From a logistical perspective, interviews can be a pain to schedule for recruiting teams and job seekers alike. It’s hard to get out of work to interview and from the company side, it’s hard to ensure the interviewers are available, book rooms, etc. For this reason (and just for the sake of efficiency) you’ll often be asked to come in for multiple interviews on the same day.
After going through 4 interviews on the same day, my brother texted me and asked if it was okay to send the same thank you note to multiple interviewers… and it’s a great question because how creative can you really be with a thank you note?
Here’s my answer…
The thank you note is part of the overall impression you’re leaving on your interviewer, and of course you want it to be a strong one and a positive one. So while you shouldn’t write the exact same thank you note to more than one interviewer… a slight customization will do the trick. Also, be sure to send separate emails or handwritten notes to each person versus adding all interviewers onto the same one.
The reason I say you shouldn’t send the same thank you note multiple times stems from my own experience as a recruiter.
The best (and most impactful) thank you notes I’ve received…
- Were enthusiastic – they showed passion and enthusiasm for the job and for the company.
- Were thoughtful – the note was clearly written with some care and thoughtfulness versus quickly typed up on an iPhone on the way home from the interview and sent off.
- Connected with me personally in some way – The goal of an interview is not only to prove you’re qualified for the job, but also to form a connection with the interviewer in some way. Whether you connected about an interesting topic or just about the job the interviewer does within the company, bring it up in the thank you note.
- Assured me the candidate was perfect for the job – Walked out of the interview feeling like you were an amazing fit for the job? Say it again here and say why (i.e. “my experience doing X will enable me to hit the ground running in the Y role.”)
So back to the question at hand… # 1, 2, and 4 of the above can stay pretty much the same across thank you notes. Feel free to slightly change wording or reiterate certain things you discussed with that person in the interview.
However, #3 really does need to be personalized to the person you interviewed with. Making that connection really is the key to a great thank you/follow up note.
Want more information on what to actually write in a thank you note? I have a more detailed post on this topic including a thank you note template here.
Thank You notes in image above are from Minted.com
