Follow Up Thank You Email With Wrong Name

So I was trying to follow up after an information session and I met way too many people and collected way too many business cards. I was just too tired so I decided to just copy paste a generic "thank you" email to everyone and just when I clicked SEND, I realized that all the names are adjusted at the top but in the body of the email, I refer to them as "James" HAHA.

After laughing my ass off for a full 5 minutes, my question now is what do I do now? Should I send an apology email or something? Or do you think maybe they'll at least get a laugh out of this?

what to say when you email someone's name wrong

This is a major mistake that should not be taken lightly. In the end, attention to detail is extremely important in this financial services industry making such a careless error can have an impact on your career. If all these people were at the same firm - then they will likely all know that you sent around the exact same email which looks reckless.

Tips About Proofreading Networking Emails

Moving forward - you should not include the name of the recruiter in the body of your form email and you should also make small adjustments to your form email so that it is not exactly the same for each recipient.

Additionally, you should be sure to read your email at least 3 times. First reading should be right after you write it. Second time you should read it out loud slowly. Then you should look away and work on something different for a bit. Then come back and read your email again one more time before sending.

In regards to the OP's original issue - our users have various thoughts on how to handle the situation moving forward. Some feel that sending a follow up apology will only draw attention to it and in the end many recruiters / professionals don't really read thank you emails from candidates. However, for the ones that do - sending a follow up may be wise to recognize the mistake. Either way - you won't come out looking rosy to that particular professional.

Our users shared their thoughts below.

ChrisHansen:

I did the same thing with a boutique bank last year but it was only one email. I sent an immediate follow up and got no response. You have to make a bet on whether or not they will even notice; an apology might draw their attention to something they never noticed.

Ambani - Hedge Fund Analyst:

Just be more careful from next time and read your emails 10 times before hitting that SEND button.

lou - Investment Banking Analyst:

I would acknowledge it asap before they address it.

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