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[Worried]

Hello,

I've just had my first few on-campus interviews and was told by my adviser and other fellow graduate students that I should write thank-you letters to everyone who took the time to meet with me. So I did, but I have been reading the messages in this forum and it seems that there is a consensus that this shows desperation.

My question is if I was the strongest candidate, can the letters hurt my chances of getting the position? Will the faculty members think negatively of me?

Thank you for your help.

[B.F.]

I do not think there is a consensus on this issue in the posts on this discussion board. You do find people who argue strongly for and against sending thank-you letters. There is a countless number of things that can be held against you when the committee decides who to offer a position. The question is whether this is an important issue. I believe that it will not be an important factor and that any committee that holds it against you will demonstrate that you are better off not getting the position.

[Pippin]

If you are the strongest candidate, an excess of courtesy will not work against you. They will find it charming.

[Search Committee Member]

As you've already heard, there are many viewpoints on this issue. From my own experience on the hiring side, I can't think that either thing (a lot of thank-yous or none) would be "held against" a candidate: It's simply too petty a point to count among the things we're looking for.

I'd say that a letter to everyone you've talked to would be overkill. I do think a letter (or e-mail) to the chair of the department and/or the chair of the search committee sends a signal that you are still interested in the job after you've seen the campus and learned about its demands and your potential colleagues. I have been at final ranking discussions where someone has said, "That person didn't send a thank-you; do you think s/he is really interested or is there a good chance we'd be jerked around for weeks before getting a yes or no?" But I don't recall any meeting at which that comment decided us against ranking a first-choice candidate first anyway.

[Doug]

I repeat:

Who has time to send or even read a slew of thank-you letters from anxious job candidates? Certainly not harried interview-committee members who barely remember who you are. Do they really appreciate these insipid notes?

What exactly are you thanking them for anyway? For interviewing you? Interviewing you is part of their job. They had a post to fill and you were judged qualified enough to be interviewed. In my view, a thank-you note is unnecessary unless something unusual happens that might cause someone to go out of his or her way to assist you.

I’m sure there are many here who will disagree, but I am from the school of thought that says perfunctory or insincere thank-you notes from desperate job candidates is a waste of time and diminishes a sentiment that should be genuinely offered. If you have to take a poll on a discussion board before offering a note of thanks, how sincere can your sentiments be?

Treating people with courtesy and respect during an interview is what all of us should do in a civil society; such treatment does not require a specific note of thanks.

The last thing job candidates need to do is spend money they do not have on mechanical thank-you notes and postage.

[P]

I agree with BF -- it won't be a major factor. And not doing so would be a good indication of your approach to this profession as a professional, rather than a fawning wanabee.

They did their job (interviewing you), and you did yours (showing up and behaving like a real candidate). So where's the need to force Emily Post into this non-social situation?

I have, however, sent along thank yous after the decision has been made (not in my favor ...) for those with whom I enjoyed special contact: notably, the potential colleague who fetched me from the airport at well past 1:00 a.m. when my flight was delayed, and came with coffee and snack in hand! But that's just "human."

[KKP]

As someone who has spent time outside of academe, I find the idea that someone would be offended by a simple note of thanks odd. After a recent campus interview, I sent a brief e-mail to each of those with whom I met and received warm responses. Granted, I did not end up being their first-choice candidate (and I do not think that decision hinged on thank-you notes), but I would feel comfortable contacting any of them again about research. After all, in addition to interviewing, you are meeting new colleagues. I don't see how civility would be annoying to anyone who shares a desire to treat others in kind.

Having said that, if someone is obnoxious or an interview is unpleasant due to some departmental problems, I would not send thank-you notes. You need to be genuine. If you do not feel that your new acquaintances are something for which you should be thankful, then do not send insincere messages.

I would also like to add that either way, I do not believe that sending or not sending a thank-you note will impact the choice of the committee (although I have no empirical evidence to support that claim).

[AL]

I strongly agree with KKP and I am deeply amused by this post as Miss Manners has a column about this issue which was printed today.

She says -- and I agree -- that saying thank you is a simple courtesy and that people appreciate it. No, you probably should not send a thank you to every person on the committee (that is overkill and rather foolish as your interactions with every person may have varied in terms of time and the effort the other person put into the meeting) but there is nothing wrong with saying thanks to people. In fact, it indicates that you have good social skills (and having good social skills is very important in any profession -- in fact, I have seen people not get jobs because their social skills were poor).

Reading some of these posts gives me a better understanding as to why so many people seem to think that academics have poor social skills. Most children's books about manners stress something which seems to be missing from the posts here: Simply put, manners are about treating other people well; oddly they are not about you and other people's reactions to you. You show people courtesy and acknowledge their efforts because you genuinely appreciate what they have done -- not because you are trying to suck up to people.

If you really believe that basic courtesy indicates that you are desperate ... well, that's a pretty sad comment on the state of the academic job market and the nature of behavior which is expected in academe.

[Mary]

I didn't send any thank-you notes after my MLA interviews, because something told me it would look smarmy. But that's just me ...

What I did do is e-mail the head of a particularly wonderful department -- a department that decided not to bring me to campus -- to tell her how much I enjoyed meeting her and the other members of the committee, and that anyone getting the position would be lucky to get to work with such warm, wonderful, dedicated people. She appreciated it, too.

I try to make my messages mean something, as opposed to sending out a slew of blah-blah-blah ... . This could well be the first and last time I ever do what I mentioned above, but they deserved it.

[Searcher]

I would strongly argue for sending thank-you notes, especially to members of small departments. Each of us on the four searches I've participated in has spent a lot of time with candidates, from meals to interviews to job talks. And personally, I sent thank-you notes to everyone who spent time with me.

Until you're on a search committee, you don't realize how much work and time it demands; a note of thanks makes our work feel appreciated. If you're worried about overkill (or just lack of originality), just ask the chair to forward your appreciation to the rest of the department.

Good luck!

[Bookish]

After two campus visits this season, I sent brief e-mailed thank-yous to the chair and the dean. The chair, especially, is someone with whom you've spent a good part of three days with and gotten to know as a person, and it seems reasonable to send a quick note saying "Thanks, I really enjoyed seeing the campus and meeting the faculty," adding some individual detail.

For one job, I came in #2. I got the other job and am delighted with it.

By the way, in case you're wondering, I accepted a glass of wine at dinner and drank half -- can't imagine that made a difference either way. And I did not hide the fact that I am married with children. I figure if they can't get past that, I don't want to work with them.

Good luck!