Bianca asks:
I just had an interview with a coordinator. What are your thoughts on sending a post-interview note? Is that appropriate and what would I want it to say?
Yes, it’s perfectly okay to send a quick email after the interview. In my experience, it probably won’t do much good one way or the other. One candidate is almost always the obvious choice, and a thank you note isn’t going to change anyone’s mind.
On the other hand, if two interviewees really are about the same, a thank you note might be enough to push the odds in your favor. Better than a coin toss, right?
I usually write something like this:
Hi, [name]!
I just wanted to say thanks for interviewing me for the [whatever] position. I enjoyed meeting you and [underling], and hope to work with you in the future.
Best,
[your name]
If you’re interviewing for a TV series, it might be worth throwing in a comment about the show itself–
I’m a big fan of [show], and I’m excited about this opportunity.
I wouldn’t send the email immediately after an interview; that strikes me as a little weird. I’d wait until the end of the day or, if the interview was at the end of the day, the next morning.
4 Responses
I hired a writer’s assistant last year. Of two roughly equal candidates, I hired the one who was immediately available (the other had some scheduling conflicts overlapping with a short-term job). The second-choice candidate sent a nice thank-you note and has stayed in touch with occasional “congrats”-type notes as the show aired. It left a good impression and I have let her know that she is welcome to get in touch with questions. I also have her high on my list for possible future hires. Sometimes the payoffs are slow.
I interviewed for a position that I knew wouldn’t be hiring for about 3 weeks. I nailed the interview, but I didn’t hear back for a while. I shot off a quick thank you email about 5 days after my interview. I found out I got the job the next day.
Whether that was related to the thank you email or not, I have no idea. But, it obviously didn’t hurt.
What do you think about sending follow-up emails? How long after sending in your resume should a follow-up email be sent, if at all?