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[Applying in UK]

In the US it is quite common to send a thank you note after an interview, because of the high effort involved.

Is this also common in the UK, where interviews are much shorter ?

Thanks !

Applying in UK

[%sig%]

[British person]

They usually make a decision the same day as the interviews, so it is not likely to help your chances of getting the job. I once had an interview where I received a phone call on the train less than 40 miles from the university I had just been interviewed at.

However, it can't do any harm and politeness is always appreciated.

[sidey]

Although many British academics will mock you mercilessly for doing so....

[to British person]

> They usually make a decision the same day as the interviews, so
> it is not likely to help your chances of getting the job. I
> once had an interview where I received a phone call on the
> train less than 40 miles from the university I had just been
> interviewed at.

But that's the exception, right ? I was told about "a couple of days" to decide.
>
> However, it can't do any harm and politeness is always
> appreciated.

Great ;-)

[%sig%]

[To sidey]

sidey wrote:

> Although many British academics will mock you mercilessly for
> doing so....

But they (in part. the SC) won't hold it against you ?

[%sig%]

[science expat]

I wouldn't send a thank you note.  

It's part of the US myth but I've never heard/seen of it in the UK. And on every interview panel I've been on, the decision is made as soon as all the candidates have been seen. Notifying them may, of course, take longer.

[sidey]

Agreeing with science expat (as usual).

I wouldn't either: I've been offered a number of jobs in the UK over the years, and it just isn't part of the culture.

[mouse]

Hmmm, I don't know the answer -- just dropped in b/c I was curious.

Surely a candidate could say "thank you" for someone's effort because he or she was thankful, regardless of the search outcome, right?

[science expat]

Mouse, with respect, sidey's first post was dead on.

It's a cultural thing and the Brits would really have a laugh at a thank you note. It's just not done here.

Remember that we're "two people separated by a common language"...

[puzzled]

WEll, I never sent a Thank you note for the Interview in the US. I guess a society with cultural diversity would figure not to judge an international applicant/candidate for not sending in a Thank you note. By the way, the committee and Chairperson didn't even bother to send a nice letter thanking the applicant for the time spent on the whole search process either. A lousy email was all he got!!! ANyways, the Thank You should be both ways. I guess you thank for the opportunity or the consideration, etc.
  I guess in the US there are many peoples separated by one common language...

[British person]

>But that's the exception, right ? I was told about "a couple of days" to decide

I've only ever had two interviews where they took more than a day to decide- both at the same university (though different departments).

[ackeypoo]

>> But that's the exception, right ? I was told about "a couple of days" to decide.


Phone call at the end of the day of the interview is the norm, if not certainly the next day.

[uk-based]

Given that the decisions are made so fast, I've never had time to write  formal thank-you letter. If you didn't get the job, it's OK then to respond to that communication by thanking them for their time & consideration (although you might not want to at that moment) and if you want to, asking for any feedback, that they are prepared to give on your application.

[mouse]

That's what I meant, "uk-based."  I sense from this thread that in the UK a "thank you" is considered to be a ploy, rather than an expression of thanks.   Personally, there are many circumstances in which I would consider an expression of thanks appropriate, job offer or not.  The cynical (and dare I say thank-less?) perspectives expressed here are a bit offputting....  But then again, I have noticed cynicism to be one of the biggest differences between European culture (not just British) and American in general.

[sidey]

Mouse - it's not simply that they would consider it a ploy: many UK academics - especially those of the old school - would consider it a 'hideous americanism', or a manifestation of 'professionalisation' - both of which are most often held in deep contempt in UK institutions...

It's just the way they are.