Another Thank-You Note Thread!

[pAkhtmAn]

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Hey All,
What exactly do you all write in your thank you notes? What am I thanking them for? How long does it have to be? Is it just a couple of lines or is it a couple of paragraphs?

Thanks,
thE pAkht

 

[Bostonienses]

This is from the BC website; hope it helps: 😉


Try to send the letters within 24 hours of the interviews, a maximum of two days later.

Keep it to a brief page. Don't stress over it too much - it's more important just to send something quickly than to delay doing it for days.

When interviewing with several people at one organization, take a few seconds between interviews to jot down some notes about each conversation. Use these notes when writing individualized thank you letters to each interviewer.
When sending letters to several people at an organization, each letter does not need to be completely different from the rest. But don't send identical letters to several people - your letters will generally all end up in your file in the Human Resources department.

Thank the interviewer for his or her time, and reiterate your interest in the job and your enthusiasm for the company.
Whenever possible, say something that will help your interviewer remember you as an individual from amongst all the candidates:
addressing a topic of particular interest (to your interviewer or to you) that arose during the conversation, especially where that topic reflects favorably on your job-related skills (for example, you talked for 15 minutes about the mountaineering trip you led last summer or your research on the health care industry); OR:
addressing an interviewer's specific concern in greater detail than was possible during the actual interview (for example, the interviewer seemed concerned that you did not have the quantitative skills necessary for the job); OR:

re-emphasizing a skill or strength important to that interviewer (for example, the interviewer showed a particular interest in your sports and team-related activities); OR:

inserting a little humor into the process.

Ask for your interviewers' business cards, or write down the interviewers' titles and the proper spelling of their names before leaving the interview site.
Carefully proof read each letter and have one other person do so, too.
Print each letter on a high quality linen or bond paper (available at most copy centers), in white, off-white, cream or light gray, and mail them in matching envelopes.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by pAkhtmAn
Hey All,
What exactly do you all write in your thank you notes? What am I thanking them for? How long does it have to be? Is it just a couple of lines or is it a couple of paragraphs?

Thanks,
thE pAkht

if you write a letter like the previous poster suggested it may be tossed aside.

all you need is a blank thank you card with a flower/cute bunny/starry night/a peaceful country field/etc. on the cover...write a few snetences reiterating what you talked about and thanking them for their time. (ie thanx for your time and sharing your insight into the medical profession. hopefully my *insert your strength here* will further be developed through *insert school name and school's strength here* program.)definitely highlight what you guys talked about in your interview that would make you a good candidate for their school. then end with saying something like "looking forward to seeing you next fall." something along those lines.

plus a hand-written thank you card is more personal than a type written letter. a hand written letter would look tacky IMO. i think the previous poster's website is more referring to business or job interview thank you letters.

 

[TeinVI]

thank-you notes are useless. i stopped after the first few interviews

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by TeinVI
thank-you notes are useless. i stopped after the first few interviews

well heres the thing...i think they are useless if you send through the mail...heres the key...BRING THANK YOU CARDS TO THE INTERVIEW...as soon as the interview day is over...fill em out really quickly and give them directly to the admissions office on the day you interviewed. that way they will reach your interviewers much quicker(most likely the next day) and may have some impact. granted...if you have an interviewer who fills out evals and turns them in the same day it won't help....but if they hold off for a day or two and get the card it may remind them of something to add to their eval.

 

[lola]

they may be useless, but i do think it's common courtesy. i'm sending them out on personalized notecards and am keeping them short and sweet -- 5 senetences max. they will probably be tossed aside, but it's the nice thing to do i think.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by lola
they may be useless, but i do think it's common courtesy. i'm sending them out on personalized notecards and am keeping them short and sweet -- 5 senetences max. they will probably be tossed aside, but it's the nice thing to do i think.

Lola i agree....for the most part thank you notes have little if not any impact at all....but it is certainly a polite thing to do. i mean they are taking time out of their day to get to know you and hopefully give you a fair shake. they deserve a few lines showing your gratitude. gees people...must everything in life be done to get some personal gain out of it?

 

[TeinVI]

Originally posted by UCLAMAN
must everything in life be done to get some personal gain out of it?

yes 😎

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by TeinVI
yes 😎

LOL...you're tight... got a pic to accompany that?

 

[Adcadet]

November 29, 2002

Random College of Medicine
123 Main Street
Big City, State 12345

Dear Office of Admissions,


Thank you for your interest in me as an applicant. I have now completed a thorough review your admissions material. I am sorry to inform you that I am unable to consider your school further for my undergraduate medical education. Please be assured that your institution has been given personal attention. Most of the schools I am considering this year are well-qualified and are likely to provide an excellent education, but with over 100 accredited allopathic medical schools I need to be extremely selective in the process. While I recognize that this decision may be disappointing, I wish to express my appreciation to you for considering me and this decision in no way reflects on your ability to educate physicians. I wish you the best in your educational pursuits.

I want to thank you, RandomCollege of Medicine , for your interest. I acknowledge and respect your accomplishments in the areas of medical education and research, and realize that my inability to attend your medical school is a loss for me. I extend my best wishes to you as you pursue your goals.
Sincerely,


Adcadet


ADC/adc

 

[Adcadet]

oops, I think I posted the wrong kind of letter 😉

 

[Indy]

hahaha, i love it

only thing stopping me from sending that letter out to schools that reject me is the premed paranoia of being blacklisted for residency and jobs many years from now....

BUT it would be soo satisfying

 

[MCAT43]

From my experience, I think thank-you notes are key to success in the interview process. once you get an interview you're almost there-- you just have to make a final good impression by sending your interviewer a note. For me, I tried to mention specifics that were brought up during the interview (for example, how my research is going, how the child I'm mentoring has progessed, etc. I think it's good to be personal and impressionable, but keep it short and sweet. I think sending a card is nicer than e-mail for sure. Best wishes!

 

[The Chronic MD]

I do not see any point in sending a thank you card. The thought of it is simply ridiculous. Either your going to get in or your not, and the difference maker isn't a thank you card. Here is the way I look at it: $35 (AMCAS designation) + $60-100 (Supplementary fee) + $300 (travelling to the damn place) + $3.95 (Thank you card)...In many cases, thats paying $500 to apply somwhere and get rejected! But, I guess all of you OCD people out there look at it on the bright side: At least you thanked them for taking your money and telling you to f**k off!

If I were you, I would take the Dean out to lunch at a nearby Doubletree Inn so that you could kiss his/her @$$ while pretending to act interested in his or her medica school...Now that could work for you! But we might need that dude from yesterday to clarify whether or not this method works...

 

[Kovox]

I don't send thank you notes and I've been accepted to 3 schools already. I guess I don't send em cuz I don't know where to send it...okay I coulld always find out but that requires too much tihinking and I think my brain cells are dying off in numbers....ouch, there they go again!!

A thank you note...a thank you note, so should I also thank the secretary and file handlers for not screwing up my application?
I dunno, I agree it is very polite and business like....but...by the time your note reaches them, I think they would have made a decision about you already? SHRUG

 

[abw]

Originally posted by TeinVI
thank-you notes are useless. i stopped after the first few interviews

This may be so at some/most schools, however, at one of my interviews, the secretarary told our group that a post-interview thank you was necessary - that the school respected people with manners, and even very good applicants weren't considered until their thank you was received.

 

[Kovox]

Originally posted by abw
This may be so at some/most schools, however, at one of my interviews, the secretarary told our group that a post-interview thank you was necessary - that the school respected people with manners, and even very good applicants weren't considered until their thank you was received.

Eh?

Oh snaps, I should have stayed awake and not dozed off when my interviewers and the other student interviewers were telling me their names.🙁