Thank You Email Post-Interview?

creativepgd

I just interviewed with a large multinational and was wondering what the consensus is about emailing a thank you email after the interview? Only issue is the interviewer's email wasn't in the email regarding the interview, but I found it with a google search. Would it be weird to send one given that I went out to search for it? Alternatively, I could just send one to the HR person who set up the interview. What do ye think?

Cheers.

RedXIV

Send it to HR, they will pass on the feedback and you'll get more coverage of how nice and polite you are.

Sending it to a "found" email address could be innocent enough but there's enough people out there conscious of their privacy that I wouldn't risk it

creativepgd

RedXIV wrote: »

Send it to HR, they will pass on the feedback and you'll get more coverage of how nice and polite you are.

Sending it to a "found" email address could be innocent enough but there's enough people out there conscious of their privacy that I wouldn't risk it

Thanks for replying. It was in files that were publically available in a google search but yeah I totally get the privacy issue.

Sorry to nitpick but should I be explicit and ask HR to pass it on or just hope they do?

Cheers.

RedXIV

creativepgd wrote: »

Thanks for replying. It was in files that were publically available in a google search but yeah I totally get the privacy issue.

Sorry to nitpick but should I be explicit and ask HR to pass it on or just hope they do?

Cheers.

I'd put something like

"Thanks for having me blah blah blah.

Please pass on my thanks to Mr. X, he was very welcoming etc and a credit to your company"

No harm greasing the wheels

Sam Hain

Quick, get me a bucket.

TheBoyConor

If it were a small company who'd only interview a handful of people then that might be a nice idea.

If it is a a multinational there is no point, especially because they probably interviewed hoardes of candidates.

An unsolicted thank you email is not going to get you any more points and if there are a lot of candidates it will probably be just ignored or deleted. It would just be clogging up their email if enveryone started doing it.

RedXIV

Sam Hain wrote: »

Quick, get me a bucket.

:D

snoopboggybog

Send a thank you card as well and maybe a box of chocolates

Zaph

I got one once after interviewing someone and tbh I thought it was a) weird; and b) a bit needy. He also asked for the email address of the HR person who sat in on the interview so he could mail her too. Needless to say, I didn't give it to him. Maybe this is something that's done in the States or wherever, but it's definitely not the norm in this country.

TheBoyConor

Can you imagine for a moment that say 3 people interviewed 100 people, and giving thank you emails was the done thing. That is another 300 emails coming in clogging things up. And they are supervluous emails that are of no material purpose, just delivering a meaningless platitude.

It is needy. Do your interview, do you best and if they want you they will call you.

The done thing in this country is to interview you knowing full well that they have already picked the person for the job by means of cronyism and are just going through the motions by doing interviews. Then they shake you hand with smirk and give and insincere thank you tell you they'll let you know.
Then you can get feedback that is full of vague cryptic nonsense that says you were good with very good experience, but not as good as the selected candidate.

I work in the public sector and I know the system and how it works. I don't even do cover letters with applications any more because they have no bearing on the process. They are superfluous. Fill out the application and send it in.

I know a someone who did an interview for a position and went in and told it like it was. They slated the organisation, told the truth about how x, y, and z were a shambles and how a partularl and very large project for the organisation was an embarrassment and an example of an "exhibitionist display of incompetence". They got top of the panel. Because they and HR knew that they was selected for the job anyway regardless of what happened in the interview.

Rodney Bathgate

snoopboggybog wrote: »

Send a thank you card as well and maybe a box of chocolates

I am partial to Ferrero Rocher...

coolbeans

creativepgd wrote: »

I just interviewed with a large multinational and was wondering what the consensus is about emailing a thank you email after the interview? Only issue is the interviewer's email wasn't in the email regarding the interview, but I found it with a google search. Would it be weird to send one given that I went out to search for it? Alternatively, I could just send one to the HR person who set up the interview. What do ye think?

Cheers.

Don't do it, load of ****e, it's not going to confer on you any advantages over others who didn't thank them. You'll get the job on your merits, nothing else.

never_mind

Zaph wrote: »

I got one once after interviewing someone and tbh I thought it was a) weird; and b) a bit needy. He also asked for the email address of the HR person who sat in on the interview so he could mail her too. Needless to say, I didn't give it to him. Maybe this is something that's done in the States or wherever, but it's definitely not the norm in this country.

Got asked by an applicant via email after interview that should they be unsuccessful that they’re would be happy to work for me for free. Christ.

circular flexing

Once got a tweet from a candidate thanking me for the interview. Candidate was rejected after that. Creepy and needy sums it up. Every job requires you to exercise some level of discretion and going to find an interviewers email address to thank them is not an exercise in discretion.

creativepgd

circular flexing wrote: »

Once got a tweet from a candidate thanking me for the interview. Candidate was rejected after that. Creepy and needy sums it up. Every job requires you to exercise some level of discretion and going to find an interviewers email address to thank them is not an exercise in discretion.

Fair enough, point well noted.

creativepgd

coolbeans wrote: »

Don't do it, load of ****e, it's not going to confer on you any advantages over others who didn't thank them. You'll get the job on your merits, nothing else.

There articles I've read that not sending it could decrease your chances, its more of a being safe than sorry kinda thing I'm geared towards.

creativepgd

So, after reading some of the replies, I won't be using the email address that I found. Thanks to everyone for their input on this. However, I'am still in two minds about sending one to HR and them passing it on. I realize it may not be the make-or-break of the application but its more of this unwritten-rule/politeness/etiquette stuff that I am unsure about that makes me think I should.

creativepgd

Zaph wrote: »

I got one once after interviewing someone and tbh I thought it was a) weird; and b) a bit needy. He also asked for the email address of the HR person who sat in on the interview so he could mail her too. Needless to say, I didn't give it to him. Maybe this is something that's done in the States or wherever, but it's definitely not the norm in this country.

For a big company that is situation in several countries, however, what would the proper convention be in this situation.

Mrs OBumble

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Can you imagine for a moment that say 3 people interviewed 100 people, and giving thank you emails was the done thing.

No one's gonna interview 100 people for the type of position where post-interview emails would make a difference (eg sales, HR, some general management)

Zaph

creativepgd wrote: »

For a big company that is situation in several countries, however, what would the proper convention be in this situation.

The example I gave was the first time that our HR department had ever heard of any candidate they interviewed doing it. This is a large international company with about 600 employees over a number of sites in Ireland. Make of that what you will, but it generally seems not to be the done thing in this country.

never_mind

The take away from this OP, is that the consensus is that these thank you emails are cringe and tacky. Thank the panel via HR and ask for feedback through them should you be unsuccessful.

franglan

Common concensus is not to email anyone saying thanks OP. Honestly it would be like emailing the HR department prior to applying "I hope you are excited to receive my entry to your vacancy application competition...". Pretty much on that level of cringe.

tdf7187

I disagree with the consensus here. I cannot see any downside to sending the HR person an email thanking them for the opportunity of an interview and expressing that you are very interested in the position & reemphasizing why you feel you are right person for the role. Just make it cordial and not obseqious.

never_mind

franglan wrote: »

Common concensus is not to email anyone saying thanks OP. Honestly it would be like emailing the HR department prior to applying "I hope you are excited to receive my entry to your vacancy application competition...". Pretty much on that level of cringe.

I don’t agree with that either. HR would more than likely not bother to relay the message but it’s nice to be nice and say thank you for their help with process too.

creativepgd

Okay, so would a very short email to the recruiter thanking them and the interviewer be acceptable?

Purple Mountain

Now you're starting to sound very OTT, op.

TheBoyConor

Don't email hr.

It's not going to make any difference. Usually the panel score the interview and that's what gets you the job. Any stuff external to the interview panel is, well, external and not really important.

HR will do nothing with the email, most unlikely they'll pass it on. For what? Why? Do you expect some kind of fawning thank you for coming in type response or something?
The whole thing seems very cringe and very American.

Purple Mountain

I'd be more inclined if I didn't get the job but yet was still interested in working for them to then email.
That would be more of a norm in Ireland as a way of saying thank you for interviewing me and please keep my cv on file (if GDPR allows that nowadays!).

creativepgd

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Don't email hr.

It's not going to make any difference. Usually the panel score the interview and that's what gets you the job. Any stuff external to the interview panel is, well, external and not really important.

HR will do nothing with the email, most unlikely they'll pass it on. For what? Why? Do you expect some kind of fawning thank you for coming in type response or something?
The whole thing seems very cringe and very American.

My worry is more in the scenario where I didn't send an email, they might think I was rude because I didn't abide by the "unwritten rule".

I just don't want my application to be thought of less because I didn't send an email, that's all

circular flexing

creativepgd wrote: »

My worry is more in the scenario where I didn't send an email, they might think I was rude because I didn't abide by the "unwritten rule".

I just don't want my application to be thought of less because I didn't send an email, that's all

I've been on both sides of the table.


There is no unwritten rule.


Send the email if it makes you feel better but be aware that if anything it'll harm your chances.

Jayzee.

Don't do it

NewMan1982

Sounds weird to me.
I don’t hire people but if I did I think it would put me off a candidate.

seannash

creativepgd wrote: »

My worry is more in the scenario where I didn't send an email, they might think I was rude because I didn't abide by the "unwritten rule".

I just don't want my application to be thought of less because I didn't send an email, that's all

I regularly interview people for jobs in the company I work for.
The time and place for thanking the person interviewing you is at the end of the interview and to there face.

Dont send the email, you either have the job or not. There is no rule. I have never waited around to see if I got a thank you email from a candidate before I make a decision on them.

For me and my colleagues 90% of the time we show you to the door and then go back to the interview room and discuss what we thought of you. The decision is practically made then and there. No email would change this for me.

skallywag

I have received such a short thank you email from time to time, and have seen nothing at all wrong with it. At the same time though I would not see it in any way giving you any advantage over another candidate who did not.

In my opinion any manager who would see this as a negative in any way is probably not someone who I would want to work for, and is very likely just a dickhead anyway.

That said, anyone who has contacted me afterwards will have had my contact details on the business card which I will always provide to any candidate I interview.

Concerning calling, forget that completely.

creativepgd

Didn't send it. Thanks everyone for your input.