Do people still . . .

Of course, by the time you write the note, mail it, wait for the post office to deliver it to a mailroom where it might sit for a couple of days before sitting in a pile of mail on someone's desk until he or she comes back from a trip....the other applicants may have already sent emails.

Nothing wrong with an email to say thank you. But always, always, say thank you.

 

I honestly have never heard of sending our 'change-of-job announcements'.
How many do this? What do you say? Is it a post card or note card or email?
Really, inquiring mind(s) want to know.

 

if you're bright enough to anticipate this in advance you should have thank you cards and stamps with you. you get home and mail them immediately. or if you flew in, write them on the plane ride home.

always always always send thank you notes.

 

Thanks, I wondered who was going to get to the e-mail thing first.

You'd think I'd be more old-school, I guess, but modern technology being what it is, I would think an e-mail would be just fine. And since it's easier to do, you can even make it a little more personal to the situation than a "form" one sent by snail mail.

Certainly, when I interview somebody, an e-mail is plenty.

 

Don't send anything.

That way I'll have a better chance at getting that job because I'm definitely sending one.

 

I got advice from someone on this board once to a.) always send thank you notes and b.) send them before you leave town so they know you did it immediately. For my most recent job interview, I wrote them in the airport bar then had to beg a security guard to drop them in a mailbox because there weren't any on premises.

Got the job. Not saying anything...just saying.

 

I did that a few times in my 20s after being shot down by some papers that were a just bit outside my reach at that point in my career. One of them replied, saying it was a good move and I'd learn a lot there, so he encouraged me to reapply after a year or two at the new paper. By then I had other priorities, so I never found out if he was sincere.

 

This is a pretty small industry. I had an interview go kinda strange one time and didn't send a thank-you. Saw the interviewer at an event a few months later and regretted not following up.

 

It wouldn't hurt to send one. I never have, but I've managed to move up in the profession. I think any editor who disqualifies a candidate for not sending one when the clips are good and the interview went well is a bit unreasonable.

 

I was actually inspired by my mother to do this. She changed jobs a couple of months before I did and sent out a little postcard with her new e-mail, place of biz, phone number, etc. and said "Let's stay in touch."

Now, I'm not a woman so it sounds a little foppish for me to do the same, so I put a couple of local sports schedules on mine so the people I sent them out to would (ostensibly) keep it on their fridge for a while.

 

I've been in this business nearly a decade and I have never heard of "thank you" notes after the interview.
I just got home from an out-of-town interview tonight, logged on here and read this. I immediately sent one out. In my opinion, the interview went a little better than "okay." I was tired and had a head cold, so I wasn't my sharpest, but I was the only one of four candidates who offered to show up in person for the interview. Here's to hoping that fact and the recently sent note push me ahead of the others.
If it works/helps, I'll certainly do it again if need be. It takes five minutes. I just did it via e-mail.

SSM

 

Short e-mails within 48 hours that touch on a particular part of the interview are always a part of the process for me. Does it make a difference in the end? I feel good about the courtesy, so it does.