Thank You Notes: Email vs. Snail Mail

Congratulations! Your interview for that dream job went really well. Your answers were polished, and you’re positive the position is yours.

Hold on.

One of the most overlooked parts of the interview process happens after you rock out the interview itself: the follow-up.

And if you’re like the majority of job seekers today, you’re probably wondering – “Should I send a thank you email, or a thank you card?”

Luckily, we have some tips on deciding which is best.

First of all, some form of follow up is better than no follow up. Don’t get so caught up in choosing the best method that you don’t send one at all. With that being said, here’s the good, bad, and ugly of each option:

Email:

The Good: Email is widely accepted as a method of communicating your thanks after an interview. It gets your message to the interviewers quickly, which is why this is a preferred method when the interview process is fast. If the interviewers tell you they’re going to make a decision by the end of the day, you need to follow up via email to ensure they get your thanks before they make their decision.

The Bad: Email is such a great option because it’s easy and convenient. But unfortunately, that means it’s easy and convenient for everyone else, too. If you want to differentiate your email from everyone else’s, you’ll need to put some real thought into what you say. Make sure you mention specific details from the interview, rather than just sending the same stock message over and over.

The Ugly: There’s a tendency with email thank you notes to hit send extremely fast – as in, sending them from your car in the parking lot five minutes after the interview ended fast. It’s exciting to do well in an interview…but don’t hit send just yet. Wait a few hours, process the interview and how it went, and look for things you might have forgotten to say when you were answering questions. These can be included in your follow-up to personalize it.

Snail Mail:

The Good: Sending a physical thank you card is pretty impressive. This is something that very few candidates, if any, that you’re competing against will do. It signals your thanks in a more personal way, and continues to show off how professional you are. Your note is also more likely to get read, since emails are easier to brush aside.     

The Bad: If the employer is hoping to make their decision quickly, your note might not get there before they make their decision. It’ll take a few days to arrive, and there’s no telling when it will actually be opened. You want your follow up to be received before the hiring process is completed, and a physical thank you note can make that difficult. Additionally, it costs money to send a note this way as compared to email, which is free.

The Ugly: At best, a handwritten thank you note is seen as polite and courteous. But at worst? Some employers find this method to be outdated. You might unknowingly convey that you’re behind the times, and hurt your chances of landing the job. It’s difficult to determine if your interviewer will view the note that way, so the snail mail note is definitely a risk.

What’s been your experience with thank you emails and notes? Let us know in the comments!