The Thank You note seems like something so small when going through a job search and interviewing process. But it’s not.
While a Thank You note won’t generally get you a job, it can certainly erase the chance especially if you don’t send one.
Think about it this way. You are someone taking time out of your day to interview someone who is jobless or looking to make a move from one job to another. Don’t you think you should be thanked for taking time out of your day to interview someone? Don’t you think your time could be better spent doing something else rather than interviewing someone who may or may not be added to your company or firm? Surely, it could be. Naturally, you would appreciate a Thank You note from the person you just spent time interviewing.
So, clearly, you should send a Thank You note to the person who interviewed you. Regardless of whether or not you get the job, a Thank You note shows class, respect and appreciation for the opportunity to have the interview.
Getting the job isn’t the goal when you are searching for a job. Getting the interview is. People would be surprised to hear this, but when a position is posted recruiters, HR officers and business owners receive 400-500 resumes for one position. If you get to the chance of an interview you have made it through a major process to simply get to that point.
From my personal experience, I interviewed for an Administrator position at a law firm. When I interviewed with the owner of the firm he told me he received 444 resumes for the position. He also told me that he reviewed over 200 of the resumes received and chose only eight resumes from the batch he reviewed to interview. I happened to be one of the eight people to get interviewed. I felt honored being told that. I didn’t get the job so of course, I was disappointed, but the fact that my resume was chosen from 444 resumes was special to me. I was honored by that. That alone deserves a Thank You note.
At the same time, if you don’t send a Thank You note and you were considered the top candidate, you could very well cost yourself the position because the person who interviewed you may now think you are a rude and ungrateful individual. So please remember to send a Thank You note.
But here’s the kicker for everything. When you send a Thank You note, please have someone else read it before you click send on that e-mail. There is nothing worse than receiving a Thank You note with typos and spelling errors. I personally know of at least one person who didn’t get a job due to spelling errors and typos in the Thank You note. So make sure someone else reads it and make sure there aren’t any typos and/or spelling errors.
That being said, good luck in your interviews, but always remember to thank your interviewer with a note.