6 ms·

It’s incredible to me that so many people still fail the most basic skill of “interviewing 101″. As soon as possible after the interview, send a concise thank y

by j_baker 14y ago

It’s incredible to me that so many people still fail the most basic skill of “interviewing 101″. As soon as possible after the interview, send a concise thank you email. Do people actually do this? I've always assumed it was one of those pieces of advice they teach you in Interviewing 101 only to find that it isn't as applicable to programming jobs.

ismarc 14y ago
I've frequently done this, usually bringing up something I remembered later, clarifying something or asking additional questions. It's particularly useful if you can reference something that will associate the email with the person.. I usually go for 3 to 7 days after the interview. It's the "i'm still interested in working for YOU" email that also keeps you fresh in their minds.
notJim 14y ago
When I've interviewed people, this almost always strikes me as artificial and insincere—something people only do because someone told them to when they were in college.
- swdunlop 14y ago
  As a frequent interviewer, I regarded it as a sign that the interviewee had read a few articles somewhere and paid it almost no attention.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
rm999 14y ago
I was wondering the same thing. I've never sent one after interviewing someone, and no one has ever sent me one. I honestly don't think it could help, I've usually made up my opinion before they have a chance to do anything. Also, something feels very insecure/desperate about it, like calling someone 30 minutes after a date. I do always personally thank the person (with a handshake) for taking the time to interview me or taking the time to let me interview them, though. But that's just common courtesy.
jboggan 14y ago
I'm doing it right now as I'm applying to and interviewing with startups and more established companies in SF/SV. Even though my domain seems to be in really high demand right now (data science/network analysis) I'm trying to be gracious, quick, and communicative with potential employers because I want to indicate that I'm that kind of person in a team environment in addition to my technical assets. It seems to be working pretty well so far, especially with smaller shops that are moving quickly. In the words of one founder I spoke with today, "we have a hiring timeframe of yesterday" and I think it is important to show them you are rarin' to go. As a side note - if you are applying to startups, write your cover letters while sitting in SF/SV coffee shops that are known startup hotbeds. If you strike up friendly conversations with random folks wearing the right t-shirts you'll often get recommendations to apply to places you've never heard of, perhaps with a friendly "in" if you can impress them by being a personable, well-balanced individual. As a shameless plug, hit me up if you are looking for a data geek or someone who honestly loses sleep over graph algorithms.
- benhamner 14y ago
  Shoot me a message if you're interested in Kaggle - ben@kaggle
- veyron 14y ago
  If you are going to ask that, you should leave contact information either in the post or in your user profile. Otherwise how would people contact you?
  - bartonfink 14y ago
    Seconded, especially if you're open to relocating to Denver. I know for a fact that we could use a data person where I work.
  - jboggan 14y ago
    Can I give you all my karma for pointing out this oversight? I thought my email was visible, fixed and thanks!
capkutay 14y ago
I think being polite and coming across an intelligent person and speaker is almost irrelevant in programming interviews. If you botch the BST problem, you're probably not getting the job...
msrpotus 14y ago
I always do it; never sure if it actually had any impact.
gojomo 14y ago
People actually do it. It's not universal. It won't hurt, and if it manages to emphasize a candidate's interest/attentiveness at the right time, can help a little.
bps4484 14y ago
[this is obviously just my personal opinion] When I'm hiring programmers, I don't care about thank you notes. I don't care because how good a programmer is has nothing to do with being skilled at social niceties, networking, and so on. For a business side role, however, these things are a must, and thank you notes can be good indicators.
lsc 14y ago
a 'thank you' note, a generic one means nothing... but a follow up is a very good idea, if you can convey you are excited about the job. (but you have to be excited about /that/ job for some reason; not excited about a job in general.) I mean, a follow up until you get a firm 'no' is standard in most sales, and make no mistake about it, interviewing for a job is sales.
- mikecarlucci 14y ago
  I agree. I've always thought it was a combination: a thank you that the person took time to talk to you and with you about the position (especially a non-HR employee), a follow up to the interview if there were other questions or to send a work sample as discussed during the interview, and to state again something that marks you as a fit for the position.
saraid216 14y ago
I usually thank each interviewer after the interview. They say thanks for coming in and I say thanks for spending the time on me. Basic courtesy. But everywhere I've interviewed at has used a loop of interviewers, so a thank-you note doesn't really make much sense unless I spam their loop... and that still doesn't make any sense.
glimcat 14y ago
I've been known to follow up a couple days later with a concise report on some issue they mentioned having in-house. It seems to be better received than null-content pings.
omnivore 14y ago
Seems insincere to me, really. Unless they're the only candidate and you know you want to hire them and it's meant to start some kind of dialogue or relationship. Otherwise, it's just awkward because it's not as if you can tell them anything until you make a decision. And yes, there's the added "every interview advice column" tells you to do this. It might have mattered back in the days of hand-typed letters and I'm sure some stickler curmudgeons still want to see it as some rite of passage/hazing thing.
joncooper 14y ago
I only send them when I actually enjoyed the interview, which as it turns out has had a correlation of 1 to job offers received.

by j_baker 14y ago

ismarc 14y ago

I've frequently done this, usually bringing up something I remembered later, clarifying something or asking additional questions. It's particularly useful if you can reference something that will associate the email with the person.. I usually go for 3 to 7 days after the interview. It's the "i'm still interested in working for YOU" email that also keeps you fresh in their minds.

notJim 14y ago

When I've interviewed people, this almost always strikes me as artificial and insincere—something people only do because someone told them to when they were in college.

swdunlop 14y ago
As a frequent interviewer, I regarded it as a sign that the interviewee had read a few articles somewhere and paid it almost no attention.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

rm999 14y ago

I was wondering the same thing. I've never sent one after interviewing someone, and no one has ever sent me one. I honestly don't think it could help, I've usually made up my opinion before they have a chance to do anything. Also, something feels very insecure/desperate about it, like calling someone 30 minutes after a date. I do always personally thank the person (with a handshake) for taking the time to interview me or taking the time to let me interview them, though. But that's just common courtesy.

jboggan 14y ago

I'm doing it right now as I'm applying to and interviewing with startups and more established companies in SF/SV. Even though my domain seems to be in really high demand right now (data science/network analysis) I'm trying to be gracious, quick, and communicative with potential employers because I want to indicate that I'm that kind of person in a team environment in addition to my technical assets. It seems to be working pretty well so far, especially with smaller shops that are moving quickly. In the words of one founder I spoke with today, "we have a hiring timeframe of yesterday" and I think it is important to show them you are rarin' to go. As a side note - if you are applying to startups, write your cover letters while sitting in SF/SV coffee shops that are known startup hotbeds. If you strike up friendly conversations with random folks wearing the right t-shirts you'll often get recommendations to apply to places you've never heard of, perhaps with a friendly "in" if you can impress them by being a personable, well-balanced individual. As a shameless plug, hit me up if you are looking for a data geek or someone who honestly loses sleep over graph algorithms.

benhamner 14y ago
Shoot me a message if you're interested in Kaggle - ben@kaggle
veyron 14y ago
If you are going to ask that, you should leave contact information either in the post or in your user profile. Otherwise how would people contact you?
- bartonfink 14y ago
  Seconded, especially if you're open to relocating to Denver. I know for a fact that we could use a data person where I work.
- jboggan 14y ago
  Can I give you all my karma for pointing out this oversight? I thought my email was visible, fixed and thanks!

capkutay 14y ago

I think being polite and coming across an intelligent person and speaker is almost irrelevant in programming interviews. If you botch the BST problem, you're probably not getting the job...

msrpotus 14y ago

I always do it; never sure if it actually had any impact.

gojomo 14y ago

People actually do it. It's not universal. It won't hurt, and if it manages to emphasize a candidate's interest/attentiveness at the right time, can help a little.

bps4484 14y ago

[this is obviously just my personal opinion] When I'm hiring programmers, I don't care about thank you notes. I don't care because how good a programmer is has nothing to do with being skilled at social niceties, networking, and so on. For a business side role, however, these things are a must, and thank you notes can be good indicators.

lsc 14y ago

a 'thank you' note, a generic one means nothing... but a follow up is a very good idea, if you can convey you are excited about the job. (but you have to be excited about /that/ job for some reason; not excited about a job in general.) I mean, a follow up until you get a firm 'no' is standard in most sales, and make no mistake about it, interviewing for a job is sales.

mikecarlucci 14y ago
I agree. I've always thought it was a combination: a thank you that the person took time to talk to you and with you about the position (especially a non-HR employee), a follow up to the interview if there were other questions or to send a work sample as discussed during the interview, and to state again something that marks you as a fit for the position.

saraid216 14y ago

I usually thank each interviewer after the interview. They say thanks for coming in and I say thanks for spending the time on me. Basic courtesy. But everywhere I've interviewed at has used a loop of interviewers, so a thank-you note doesn't really make much sense unless I spam their loop... and that still doesn't make any sense.

glimcat 14y ago

I've been known to follow up a couple days later with a concise report on some issue they mentioned having in-house. It seems to be better received than null-content pings.

omnivore 14y ago

Seems insincere to me, really. Unless they're the only candidate and you know you want to hire them and it's meant to start some kind of dialogue or relationship. Otherwise, it's just awkward because it's not as if you can tell them anything until you make a decision. And yes, there's the added "every interview advice column" tells you to do this. It might have mattered back in the days of hand-typed letters and I'm sure some stickler curmudgeons still want to see it as some rite of passage/hazing thing.

joncooper 14y ago

I only send them when I actually enjoyed the interview, which as it turns out has had a correlation of 1 to job offers received.