Thank You Notes: To Send or Not to Send

It is a fairly common practice for job seekers to send thank you notes after interviews.  Although it is not required to send a thank you note following an interview, it is a nice gesture.  However, there are some important things to think about before putting your note in the mail or pressing 'send'.  Here are a few tips:

• If you are going to send a thank you note, send it within one or two days of the interview - don't wait!

• Think about the people you interviewed with.  If there is more than one person, whom will you send the thank you note to?  It is okay to send a thank you note to more than one person, but be sure that the notes are not exactly the same.  It is very likely that the interviewers will compare thank you notes, and if they all say the same thing, it appears impersonal.

• Proofread, proofread, proofread!!  One small error in a thank you note could cost you the job offer.  Make sure you read through your thank you note multiple times before you send it.  If you are writing a thank you note to send in the mail, write it out on a separate sheet of paper first so you can edit it if necessary.  It is also a very good idea to have someone else read through the note.  A second set of eyes might see something you missed.