"Thank you" letters after interviews

[capsaicin trip]

What is the etiquette on sending "thank you" letters after interviews? Do schools look on them favorably, or do they just make you come across as a suck-up?

Also, if you interview with several different different professors at one school, should you write a "thank you" letter to all of those individuals?

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[darkjedi]

While they won't make or break your interview, it is courtesy to send them a thank you note.

Won't make a difference in deciding to accept or reject you however.

 

[nychila]

What is the etiquette on sending "thank you" letters after interviews? Do schools look on them favorably, or do they just make you come across as a suck-up?

Also, if you interview with several different different professors at one school, should you write a "thank you" letter to all of those individuals?

On that topic, if you didn't really catch the name of your interviewer or forgot it, because it was a foreign name with 10 syllables, how would you be able to find his email online in order to send him a thank you letter? Or do schools usually tell you who your interviewers are beforehand?

 

[darkjedi]

On that topic, if you didn't really catch the name of your interviewer or forgot it, because it was a foreign name with 10 syllables, how would you be able to find his email online in order to send him a thank you letter? Or do schools usually tell you who your interviewers are beforehand?

Some schools have a schedule with your interviewer's names on them. I always ask my interviewers for their business cards however.

 

[Doctor Strange]

On that topic, if you didn't really catch the name of your interviewer or forgot it, because it was a foreign name with 10 syllables, how would you be able to find his email online in order to send him a thank you letter? Or do schools usually tell you who your interviewers are beforehand?

Ask for a business card at the end of your interview. Otherwise, contact the admissions office, and I'm sure they will be happy to give you contact information or will forward any thank yous.

 

[nychila]

Ask for a business card at the end of your interview. Otherwise, contact the admissions office, and I'm sure they will be happy to give you contact information or will forward any thank yous.

Should an applicant contact the admissions office to ask for the name of the interviewer when all you can remember is Jon...t...p...zk...? Might be a little embarrassing, that would mean that the applicant practically forgot the interviewer's name.

 

[darkjedi]

Should an applicant contact the admissions office to ask for the name of the interviewer when all you can remember is Jon...t...p...zk...? Might be a little embarrassing, that would mean that the applicant practically forgot the interviewer's name.

I personally would do everything in my power to avoid having to call up the admissions office to find out the name of your interviewer.

 

[nychila]

I personally would do everything in my power to avoid having to call up the admissions office to find out the name of your interviewer.

Sorry to jack your thread OP, but is it OK to:

1. Not say the person's name when concluding the interview by saying thank you and good bye, in fear of saying it partially or completely wrong?

2. Call the admissions office prior to the interview to ask who your interviewer will be, if you were not offered that information in the first place?

 

[darkjedi]

Sorry to jack your thread OP, but is it OK to:

1. Not say the person's name when concluding the interview by saying thank you and good bye, in fear of saying it partially or completely wrong?

Your interviewer likely will not even notice if you don't mention his name at the end of the interview. Again, it's prudent to always ask for a business card or at the very least an email address at the end of each interview.

2. Call the admissions office prior to the interview to ask who your interviewer will be, if you were not offered that information in the first place?

No, most schools don't let you know who is interviewing until the day of, and sometimes until you walk into the room.

 

[nychila]

Your interviewer likely will not even notice if you don't mention his name at the end of the interview. Again, it's prudent to always ask for a business card or at the very least an email address at the end of each interview.

I'm sure if doctors and medical students usually carry business cards around... I think I will say, "Would you mind if I got your email address, Dr. X, in case I have further questions about School Y?" (I'm assuming that we are allowed to bring a folder with us to write down their emails)

 

[diagonal]

Thank you for interviewing me!

Sounds super try hard to me. I never did it, and I got in. And if I were on the admissions committee and saw it, I'd vote against.

 

[darkjedi]

Thank you for interviewing me!

Sounds super try hard to me. I never did it, and I got in. And if I were on the admissions committee and saw it, I'd vote against.

Clearly you've never done any interviews. At this point it is so common, it doesn't really matter if you do it either way. To vote against someone sending a thank you letter is rather silly.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

I typically send an email after my interviews. Some will respond back with a warm reply. And others will not respond. It is just courteous since they took the time to speak with you. Just make it nice and professional and bring up something you may have spoke about in your interview.

 

[BlueLabel]

I have been told that it is proper etiquette to send a thank you of some kind. Email is probably acceptable, I have sent handwritten letters. Is this actually going to affect my chance of getting in? Almost certainly not. Is that the point? Nope.

 

[Goobs]

Thank you for interviewing me!

Sounds super try hard to me. I never did it, and I got in. And if I were on the admissions committee and saw it, I'd vote against.

Einstein actually gives you your interviews name and mailing address when you check in for the specific purpose of a thank you letter.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[LizzyM]

Sorry to jack your thread OP, but is it OK to:

1. Not say the person's name when concluding the interview by saying thank you and good bye, in fear of saying it partially or completely wrong?

There is an old saying that people love to hear their name and using their name in a hello and/or goodbye is good. That said, if you think you'll mess up the pronunciation, skip it and it will be fine.

On the other hand, do not use your interviewer's first name!! I saw some applicants criticized harshly in the interview write-ups for calling middle-aged female physicians by their first names. 😱

2. Call the admissions office prior to the interview to ask who your interviewer will be, if you were not offered that information in the first place?

I'd take this as a little creepy... as if you wanted to cyberstalk them before the interview. At my school, anyway, the assignment of interviewers is made <24 hours before the interview.

Bottom line, ask for a business card if the name isn't provided to you in writing on interview day. With the name, you can find the email address and often snail mail address very easily through the university/medical school directory available online.

Thank you notes won't improve your chances of being admitted. I think that I got 'em from 40-50% of the people I interviewed and they ran about 50-50 between email and snailmail. The snailmail was usually in the form of those little 'thank you' cards that you can by in packs of 8-10 from Hallmark, etc.

In one case, I got a cute blank card from the gift shop of a tourist attraction that I'd discussed with the applicant. 🙂

 

[pfaction]

This brings up the topics of MMI's. I don't know how to send a Thank You note for that.

 

[Praefectus]

This brings up the topics of MMI's. I don't know how to send a Thank You note for that.

BCC all of them in an e-mail? Although they might figure it out if they compared e-mails.

 

[coyotelime]

I typically send an email after my interviews. Some will respond back with a warm reply. And others will not respond. It is just courteous since they took the time to speak with you. Just make it nice and professional and bring up something you may have spoke about in your interview.

This. Especially the last part. I agree with the general sentiment that they don't really matter either way, BUT if you bring up a topic that makes you more memorable, who knows? It can't hurt.