To thank or not to thank...

["Comeau, Lisa" <Lisa -dot- Comeau -at- MOH -dot- GOV -dot- ON -dot- CA>]

I am thoroughly enjoying this thread, and even though it may not "directly
relate to Technical Writing", I think it does directly relate to job
searches. Having been on both sides of the table more than once, I decided
to comment.

<end reasoning, begin sinpping and clipping, and rebutting to comments>

Patricia Allard <always wrote thank-you notes...until ... hired by a boss
that said
"Never write a thank-you note for an interview.  You are thanking the
interviewer for doing their job and it is condescending and ingratiating.">

>>Of course they're doing their job, but thank-you letters/phone calls,
emails, notes, etc., are a sign of courtesy, and respect for the
interviewer's time spent. Not condescending. Pat, the opinion of the many
outweigh the opinion of the few, and I would suggest that a courteous and
brief thank-you would be appreciated by more people than those who consider
it insulting. How many jobs have ou unknowingly given up by not sending a
quick thanks?
********

Tracey Moore <believes that courtesy goes both ways.>

>> Absolutely, but in my experience, the interviewer is too "busy" deciding
who to hire, and hasn't got the time. We can, however, cure this in a way I
found helpful when I was hiring:

>>Immediately following the interview with the candidate, I reviewed the
notes I made on said person. Since I use a PC to keep track of info, I had
already created a generic keyboard-merge thank you letter, to which I added
info based on the interview. If I had the candidates email address, I could
email it, if not, I'd print it out and sign it, and mail it using one of the
nifty labels with the candidate's address on it.
*******

Sabahat Ashraf guesses <they did me a favour by not hiring me; I wouldn't
have fit in and felt really bad about working with people so much older'n me
...>

>> I sense the sarcasm, and I understand it, but from my only true "job from
Hell" experience, I wish to gosh they'd thought more about the corporate
fit, as well as the age difference between other staff and myself...
(Sabahat - it's a long story, and I'd be happy to discuss it off-list if
you're interested) but if you expect a thank you, and don't get one, this
might be a clue about "corporate fit" in itself.
*******

Sean Brierley sees <the thank you as a professional courtesy and a sign of
interest in the job>

>> You bet. And a thanks from the interviewer shows the same professional
courtesy.
*******

Jarnopol interviewed thankless people <through head hunters, others came
through contract-to-hire agencies and some even came from the ranks of this
list.>

>> From personal experience, (not to give the ingrates a way out,)
headhunters and contract-to-hire agiencies rarely 'allow' the candidate to
handle any correspondence with the interviewer. However, I will ask the
headhiunter to please pass on my thank-you to the person who interviewed me
if I'm not "allowed" to do it myself.
*******

John Posada says "...By the time the thankyou note would have arrived, it
would be
arriving at a destination where I either have it or don't have it. If the
former, it's superflous. If the later...well, TNT."

>> If they're deciding that fast, obviously, a "thank-you for interviewing
me" letter may be inappropriate, but I have gotten jobs after the person
hired didn't work out because I sent letters saying "Thanks for interviewing
me, wish your company the best of luck, enjoyed leraning more about XYZ, and
am still interested if any positions come free in future".

>> I guess all this babbling means I have strong opinions about thanking
people - my favorite author says <paraphrasing> a lack of courtesy is the
sign of a sick society, soon to die.

>>As writers we are courteous to our audience by finding out the best way to
address them, so why, as interviewe(rs/ees) are we not as courteous?

Lisa Comeau
Accounts Representative, Client Services Group
Y2K/Exchange Project, Ontario Ministry of Health
Office: (416) 327 1112
Pager: (416) 715 9198
mailto: Lisa -dot- Comeau -at- moh -dot- gov -dot- on -dot- ca

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=