Addressing your interviewers in "Thank You" letters...

Ok so I had interviews yesterday and am writing thank you letters to my interviewers now. When you address the letter do you call them by their first name i.e. Dear Joe, or is it Dear Mr. Smith,? They introduced themselves as Joe Smith but I never used their name after that fact. I want to be appropriate but I don't want to come off too impersonal. Any recommendations?

16 Comments
 

Use Mr./Ms. ____. If you want to be less formal, use "thanks" instead of "thank you" at some point in your letter.

 
Khameer33Ok so I had interviews yesterday and am writing thank you letters to my interviewers now. When you address the letter do you call them by their first name i.e. Dear Joe, or is it Dear Mr. Smith,? They introduced themselves as Joe Smith but I never used their name after that fact. I want to be appropriate but I don't want to come off too impersonal. Any recommendations?
The general rule I followed was: analysts & associates - first name; VPs and up - last name. Of course, you can make exceptions based on your comfort level with your interviewer, and how relaxed he/she was.
 

I prefer to use last names until invited to use a first name or someone signs their emails with first name only. I think this is the standard for business of any kind.

In the future, you may want to send email ty notes right away. They have blackberries and check them all the time.

 

I ended up going w/ last names since they were all Senior V.P.'s.

I got back from my flight last night at 1:30 a.m. so I sent them early as I could today.

twitchI prefer to use last names until invited to use a first name or someone signs their emails with first name only. I think this is the standard for business of any kind.

In the future, you may want to send email ty notes right away. They have blackberries and check them all the time.

 

If you had an informal type of interview with they used their first time, I would address them by their first name. Especially if they've emailed you before and signed the mail with their first name (ie -Jeff).

 

If you connected well just use their first names, it makes it more personal.

-------------------------------------------------------- "I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcom
 
alwayshere86Stop making this into such a big deal.

Dear Mr Smith = Dear John

do you think its really going to break you?

Not if john's last name is not smith haha

 

This is for summer analyst opportunities: for non-analyst, if it's my first email out to them, I address them by their last name. After all, you never know who's going to be the more conservative of the bunch. After the first email though, it's safe to say you can address them by their first name (unless it's an MD, then you could still use last name, but eventually you would obviously want to go with first name). In the end though, as people above have said, your way of addressing them won't make or break you so no worries either way.

 

Est vel tempora sed numquam est placeat autem in. Voluptas alias aut velit qui. Nostrum ad impedit officiis autem harum voluptatem. Reprehenderit suscipit dolorum perferendis laudantium excepturi.

Ea sapiente est expedita nemo. Et eveniet recusandae velit voluptas rerum. Est repellendus repellat a soluta doloremque officiis.

Ipsa esse ea tempora saepe. Nihil repellendus voluptates quidem voluptates consectetur quam. Est et voluptates consectetur voluptate soluta voluptatum minima accusamus. Necessitatibus deserunt modi beatae ipsa architecto temporibus doloribus. Et aut iure quia. Cum magni quam modi est ut ex rerum.

Est quia dolorem totam ducimus ut dolor. Debitis doloribus non recusandae enim.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”