Thank you letters after interview

[jlee306]

My interview was on 2/26/10 and I just heard today (3/1/10) that I was accepted. I am wondering what are the best ways to write a thank you letter to the interviewers? It was a group interview and we rotated to 3 different interviewers. So do I send a letter to each interviewer or just to the department? And what should I include in the letter? Should I also include my thanks for being accepted in this letter? Suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!

[iWILLgetin]

I say send a letter to each interviewer. I did (via email), and one of my interviewers replied to it that I was accepted into their lab! but you're already accepted so you don't need to worry about this.

I thanked them for taking time to interview me, and thanked them again if they were not one of my originally scheduled interviewers.

Also, bring up something memorable about your conversation, and why you are excited to work in their lab.

Remind them of why they want you.

By all means, thank them for admission, and let them know you're enthusiasm, especially if they are your top choice.

hope this helps!

[fuzzylogician]

First of all, congrats!

If you have your interviewers' names and email addresses, the best thing is to send them each their own email. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you and mention something specific you talked about that was memorable. You can also go ahead and mention that you were accepted, and if it's someone in your subfield then maybe you can follow that up with questions, if you have any. Showing enthusiasm is always a good thing.

[pea-jay]

I didnt have a formal interview, but took up both school's offers to visit and talk with admin staff and professors. I met two at each school and corresponded with a third at one. Even though none of this was formal, like PHD candidates, I still sent thank you's especially to the admin staff.

[phdsucceed]

Congratulations on the acceptance!

Absolutely write a thank-you note to each interviewer. If you write one to the department, it will be read by a departmental secretary and potentially lost. In any case, it won't be sufficiently personalized to make a good impact.

Do you know who your adviser will be? Include in the thank-you letter some mention of specific projects (if any) that you are looking forward to working on, or some class you might take that one of them teaches, or whatever it was you discussed. If there wasn't any specific mention of some way in which you will interact with them in the future, you can just write you're looking forward to joining the department and future discussions with them.

(I didn't see this thread before I blogged about thank-you notes, but it still kind of applies to your situation.)

[firstchoice2011]

hi

its really important to write in thank you note to your interviewer. It can make or break your chances of getting a job. Here are few links that can help you

http://getgoodatlife24.blogspot.com/2011/05/email-thank-you-note-after-interview_26.html

http://getgoodatlife24.blogspot.com/2011/05/email-thank-you-note-after-interview.html

http://www.squidoo.com/interview-thank-you-note

[colakyngo]

Hi

Thanks for the insight. I look forward to reading more about your businesses!

If you want to get more materials that related to this topic, you can visit: Phone interview thank you letter

Best regards.

[InquilineKea]

What if I interviewed a professor via Skype before applying, and now in the process of waiting for decisions?

[socihealth]

I wonder that too. I always write thank you notes, but I don't want a pre-acceptance note to be mistaken for pandering.

[fuzzylogician]

A thank you note right after the interview seems fine to me, I don't think it would be construed as pandering. Sending a thank you note/email long after the fact just to remind the professor of your existence, however, is something that I would not advise.

[CarlieE]

so... handwritten notes or emails or cards?

[TypeA]

I'm not applying for PhD programs, but I did have a brief (~30 mins) interview with a potential adviser for a public health program I applied to. This is the brief thank you email I sent the following day:

Dr. Awesome,

It was a pleasure to meet with you during Monday’s on-site visit day. I enjoyed our conversation, and am excited by all of the opportunities that Michigan has to offer. It’s great to know that the school has faculty interested in mental health policy, and that I could supplement coursework with actual research in that particular domain.

The visit confirmed that the department of Health Management and Policy is a wonderful fit for me, and I look forward to hearing back from the school soon.

If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks again!

Best,

TypeA

[contact info]

Pretty much follows what fuzzylogician suggested... almost two years ago.

Edited February 1, 2012 by TypeA

[coonskee]

so... handwritten notes or emails or cards?

For me, it was handwritten notes for the POIs with whom I interviewed and the grad coordinator, who was of immense help to me and super nice to boot. For professors whom I met over the course of the weekend who had nothing to do with my research interests but were great to talk to (two of them), I sent them a quick thank you email. One of these actually ended up with the prof sending me a paper of his that we briefly discussed - it was completely unexpected, totally fascinating, and got me really pumped up for the school!