are thank you emails really that important?

I don't see the point in them, especially after you already thanked them in person/over the phone?

Doesn't it come off as sucking up?

Also, it's not like the interviewer was doing you an immense favor by grilling you. It's part of their job.

16 Comments
 

I don't think this is the right attitude to have here. Think of it as simple etiquette.. which takes less than 5 minutes to do.

Interviewing candidates is not really core part of the analyst's day-to-day role, but it's in addition to their daily workload. In an industry where your attitude matters a lot, it would be a good idea.

 
"No Longer At KPMG"

I don't think this is the right attitude to have here. Think of it as simple etiquette.. which takes less than 5 minutes to do.

Interviewing candidates is not really core part of the analyst's day-to-day role, but it's in addition to their daily workload. In an industry where your attitude matters a lot, it would be a good idea.

+SB. This is the correct answer.

Sending a thank you email is simple etiquette. It's like walking a little faster if someone is holding the door open for you, putting the toilet seat down, asking if anyone wants to split the last cookie, etc. You have little to gain from it, but there's always a chance that you look like an asshole for not sending the thank you email.

 
Best Response

To be honest, if it's for OCR, they don't really matter. Usually decisions are made before that email comes through the next day/later in the afternoon. What then happens is the students that make it on to the next round get a positive reply back to the follow up note, and the ones that got cut get no response/generic response. That said, it can't hurt (if you don't write something dumb/desperate) and on the off chance one person takes them seriously, it's well worth the little effort required.

If it's for a non-standard (i.e. sophomore internship) process, definitely send follow-ups. Those decisions can take weeks and oftentimes smaller firms without dedicated recruitment teams will forget about you if you don't send an eager follow-up.

 
"jonathan-wang3"

also, is it rude to ask when you can expect to hear back in your thank you email?

Yes it is. You should have asked that question in the interview room.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

I hate receiving thank you e-mails.

However, some people expect them.

So I recommend sending a thank you e-mail, subject to following conditions: - Don't ask questions (= hassle, annoyance for the recipient) - Don't provide answers to questions asked in the interview that you couldn't answer on the spot, particularly technical or logic questions - Don't send them to people who tell you explicitly not to send them a thank you e-mail (ie people like me)

As much as I hate receiving thank you notes, I don't think worse of the candidate, EVEN IF I have told them not to send the note. I just delete the e-mails.

On the other hand, those types of people who do value thank you notes probably will think worse of the candidate if they don't get one.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

interesting perspective, thanks. Personally, if I received a thank you email, I would just think they were trying to kiss up to me and wouldn't view it in a positive light, but I guess each person is different.

 

Definitely doesn't hurt and especially if you go through multiple rounds it wouldn't hurt to show that you really want this to someone who you think gave you a bad time.

 

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