Should you send thank you notes after a law firm interview?
On average, roughly half of my candidates will ask me about the appropriateness and best method of sending thank you notes after finishing an interview. I was having the discussion so often that I decided it would be an excellent topic for an article, which is posted here.
I'm an adopted Southerner, and I feel pretty strongly that thank you notes are a professional courtesy that should always be extended. I believe thank you notes show respect for the individuals that spent their precious time to interview you. I also believe they are a nice opportunity for networking.
What is problematic, however, is the execution of the thank you note. Many attorneys make errors when drafting the note and a bad thank you note is worse than one that is never sent.
There is more detail in my article, but a few important points regarding thank you notes are:
1. E-mail is an acceptable method for a thank you note.
2. Even if you are handwriting your notes, type it up and run spell check/grammar check to make sure the note is error-free!
3. Do NOT send the same note to every person.
4. Even if you don't have time to write to every person with whom you met, you should send a note to the hiring partner or the person who spent the most time with you.
I'm an adopted Southerner, and I feel pretty strongly that thank you notes are a professional courtesy that should always be extended. I believe thank you notes show respect for the individuals that spent their precious time to interview you. I also believe they are a nice opportunity for networking.
What is problematic, however, is the execution of the thank you note. Many attorneys make errors when drafting the note and a bad thank you note is worse than one that is never sent.
There is more detail in my article, but a few important points regarding thank you notes are:
1. E-mail is an acceptable method for a thank you note.
2. Even if you are handwriting your notes, type it up and run spell check/grammar check to make sure the note is error-free!
3. Do NOT send the same note to every person.
4. Even if you don't have time to write to every person with whom you met, you should send a note to the hiring partner or the person who spent the most time with you.
Labels: legal job search
posted by The Travel Chick at 3:49 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for this piece! Candidates are always asking me whether or not they should send thank you notes. Personally, I come down on the side of foregoing the gesture. While polite, I certainly do not think that such notes are expected nor necessarily helpful. If the note strikes the perfect tone, has no stylistic, grammatical or spelling errors or issues, comes through the email with unblemished formatting, and otherwise all the planets line up to make the note as positive as possible, the net effect in my book is completely neutral. In other words, the perfect note has no value whatever other than making your mother happy. Thus, of course, the upshot is that there is risk of negative impact if there is even the slightest mistake or faux pas.
In my view, you have done everything you can to present yourself as perfectly as possible. You have gone over your resume with a fine-tooth comb, perhaps participated in writing or editing your recruiter's cover letter, you have practiced for your interview. Your presentation is complete. And now you want to mess with that? I don't think so. I say, thank the interviewer during the interview for their time. That's plenty. Your interview doesn't need one more email, doesn't need a hand-written note, doesn't really have time to think about you other than as a potential candidate. Thus, sit back and wait to see if they want something from you. Whatever it is they want from you next, it isn't a thank-you note.
Just my opinion.
Thanks for this piece! Candidates are always asking me whether or not they should send thank you notes. Personally, I come down on the side of foregoing the gesture. While polite, I certainly do not think that such notes are expected nor necessarily helpful. If the note strikes the perfect tone, has no stylistic, grammatical or spelling errors or issues, comes through the email with unblemished formatting, and otherwise all the planets line up to make the note as positive as possible, the net effect in my book is completely neutral. In other words, the perfect note has no value whatever other than making your mother happy. Thus, of course, the upshot is that there is risk of negative impact if there is even the slightest mistake or faux pas.
In my view, you have done everything you can to present yourself as perfectly as possible. You have gone over your resume with a fine-tooth comb, perhaps participated in writing or editing your recruiter's cover letter, you have practiced for your interview. Your presentation is complete. And now you want to mess with that? I don't think so. I say, thank the interviewer during the interview for their time. That's plenty. Your interview doesn't need one more email, doesn't need a hand-written note, doesn't really have time to think about you other than as a potential candidate. Thus, sit back and wait to see if they want something from you. Whatever it is they want from you next, it isn't a thank-you note.
Just my opinion.
Post a Comment
<< Home