Thank you e-mails after interviews?

[blue]

I wanted to hear some input on this - is it appropriate to send thank-you e-mails to professors after interviews but before they have sent out admission decisions? Something simple like thanking them for their time, letting them know you've been impressed by their research and the school, and saying you look forward to hearing back from them? I also wanted to send an e-mail to the secretaries who organized the events letting them know it was great? Would it be strange and pushy?

[socialpsych]

I have sent thank-you emails to pretty much everybody I interviewed/met with one-on-one, as well as to all the department secretaries and/or students who organized the events, and everyone seemed to appreciate it. I don't think it's pushy at all.

[TulipOHare]

Not strange or pushy at all, as long as you keep it short and simple like you said. Do it.

[peacelily]

Definitely not strange or pushy. I've sent out short thank you emails to all professors I've met with. In fact, I've heard it's a bad idea not to send any follow-up thank you emails.

[Aceflyer]

Definitely not strange or pushy. I've sent out short thank you emails to all professors I've met with. In fact, I've heard it's a bad idea not to send any follow-up thank you emails.

Generally I think your chances won't be affected by whether you send or don't send thank-you emails. But I think it's good practice and good courtesy to send thank-you emails to people (profs, administrators, and student hosts) who you felt were particularly friendly or helpful. If you do decide to send someone a thank-you email, please make it sincere and specific - if you just plan on sending a 'form' letter I wouldn't bother, personally.

[peacelily]

Generally I think your chances won't be affected by whether you send or don't send thank-you emails. But I think it's good practice and good courtesy to send thank-you emails to people (profs, administrators, and student hosts) who you felt were particularly friendly or helpful. If you do decide to send someone a thank-you email, please make it sincere and specific - if you just plan on sending a 'form' letter I wouldn't bother, personally.

I agree that it probably won't affect your chances - I didn't mean to imply that, sorry. I just mean that thank you emails are a common courtesy in interview world, and some people (generally more old-fashioned ones) regard them as a necessity, so they might think of an interviewee as rude if they don't get a thank you from her.

I also agree about making emails personal - always a good idea to refer to something specific you talked about, like a particular area of their research that a professor described to you.

[socialpsych]

If you do decide to send someone a thank-you email, please make it sincere and specific - if you just plan on sending a 'form' letter I wouldn't bother, personally.

Really? I do feel a little guilty copy/pasting, but sometimes I sincerely want to thank multiple people for the same thing. I have gotten very warm responses from pretty generic notes. I don't think it hurts to send a generic thank-you...because really the point is to thank people! No?

[poofypoof]

I've done it for a few profs/grad students.

[fortiesgirl]

I sent cards, but then again I'm probably older than all of you :wink:

[blue]

Thank you all for your replies! I took your advice and sent short, personalized e-mails yesterday. Then I got one response, the worst it could possibly be... I'm rejected. :cry:

[Aceflyer]

Really? I do feel a little guilty copy/pasting, but sometimes I sincerely want to thank multiple people for the same thing. I have gotten very warm responses from pretty generic notes. I don't think it hurts to send a generic thank-you...because really the point is to thank people! No?

If you sincerely want to thank multiple people for the same thing you can send similar emails. I was just saying to customize whenever possible - if it isn't possible then don't sweat it.

[belowthree]

Actually I waited until *after* I was rejected at a place to thank the person I interviewed with. That actually worked out pretty well...

[blue]

Actually I waited until *after* I was rejected at a place to thank the person I interviewed with. That actually worked out pretty well...

What do you mean it worked out?

[belowthree]

What do you mean it worked out?

I mean that the next time I see that person at a conference we'll likely strike up a conversation and the tone will be cordial on both sides instead of things being awkward. She told me to keep her updated on where I end up and she looks forward to future interactions etc etc etc.

Just because I didn't get admitted doesn't mean I won't see that person again. She and I will probably meet in the future or at the very least I'll run into her students. Academia is a small world. It's always nice to have friends.

I think in many ways it's almost more important to send a thank you note after you get rejected than it is before if you care about seeing that person in the future. Before you get a decision back it's a more standard thing that doesn't mean much and to me seems a bit weird. (But do it if you want, by all means!) After it's a "oh well I guess that didn't work out, but thanks for giving it a shot, I guess I'll see you around?" kind of thing that also lets the other person know that you hold no ill-will against them and hope to interact with them under different circumstances anyways in the future. Do you think it'd be easy for them to say hi to you after the last thing they ever talked to you about was maybe going to their school and then it turns out you get rejected? That's got to be awkward for them too!

Then again, you should probably only pull this if you get the sense the interview went well and the person truly was interested in working with you. (And you were interested in working with them!) If not, then you probably shouldn't bother sending a thank you after a rejection!

Also, I waited a few weeks between the rejection and the note. I needed the time for myself and it probably wasn't a bad idea to give the prof some time as well.

[angesa01]

I just had an interview (a three person interview actually) and here is what I'm doing: I am sending individual emails to all three interviewers that are more or less the same, but slightly tweaked incase they CC each other and note that I responded. I get that that is highly unlikely, but I would be so embarassed if the three of them realized I sent the exact same note.

Hope it works out.

Here is a sample of what I wrote:

Dear Professor X,

Thank you for the interview and the chance to meet current students last Friday. I really enjoyed our conversation and thought that you and your colleagues raised very interesting and thought-provoking questions for me. Altogether, the visit further convinced me of the strengths of X's program in (program) and why I find the program such an ideal fit. I especially appreciated hearing about your particular research interests in music and society.

I remain extremely interested in the X University and look forward to hearing from the program soon.

Sincerely,

Name

(I don't know why I was compelled to take out anything descriptive). Feel free to use it as a template, or as an example of what not to do...

[coyabean]

I got responses to almost every thank you email I sent -- and a pretty quick admit, I might add! -- to the folks I interviewed with. So I think it does matter.

I would suggest not sending a blanket form letter type note. I tried to reference something I discussed or observed specific to the person I was emailing.

But, yeah, gratitude is never a bad idea.

[ecg1810]

I sent a card immediately after I got out of an interview--good idea, in my opinion.

[iWILLgetin]

I definitely plan on sending them. First off, it's good manners. Secondly, they may get the impression that you didn't really like the school if you don't, risking them giving your spot away to someone else.

[NeuroNerd86]

I send a "thank you" email to every professor with whom I interviewed, as well as my host graduate student and a program coordinator. I got prompt and incredibly sweet responses from each and every one of them. It felt great

[jeanne]

I agree with sending thank you notes, but what if you've talked more than once with a prof? Do you thank him every time?

I had a phone interview in January - sent a thank you email. Then I went to a visitation day (prof wasn't there but spent a lot of time with one of his grads). I sent a thank you to the grad and an email to the prof asking for a follow-up phone call to ask more specific questions his student couldn't answer. He called me back and we talked for about 45 minutes ... I don't have to send another thank you, do i? During the last phone call he mentioned he was going out of town five times this month and apologized for being super busy and not being there for the actual visitation day. Wouldn't a thank you email be obnoxious at that point?

[Tall Chai Latte]

i did something similar after my interview, which is not a bad idea!