Residency Interviews - Thank You Notes

Started by cbrons
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
I didn't do it. Don't write them because you think they will help with your application. Only write them if you're genuinely thankful.
 
A short note written on the back of a $20 bill would be sufficient.

(Car Talk reference, for those not NPR listeners)

Seriously, you're overthinking this. Whether or not you write a thank you note or not is very unlikely to have any effect, at all, on the outcome. I receive email and written thank you notes all the time. Honestly, they basically go directly into the recycle bin. How many times has not getting a thank you note negatively impacted an application: Never. How many times has getting a thank you note affected a ranking either positively or negatively: exactly once. Someone sent a thank you card that was full of confetti. When we opened it, it went all over the floor. This was in the days of anthrax attacks through the mail, so it wasn't well received, was a mess to clean up, and seemed ridiculously unprofessional. And we already thought she was kinda weird.

So: do what seems "right" for you. Email or snail mail is fine. I personally feel like you're all doing us a favor by coming and interviewing, and we owe you thank you notes. But who has time for that ish?

P.S. I have this discussion with my program admin every year. I want to tell people specifically NOT to send thank you cards, to avoid all the mail. She likes getting them. So she wins.
 
cbrons said:
Should we do them or not

Sent from my SM-N910P using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
You can do whatever you want. They won't hurt you unless you say something stupid like: your program sucks haha!

There is ONE case where they might help you and that is if you connect to an interviewer in some way and you email them talking about something specific and then that faculty may go to bat for you when they go over all the applicants.

For instance, when I was interviewing for residency, I came across one attending who saw that I was into archery and he asked me about it. We spent the entire interview talking about archery and not a word about the program, medicine or anything else. I emailed him later and we talked a bit about bows and stuff. I think in that instance it can probably help because it connects you to the person and they may like you more and want to work with you for the next several years.

If you are just emailing them to say: "Thank you for interviewing me, your program is super awesome and everyone was so nice and friendly. I would love to be a resident there, because you are the best program ever!" Don't hold your breath on this doing anything. You can do it, it just won't matter positive or negative.

Does that make sense?
 
cbrons said:
What are you supposed to write? How are you supposed to deliver it (hand it to secretary on interview day, mail it, etc.) Who do you write them to (just the PD? Or every1 who interviewed you), Etc.

Sent from my SM-N910P using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

I keep it generic "thanks, you weren't a horrible human being, I liked talking to you about xyz, I liked your program, Please dear god love me" It's 2016, so email seems best to me, but what the hell do I know.

I send them to the people interviewing me. I suck up to program coordinators in person like most sane people, but I don't send them thank you notes. I have heard of people doing that, and I don't think it's too weird.

Overall, I don''t think it matters a bit. I only do it because some combination of my defective genetics/upbringing makes me feel guilty when I don't.
 
I interviewed at 3 programs last year where the PD or aPD specifically told us not to send thank you notes. One PD said "the fact that you're here shows that you're interested in us. You don't need to remind us again in 1-2 weeks."

Also interviewed at one place where one of the interviewers went on a little rant about how he hated when applicants didn't send thank you notes. Like took up a good chunk of our 15 minute interview talking about this. I got super weird vibes from that program in general, in multiple different aspects. And I didn't send them a thank you note. Almost didn't rank them.

Sending a thank you note is the polite thing to do. But if you don't want to, it's not going to hurt you in any way, unless they explicitly say not to.
 
If there is a chance that it could be perceived as schmoozing, then I don't waste my time. An appropriate saying "actions speak louder than words," may answer your question also.
 
cbrons said:
I dont want to write any bc i think its super awkward and a waste of time but I would if theyre expected.
Click to expand...

This is mental carryover from the process of getting into medical school, which is very different from the process of getting into residency. Medical school admissions committees can afford to be (at times) flaky, star-chasing honey bears. PD's are looking for team players that can be entrusted with significant responsibility mere weeks after match day. The former can (at times) sit around collecting thank-you notes. The latter just wants good people on the floor.

Personally, if my rank list position at a given program depended on a thank-you card, it's not a program I would want to join.
 
I found a pdf from a medical school about residency interviews where they asked PDs a series of questions, including about thank you letters. The responses ranged from "the lack of a thank you may indicate a certain lack of social interactive skill or lack of interest in our program," "those that don't follow-up... are usually thought of as not interested," and "I am always impressed when I get them and think more of the student" to "No," "No!!," and "No. They are a waste of time and money. But many smaller, less secure programs demand them."

Ultimately, the most common advice seems to be that unless a program specifically tells you one way or the other, if you are the type of person who feels that a thank you letter is professional and the right thing to do, send it. If you think that they are a waste of time and money, don't. It is highly unlikely to affect you one way or another and you should be true to yourself.
 

Guidelines for Post-Interview Communication and Second Looks
http://www.im.org/p/cm/ld/fid=802

Communications from the applicant: Programs should discourage routine thank you notes or e-mails from interviewed applicants and indicate that such communications will not routinely receive a reply. Interviewed applicants with objective questions about the program (e.g. number of required months of ICU experience; availability of opportunities for community service, etc) should direct those questions only to individuals on the program’s approved contacts list (see next item), which will ensure accuracy and consistency of responses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.