Spinoff - Do you e-mail or snail mail your thank yous?

roar

Ten years ago, when I was still in college (and e-mail was a relatively new thing) I snail-mailed my thank-yous.

Now I e-mail them.

What do you do?

(This is in reference to a PP that said that if a thank you is not mailed then they don't hire them) 

LMandCJ

I email unless at the time of interview I was told they are interviewing more people over the next two weeks. I than feel like I have time to snail mail the thank you.

Dr.Loretta

Snail mail unless a decision will be made quickly.

I"m terribly old fashioned. I still like a paper TY

MrsWindyCity

Email, almost always. It gets there more quickly, and I don't have to worry about it getting lost in the mail. I also feel like it invites a response more than a snail mail TY would (even just a "great to meet you, we'll be making a decision soon" kind of thing). 

edith5hamilton

MrsWindyCity- that's a great point.  In a few cases, the email replies to my thank yous were informal offers for the position. 

fbf2006

I have always emailed mine. I don't see the point of mailing it. Even my offer letters have been sent via email

PinkRoses53

I always email. 

If it makes any difference, I used to be a corporate recruiter and preferred emailed thank you's.  They seemed more professional.

Staza424

I guess I'm old fashioned at the age of 27. I just snail mailed one today. To me, it takes a lot more effort to hand write a thank you and mail it than it does to email it. But, it could be looked at as more time efficient had I emailed it. If I was the hiring person, I'd prefer the handwritten.

 

FrannyS

Email is just fine. In my opinion, snail mail sends me a message that the person is not so up-to-date technologically or is much older. I can let mail sit in my in-bin for much longer than it takes to read an email.

mobraniff

I think it depends on the job. For example I work in a highly people and counseling centered field. So snail mailed thank you's are seen as a personal touch. But if you're looking for something in a more technologically savvy area you might want to send it via email. The point is that you take the time to send it at all! 

I always bring my thank you with me to the interview- maybe not completely prewritten but at least with the envelope stamped and the beginning of a message. Then as I am leaving I can stop at the corner coffee shop finish it, reflect on the interview and whether I would actually want to take the job if it were offered, and put that sucker in the mail. Then it is not something to remember a few days later, cause its already done! And it will get to them in two days rather than three or four when they could have already made a decision.

Also, if you're looking for the ease of the email contact you can always follow up a week later about the progress of the search and ask if they need anything additional to complete your file for the manager in charge of the search. This way you will not only be remembered once after you have left the office, but twice.

 Good luck!  

snansley

Email is fine, but I wish people would send them at all.  We are interviewing for a position now.  I have taken time to interview 3 people and not one of them has sent me a thank you.  It's really frustrating.

bunnyfriend5

I've always done regular mail simply because I didn't have the email of the person I interviewed with (usually just the HR department email). It felt awkward to me to call and ask for email just to send over a thank you note, like I might be bothering them for something that wasn't necessarily. I think I'll make a point to do it next time though because of all the reasons everyone listed.