Thanking Interviewers, What is Appropriate?

I always send thank yous. I believe it is proper etiquette an appropriate given you don't over step your boundaries with what you say and in a few business classes I took in college, we were instructed that is was appropriate. I typically chose snail mail if I can find an actual mail address, but I sent email thank you's to my past interviewers at Kansas State.

I pretty much say thank you for taking time to interview me, mention something personal from our interview and close it in a professional way. I don't think it hurts to send them, and I don't think it hurts to not send them. I'm not sure if this is something many people do either, but if you're not pushy and keep it sincere and polite, it's a good way to remind your interviewers of your interview after the fact.

When I interviewed at Mizzou, we were specifically instructed to NOT send thank-yous, e-mail, write, call, or contact our interviewers in any way post-interview. I suppose if your school doesn't specifically say DON'T send them, it can't hurt!

Prolly one of those "do as you see fit" sort of things. I sent snail mail thank you's to my interviewers (panel of 2) & the admissions office. I also thanked the 2 girls who were super helpful in answering my questions thank you emails. granted, I only interviewed at Tufts and had a very positive experience with them (Oregon didn't have interviews for OOS!).

On the other hand, however, some schools discourage you from sending thank you's or anything of the sort. So, do as you will unless instructed otherwise!

The last time this thread came up, I think it turned into a trainwreck...

Personally, I haven't. I have thought about it but generally, I don't remember all of the interviewers' names...they say it at the beginning when I am the most nervous and it just goes in one ear and out the other. So no names, no thank you notes haha. I really don't think it's something that will make or break your chances.

mulletsarelove said:

Personally, I haven't. I have thought about it but generally, I don't remember all of the interviewers' names...they say it at the beginning when I am the most nervous and it just goes in one ear and out the other. So no names, no thank you notes haha. I really don't think it's something that will make or break your chances.

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I did send thank you notes to my interviewers. I was taught in my mock interviews to close the interview by thanking them individually with a handshake and addressing them by name. If you couldn't remember their names, I was told to ask them ("Thank you for taking the time to interview me Dr. so and so." or "What was your name again? Well thank you for .....")

At Ohio State, I was told that all of the interviewers expect thank yous. If you don't send one, that is fine but they really want to see that you care, your humble enough to send a thank you, and that you are professional. I sent two blank thank you cards and wrote a note in each one that was specific to my interviewer. For example, one of my interviewers was a big hockey fan and we talked about that on the way up to the interview. So in my note, I mentioned that.

The easiest way to determine if you should send a thank you or not is to ask the admin staff that you check in with beforehand whether or not sending a card would be appropriate. "I was hoping to be able to send thank you notes to my interviewers - is that something the school encourages?....[answer]..Oh, great! Would you mind sharing the best mailing address to use?"

mulletsarelove said:

Personally, I haven't. I have thought about it but generally, I don't remember all of the interviewers' names...they say it at the beginning when I am the most nervous and it just goes in one ear and out the other. So no names, no thank you notes haha. I really don't think it's something that will make or break your chances.

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This has always been my problem, with ANY interview I've ever been through! Teaching, vet school, hot dog place...I suck at remembering the nanes of people I've only met once So, usually no thank-yous from me.

for my Tufts and Penn interviews (the only ones i've had so far) i just sent a quick thank you email to the interviewers the monday after the interview. not sure how this would be accepted at other schools but my interviewers seemed OK with it and sent a quick reply back to me relatively quickly. i only did this because previous students who interviewed at these schools had does this so i thought it was appropriate.

People always miss the point with thank you notes to their interviewers.

It's not about helping you get in and whether it will or won't. (It won't.)

It's about starting to network. It's about presenting a professional, mature image. So I would encourage people to send thank yous (other than at schools that explicitly tell you not to, of course). Somewhere down the line, you may need a reference from one of those people. Or one may turn out to be a teacher who remembers who, and you need him or her to let you take a test late for some reason. Whatever. Start practicing good networking habits now!!

With regard to remembering their names: If you can't remember them, why are you not bringing a pad of paper and pen into your interview?? Unless the school tells you not to, assume that it is ok. Take the time at the beginning of the interview to write down their names - there's nothing wrong with that!

Having paper to scribble on is great. If you need a few extra seconds to think - scribble something. If you need to write their names so you can remember, do it.

LetItSnow said:

People always miss the point with thank you notes to their interviewers.

It's not about helping you get in and whether it will or won't. (It won't.)

It's about starting to network. It's about presenting a professional, mature image. So I would encourage people to send thank yous (other than at schools that explicitly tell you not to, of course). Somewhere down the line, you may need a reference from one of those people. Or one may turn out to be a teacher who remembers who, and you need him or her to let you take a test late for some reason. Whatever. Start practicing good networking habits now!!

With regard to remembering their names: If you can't remember them, why are you not bringing a pad of paper and pen into your interview?? Unless the school tells you not to, assume that it is ok. Take the time at the beginning of the interview to write down their names - there's nothing wrong with that!

Having paper to scribble on is great. If you need a few extra seconds to think - scribble something. If you need to write their names so you can remember, do it.

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LetItSnow, I recently asked about bringing a binder into the interview in another thread. It was suggested that during the interview it would be a good idea bring a binder that contains notes/responses for possible questions that may be asked as well as my responses written for the supplemental application. They said it would also be useful to write a few notes to ensure that questions are addressed completely and if I need I could glance at the notes I put together. I was just curious if this is common or acceptable to do as well, or is a notepad more acceptable?

futuredvmneu said:

LetItSnow, I recently asked about bringing a binder into the interview in another thread. It was suggested that during the interview it would be a good idea bring a binder that contains notes/responses for possible questions that may be asked as well as my responses written for the supplemental application. They said it would also be useful to write a few notes to ensure that questions are addressed completely and if I need I could glance at the notes I put together. I was just curious if this is common or acceptable to do as well, or is a notepad more acceptable?

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I don't know the correct answer to everything you asked.

With regard to a binder versus notepad, I brought along a leather folder. I don't think it would matter whether you walked in with a yellow notepad or a fancier folder. As an interviewer in the business world it never mattered to me.

With regard to seeding the paper with notes to help you in the interview........... I don't know the answer because it never once occurred to me to consider doing that. I strongly suspect that with this type of interview they don't want you bringing notes with you. But to be honest, I've never heard anyone ask that question. My gut says 'bad move'.

Perhaps other people have a better informed answer?

You are the world's leading expert on yourself. Therefore, I think it would look odd to flip through notes in order to answer questions about YOU. Having notes will be a crutch - you'll waste time hunting for answers when instead you could organically formulate an answer that'll probably sound better than reading a list off a piece of paper. Yes, without notes you may leave things out, but as long as you relax and prepare ahead of time, you'll be fine. I answered about 60 or more questions (found on SDN and via google searches) ahead of time for my "most important" interview, and I "studied" pages of notes for a couple of days and recited answers to my father. By the time my interview rolled around, I had mental lists of my experiences and positive qualities on the tip of my tongue to formulate into non-robotic answers.

LetItSnow said:

People always miss the point with thank you notes to their interviewers.

It's about starting to network. It's about presenting a professional, mature image. So I would encourage people to send thank yous (other than at schools that explicitly tell you not to, of course). Somewhere down the line, you may need a reference from one of those people. Or one may turn out to be a teacher who remembers who, and you need him or her to let you take a test late for some reason. Whatever. Start practicing good networking habits now!!

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In my opinion, its irrelevant to send thank you notes. Thank your LOR writers, but truthfully, I don't believe that having sent thank you notes to interviewers is going to make a hill of beans should you encounter them later in life (if you, yourself, can even remember THEM on down the road??). You spend what, at the most 30 minutes to an hour with these people. Your focus is already more than likely almost completely on the interview so it's not as if you really have a whole lot of other brain time to concentrate on their names and faces in your memory for possible "networking" opportunities at an unforeseen time, and vice versa.

It's a decent gesture, sure, but at the same time, these people have a job to do, and that is to narrow down the list students for veterinary school admission. I'm sure they obviously wouldn't frown on a thank you note (assuming it's even allowed), but the whole doing it on the basis of networking for the chance that it will be impressively noted and perhaps recalled and recognized at a later encounter (needing a reference, having them for a teacher, etc.) is silly. When you're interviewing for a real job and thank you notes actually do matter and help you stand out in the minds of the interviewers, then by all means pucker up or do whatever you need to do.

jesskb said:

And if I was an interviewer? I'd appreciate a thank you note for giving up my Saturday.

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As I said, by virtue of their intent, thank you notes are, I'm sure, always "appreciated" but that's probably about it.

maybe Im just overly paranoid but what if you send thank you notes and it creates a negative impression because interviewers see it as trying to butter them up so they let you in?

I didn't send any and got into all but one place I interviewed. I think it has no affect either way. I highly doubt if someone got a thank you, that they would run to the admissions committee and either say "admit this person" or "don't admit them they're a suck up"

I only sent thank you's to my ISU interviewers because they provided us with their names and where to send thank you's "in case we wanted to". That to me said, you should probably send them. I didn't send thank you's any place else though. We were specifically asked NOT to send any thank yous or contact our interviewers at Mizzou and my interviewers didn't introduce themselves to me at OSU.

futurehealervet said:

maybe Im just overly paranoid but what if you send thank you notes and it creates a negative impression because interviewers see it as trying to butter them up so they let you in?

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I don't think not sending one hurts you in this very specific case (in job interviews I think you should *always* send a hand-written thank you) .... but I don't think there's any chance of it creating a negative impression. It's a polite thing to do. Even if some cynical interviewer were to do an eye roll and think "trying to butter me up, eh?" they're still going to at least acknowledge that you really, really want to get in.

Bottom line is that I don't think it helps you get in (mostly because I think your interviewers have probably already scored you and submitted it long before you ever get a 'thank you' to them), but I also can't see it hurting you.

Do NOT send interviewers things to bribe them... At my Iowa State interview the dean told us she had people sending gift cards with their thank you cards... It is very frowned upon. I honestly can't believe people did that haha

Having said that, I would recommend sending thank you cards I sent thank you cards to all my interviewers. It's common courtesy to thank them for their time and for the opportunity.

I sent my interviewers thank you emails. I thought about sending hand-written cards, but my advisor thought email was better since it is less of a wait and I am presumably still fresh in their minds. I also mentioned a specific thing from my interview that I hoped to work with at the school just to jog their memory.I think it is a nice gesture to thank them for their time and to show interest in their school.

Would it be inappropriate to send a thank you email to one of my two interviewers? I wasn't planning on sending thank you emails but one interviewer gave me her business card that I noticed had her email on it. I don't know the other interviewer's email, so should I not send anything to either of them?

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So I interviewed almost 2 weeks ago (a week before Christmas) and I've pretty much been working every single day since I got back from traveling for the interview, so I've been really busy and haven't been able to send thank you notes to my interviewers yet. Do you guys think if I send them now, my interviewers will think I'm a slacker for sending them so late, or do you think it's still a nice gesture? I'm mad at myself because I told myself I was going to send them right after the interview, but I got busy with work, Christmas shopping (which I completely put off until after my interview), etc. I think I'm just over-thinking this, but any advice is appreciated!

Also, I remember reading something earlier but I can't find it now...If you don't know your interviewers direct address, is it recommended to send it to the admissions office, addressed to that person?

vetgirl84 said:

Also, I remember reading something earlier but I can't find it now...If you don't know your interviewers direct address, is it recommended to send it to the admissions office, addressed to that person?

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You could call and ask the admissions office where you might send a thank you note for your interviewers - they might agree to forward it from their office, or they may give you each person's pertinent address.

As for whether or not you should still send them...two weeks is a bit late in my opinion, and as I don't think their strongly necessary, I don't think it's worth it. But I also don't think you'd come across as a slacker, so if you really want to, go for it.

vetgirl84 said:

So I interviewed almost 2 weeks ago (a week before Christmas) and I've pretty much been working every single day since I got back from traveling for the interview, so I've been really busy and haven't been able to send thank you notes to my interviewers yet. Do you guys think if I send them now, my interviewers will think I'm a slacker for sending them so late, or do you think it's still a nice gesture? I'm mad at myself because I told myself I was going to send them right after the interview, but I got busy with work, Christmas shopping (which I completely put off until after my interview), etc. I think I'm just over-thinking this, but any advice is appreciated!

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A friend of mine had interviews for medical school residency programs and she wrote individual letters and mailed them directly to the people who interviewed her. Though I think after two weeks, it may be quicker to send thank-you letters to their email addresses (if they gave it to you)? Though I don't think two weeks is that late... It's nice to show your appreciation? But.. I think you could just send it to the admissions office. But then again, if you know their name, you could probably just look up their email/address through the school's directory?

http://prehealthadvising.com/2010/10/after-the-medical-school-interview-thank-you-letters/
-This may help (though it's for medical school).

Would you like to have hundreds of letters and notes show up at your desk, or hundreds of emails suddenly in your box after interviews? Probably not.

Would you read them all even if you did? Probably not.

Thank you notes aren't necessary. It is nothing but hassle for the adcoms IMO. Thank them nicely at the end of the interview, that's all that is needed.

You finish the interview then shake each persons hand and say "Thank you for..... your time or the chance to interview with you."

They get those notes and the have no idea who you are weeks out when they receive those notes. This is different if you are only competing against a couple of people but there there are hundreds you get lost in the chaos.