Q:  After an interview, is it ever appropriate to send a thank you note via email?  One of my law school classmates insists that the answer is no.  That seems to me like dated advice.  What do you think?

Lakisha from Florida

A:  I’m with you on this one--up to a point.  To see why, let’s review the purpose of the post-interview thank-you note. 

If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that from time-to-time I compare the job search process to dating.  And the dating scene provides a perfect illustration of how and when to send a post interview thank you message.  You know the scene; one of the two people on the date is waiting by the phone wondering why the other hasn’t called.  They think the date went well, are considering having another, but they are met with silence.  What do they do?  And as the silence grows, so does their level of annoyance.  Ultimately, decide to date someone else.

Employers have roving eyes and get annoyed too; they want to know whether you are still interested in them after the interview.  And that’s the primary purpose of the post interview message--to let them know that you are interested in the position for which you interviewed.  If the interview increased your interest in their opening, the thank you message is a great place to reiterate that fact.

In addition to communicating your interest, the post-interview message has another less appreciated purpose--to maximize the chance that the employer will want to advance the interview process with you.   A good thank-you note can put push your candidacy to the top of the employer’s list. 

And what makes a thank you message good?  Timing, content, and cultural fit.  Let’s discuss each of these in turn.

Timing.  A good thank-you message arrives in time to influence the employer’s hiring decision.  A beautifully written card that arrives after the employer has already decided to interview someone else doesn’t do you much good.  For the most part, this means that you should send a thank you message to every person with whom you interviewed as quickly as you can.  There are situations, however, when it may be advisable to delay the intended arrival date of your message.  For example, when you are told or otherwise know for sure that the interview process will last a while.  Under these circumstances it might be advisable to wait an appropriate amount of time to send your message.  But if you aren’t sure of the employer’s decision making timetable, and usually you won’t be sure, send your message promptly.

Content.  A good message also advances your candidacy by reminding the employer of your interest in a position and the benefits you will provide to the employer.  Thus, it may be a good idea to refer to some specific event that happened during the interview.  One of the best thank you messages I saw when I was interviewing associates at a law firm came from a candidate who went so far as to print out a published opinion that came up during one of her interviews.  The opinion was lengthy, and the candidate highlighted the relevant pages of the opinion.  You think that caught our attention?  It made our anal-retentive hearts sing.

Cultural Fit.  A good thank you message can also reinforce that you are a good fit for the employer’s culture.  A couple of examples will make this clear.  Suppose that you are interviewing for an in-house legal position at Sotheby’s or with one of Martha Stewart’s companies.  How do you think a thank you email will go over compared to a handwritten note written on fine card stock?  But if you send that same hand written note to a high tech dot.com, you might look as out of place as Rush Limbaugh at a feminist rally.

As you can see Lakisha, sometimes e-mail might be the way to maximize the impact your desire.  In fact, depending on how fast the employer is moving, e-mail might be your only viable option for reaching your intended audience in a timely fashion.  Likewise, your chances of getting your message across to someone who is traveling on business might be significantly higher if you send them an e-mail. 

And to make things even more complicated, don’t assume that you have to use the same method to communicate with all of the interviewers at the same employer.  For example, I have suggested to clients that they email thank you notes to associates with whom they met and send a hand written card to the senior partner.

In today’s fast-moving business world, it is outdated to assume that email is never an appropriate means to send a thank you message.  But the additional work involved in sending a handwritten note can also make a positive impact that most emails can’t match.  Outside of formal social events such as weddings, when is the last time most of us send or receive a written thank you note?  The very rarity of such notes can make them and their author’s stand out from the crowd.  

If you think about the issues of timing, content, and cultural fit, you will generally make the right decision about how to communicate your thank you message.  But don’t let this article drive you crazy.  The bottom line about thank you notes is this:  Regardless of the method you use to send them, the most important thing to remember is to send a customized message promptly after the interview.  Do that and you will be ahead of most candidates who can’t be bothered to send a thank you message of any kind.

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