in the same way as you do .. This is one thing I have learnt relatively early in the application process .. Tc.

thanks, anyone else care to comment...

yeah i know these guys have been at this far longer than me. what really sucks is how everything is so secretive and how they don't want to upset anyone so everyone is nice to everyone. why can't they just be real and say honestly i am sorry but we only interviewed you out of courtesy, or thank you for your time but after the interview we see that you're not a right candidate for us... or we loved you and hopefully if all goes well you'll end up at our program. this whole process is such BS and so nerve recking especially when someone doesn't have too many interviews lined up. God i hope i match, i don't even care where at this point, just as long as i have a job.

RussianJoo said:

thanks, anyone else care to comment...

yeah i know these guys have been at this far longer than me. what really sucks is how everything is so secretive and how they don't want to upset anyone so everyone is nice to everyone. why can't they just be real and say honestly i am sorry but we only interviewed you out of courtesy, or thank you for your time but after the interview we see that you're not a right candidate for us... or we loved you and hopefully if all goes well you'll end up at our program. this whole process is such BS and so nerve recking especially when someone doesn't have too many interviews lined up. God i hope i match, i don't even care where at this point, just as long as i have a job.

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A simple answer, in my opinion, is that they dont want to go unmatched. So even for a program you may have been interviewed at out of courtesy, you are their safety. I totally agree that I hate this process too, but well, thats life. I cannot even start thinking right now that I am going to have to do the same thing for fellowships.

RussianJoo said:

thanks, anyone else care to comment...

yeah i know these guys have been at this far longer than me. what really sucks is how everything is so secretive and how they don't want to upset anyone so everyone is nice to everyone. why can't they just be real and say honestly i am sorry but we only interviewed you out of courtesy, or thank you for your time but after the interview we see that you're not a right candidate for us... or we loved you and hopefully if all goes well you'll end up at our program. this whole process is such BS and so nerve recking especially when someone doesn't have too many interviews lined up. God i hope i match, i don't even care where at this point, just as long as i have a job.

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Medicine is a SMALL, SMALL community... if you piss on someone, some is going to splatter right back on you... same in almost any system... that's why bats help each other out instead of going bat crazy and eating all the insects (Frugal got some discounted books at a garage sale about the wondrous world of mammals). That is why you try to live a good, honest life. Everyone needs to be treated with respect... if they interview you, then you at least impressed them somehow to get an invite. If you floundered while you were there, then obviously they are not going to tell you because you hung yourself rightfully so. Of course, you cannot always live up to other people's expectations and be generic. Interviewing is like dating except Hal the NRMP supercomputer decides the love of your life for the next 3 years.

Sit back, relax, and be yourself at the interviews. We all have worked hard, and an exciting and trying time is ahead of us very soon.

It's amazing how people complain about everything... if you went to get a job, it is going to be secretive. If you try to date someone, then it is going to be secretive initially. The world is a fragile place... you can barely say anything these days without offending anyone. If you march in there and be a genuine person, almost nobody can fault you for that. If they do, then it is their loss. The match is a nerve-inducing experience, but so many variables are outside of your control. You can only worry about so much.

Overall, I think we should all be thankful for the current match process because it at least tries to be fair... which of course we must remember is only a place to have fun. We also need to remember that programs have the right to select whom they think would be a best fit. Everyone is looking for someone different. The whole process reminds me of: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/science/30firefly.html?_r=1&em
I'm a big believer that if you lived your life right (whatever that means), then good things will come your way.

Best wishes!

.

Frugal Traveler said:

Medicine is a SMALL, SMALL community... if you piss on someone, some is going to splatter right back on you... same in almost any system... that's why bats help each other out instead of going bat crazy and eating all the insects (Frugal got some discounted books at a garage sale about the wondrous world of mammals). That is why you try to live a good, honest life. Everyone needs to be treated with respect... if they interview you, then you at least impressed them somehow to get an invite. If you floundered while you were there, then obviously they are not going to tell you because you hung yourself rightfully so. Of course, you cannot always live up to other people's expectations and be generic. Interviewing is like dating except Hal the NRMP supercomputer decides the love of your life for the next 3 years.

Sit back, relax, and be yourself at the interviews. We all have worked hard, and an exciting and trying time is ahead of us very soon.

It's amazing how people complain about everything... if you went to get a job, it is going to be secretive. If you try to date someone, then it is going to be secretive initially. The world is a fragile place... you can barely say anything these days without offending anyone. If you march in there and be a genuine person, almost nobody can fault you for that. If they do, then it is their loss. The match is a nerve-inducing experience, but so many variables are outside of your control. You can only worry about so much.

Overall, I think we should all be thankful for the current match process because it at least tries to be fair... which of course we must remember is only a place to have fun. We also need to remember that programs have the right to select whom they think would be a best fit. Everyone is looking for someone different. The whole process reminds me of: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/science/30firefly.html?_r=1&em
I'm a big believer that if you lived your life right (whatever that means), then good things will come your way.

Best wishes!

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Agree. I think its all a natural selection process...the one who bails, gets what he/she deserves. The one who does the right things and lasts till the end without the nervous breakdown, gets the cake (most often ). So just chill...interviews are fun. Its the rank process that isnt. But in the end, I have heard it works out, especially in IM, most people get one of their top three choices (unless you are couple matching or something- then you may have to go further down your ROL)

i don't really agree. I think one of the major things wrong with this country is the whole being politically correct and not hurting other peoples feelings because they might be too fragile and cry or something. You guys really think that being nice to a person and then talking poorly about them once they leave or behind their back is a good thing? Well I'd much rather have people tell me to my face that you know what, we thought you were different on paper, but once we met you we don't think you'd fit in here or you're a totally different person from what we thought, but thank you for coming. Instead of saying wow you're awesome, it was wonderful meeting you, thanks for coming, we hope to hear from you soon, and then as soon as they leave throw their application in the trash and say to the RC if that person calls we're not here. While you leave the interview thinking alright that went awesome, they loved me I rocked that interview, when that's not the reality.

I hate surprises, I want to know where I stand with a program, and I've seen it way too often with program directors talking to me and the residents after they met with someone and they're poking fun at that poor applicant how he thought he did so well but there's no way in hell we'll rank him at all.

The program doesn't have to rude in telling the person that they don't qualify for the residency, but being nice to an applicant just because you don't want to hurt their feelings, well that's just messed up. I think programs should be polite, but at the same time honest. If an applicant doesn't stand a chance they should say that instead of stringing them along and making them think that there's a very good chance they'll match here.

I'm going to agree with RussianJoo on this one. I'd love a little more transparency so I had some inkling of an idea of where I stood with the program.

As for the whole, "It's amazing how people complain about everything", I think we are allowed to be neurotic in this process. This determines where we are going to spend the next few years of our lives.

Seville said:

I'm going to agree with RussianJoo on this one. I'd love a little more transparency so I had some inkling of an idea of where I stood with the program.

As for the whole, "It's amazing how people complain about everything", I think we are allowed to be neurotic in this process. This determines where we are going to spend the next few years of our lives.

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So would I, but life's not THAT easy . To be very frank, this is the real world. From what I hear, not everything in life is rosy and as per your wishes. Its all about getting the best deal in the end, for most. Again, I am not subscribing for or against this, but this is the way the real world often is, and we just have to sort of accept that, and put our best foot forward

ResidentMD said:

So would I, but life's not THAT easy . To be very frank, this is the real world. From what I hear, not everything in life is rosy and as per your wishes. Its all about getting the best deal in the end, for most. Again, I am not subscribing for or against this, but this is the way the real world often is, and we just have to sort of accept that, and put our best foot forward

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Gee, thank you, Captain Obvious. Of course it is not like this in the real world. We are stating what we wish were the case. If things were like this in the real world, we'd have no thread here about this.

The one benefit of a letter, is it will most likely be put in your file. That way they see it at match list time and reread it. This will not happen with an email (most likely).

I do a typed formal letter (my handwriting sucks) , but I make sure it is personalized and makes mention of multiple things from the interview day, not just a form letter.

Blesbok said:

The one benefit of a letter, is it will most likely be put in your file. That way they see it at match list time and reread it. This will not happen with an email (most likely).

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At least at our program, we're asked to forward any email thank you's/correspondence to the PC, who will then put a copy in your file.

Ludicolo said:

At least at our program, we're asked to forward any email thank you's/correspondence to the PC, who will then put a copy in your file.

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Is this for communication even with the residents (e.g. a thank you email to the resident that showed you around the hospital?)

ResidentMD said:

Is this for communication even with the residents (e.g. a thank you email to the resident that showed you around the hospital?)

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AFAIK this is for interviewing faculty only. Exception: occasionally one of our chief residents has been asked to fill in for a faculty member who couldn’t make it for interviews. Obviously any correspondence to that resident is placed in the applicant’s file.

RussianJoo said:

So I sent a few cards out but don't know if the interviewers got them or not because they didn't reply back to me. Do you guys think that it's too forward to email the PD or interviewer with a question and then as a PS say "I hope that you recieved my thank you card and I would just like to thank you again for the wonderful time I had during my interview at your program." this way they will think i am emailing them because I have a question but in reality I am emailing them to find out if they recieved the thank you card or not.

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I am confused - why would they respond to thank you cards? It seems like the story is that thank you cards are for politeness and not post-iv correspondence. I wouldn't reply to a thank you card that I got in the mail.

applesbananas said:

I am confused - why would they respond to thank you cards? It seems like the story is that thank you cards are for politeness and not post-iv correspondence. I wouldn't reply to a thank you card that I got in the mail.

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Yeah, I agree. The purpose of a thank you card is not to generate a response, it's to thank someone. Most people don't respond to them. In fact, it seems that a lot of people don't even respond to thank you emails, which are much easier to reply to. I'd just leave it alone, personally.

Is the consensus that thank you notes are just to say thank you, or will I be looked down upon if I don't use my thank you note to express my interest in their program, desire to match there, etc?

Ed Bob said:

Is the consensus that thank you notes are just to say thank you, or will I be looked down upon if I don't use my thank you note to express my interest in their program, desire to match there, etc?

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I think either is acceptable. I only mentioned my desire to match at a program if I genuinely plan on ranking it highly, in which case it's probably not going to be my last communication with them anyway so it doesn't really matter. Otherwise I just thanked them for their time and effort with a sentence or two about what I particularly liked about my interview day.

WhoisJohnGalt said:

I think either is acceptable. I only mentioned my desire to match at a program if I genuinely plan on ranking it highly, in which case it's probably not going to be my last communication with them anyway so it doesn't really matter. Otherwise I just thanked them for their time and effort with a sentence or two about what I particularly liked about my interview day.

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Yeah, about that.

What sorts of communication are acceptable or looked on favorably? And how much?

I guess you should ask for a second look at programs you really like. What about ones that come with an expensive airline ticket?

Are an email or two in the end of January appropriate? Even if I don't have a valid excuse to write (to inform them about a publication, for ex.)

Any other ideas?