REVISED: I had to circle back on this post and eat my words after discussing the content with a friend. My friend is a career executive recruiter and coach. He read my original post and had some thoughtful feedback for me. He told me that sending a thank you note when you are vying for a position in a competitive market could make the difference between you and another candidate.  He said that a well-done note can make you stand out when you may be comparable from a skills standpoint with someone else.  Many times it can come down to the thank you as to whether or not you get that job. So I am eating my words.  I think that interviewing can be so exhausting and sometimes it can feel like the interviewers are wasting your time. But if you really want that job, follow through with this extra step – it may be well worth it.  Good luck out there friends.

ORIGINAL POST: Hmmmmmmmm …. I’m on the fence about something. Do people still send “thank you” notes after interviews? It’s interesting because I don’t think sending a thank you note determines whether you get the job or not. Personally, when I interview people it’s how they perform in the actual interview that matters to me versus whatever note they send me post interview.  I am actually testing out my own theory by sending thank you notes only to the hiring managers for the jobs that I am most interested in.  It’s such a time investment … remembering all of the things that were discussed during the interview and all. Frankly, these days I don’t want to put any more energy into the things that I am indifferent about (isn’t life hard enough?).  It’s going to save me a lot of time that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to get back.  I say all of that because I have worked with people who strongly disagree with me.  They feel that they weigh the person’s interview performance on all things including the thank you note – which I think is unfair. Most people send form thank you notes with very little personalization.  I feel like the interviewing process is so torturous (I’ll write another post on that), why judge people on a stupid note????  I just don’t think it is necessary.  Now if you give me a gift – I have no problem sending you a cute thank you. 😉 What do you think?