Ask HN: Are thank-you letters outmoded?

7 points·AlexCR··3 comments

It used to be the unspoken assumption of polite behavior to send (mail) a personalized thank you note after an interview.

Have you yourself hired programmers? If so, I'm curious what your reaction would be to a personalized note, would it be 1) expected 2) a pleasant surprise 3) irrelevant data or 4) tacky ?

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I routinely interviewed for dev positions in the past and I would find a thank-you note mildly annoying/awkward and of absolutely zero influence on the hiring decision. Moreover, I'd be irritated if I got a thank-you note from a candidate that I didn't share my email address with.

I would file it under 2), assuming it was well written rather than just a generic dashed off thank you. In my relatively brief interview experience for software developers, I have yet to get a thank you note (and I'm ok with that).

I would lean toward being okay with the surprise thank you, if only on the grounds that I think we all accept that such things are discoverable on the internet and the intent was clearly non-malicious.

That said, I cannot imagine ever changing my decision after receiving such a note, so I'm curious what the goal of sending it would be? Just obligation?

I think it can't hurt. I work in a more conservative industry and I sent thank-you emails the day after an interview (I got hired, obviously not only because of the follow up). I would avoid physical mail because it will take too long to reach the recipient and I would keep it short (2 or 3 sentences).

If everyone does it, you'll only stand out by not doing it and in a bad way. If no one does it, you have the possibility of appearing more professional.

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