Should you send a thank-you note to the interviewer? The internet’s divided.

If you think it’s customary to send a thank-you note after a job interview, you may need to reevaluate your stance — or do you? Traditionally, sending a note of thanks to a hiring manager or recruiter is seen as a polite way to follow up after an interview, but as it turns out, the internet is divided on whether or not the practice is now outdated.

An August 2021 post on the career website Fairygodboss shed new light on the situation.

“I think they’re a waste of your time,” wrote Sarah Parsons, a leadership and career coach and CEO of the boutique consulting company Strategy Sarah.

Parsons went on to explain that in larger companies, handwritten notes can and will get lost in the shuffle and that emails just contribute to the “endless inbox clutter” of professionals who already receive an overabundance of emails.

“If, and only if, you have a follow-up thought to the conversation or helpful article to share, then, yes, send an email,” Parsons wrote. “The only reason to communicate is if you have additional value to provide.”

Comments on Parsons’ post were notably split on the issue, so I reached out to professionals across the U.S. who make hiring decisions to see what advice they have for job seekers when it comes to sending a thank-you note after an interview. 

Can a thank-you note change your interviewer’s mind?

No, it probably can’t.

“I don���t know of a single hiring manager who has changed a hiring decision based on receiving or not receiving a thank you note,” Parsons wrote in her post.

The hiring professionals who disagreed with the concept of sending a thank-you note homed in on this as well.

“A thank-you note won’t get you a job,” Jared Stern, founder and CEO of Uplift Legal Funding, which gives people loans for legal fees, said. “A skill set will.”

Several other HR pros agreed that a lack of follow-up likely won’t make or break their final hiring decision. But the decision whether or not to send a thank-you note is still a gamble, because how your message is perceived really all hinges on the personality of the recruiter or hiring manager.

“This is a practice I’ve seen go out of style, and I no longer hold it against candidates who don’t, but those who send thoughtful thank-you emails after an interview do stand out to me, and I’ll let the hiring manager and anyone else involved know that they did so,” Natalie Morgan, senior director of people at CareerPlug, a recruiting software company, said. “It’s a small thing, but it shows you want to work for us. And as much as employers want people who can do the job, they also want people who want to do the job.”

Mark Daoust, CEO of Quiet Light, a company that helps sell ecommerce companies, said that in his experience, thank-you notes can actually point to a lack of professional boundaries.

“As a recruiter, I can say that I would rather not receive a thank-you note from someone who I have interviewed for a position,” he said. “Firstly, imagine how cluttered my inbox would be if I received a thank-you note from everyone I interviewed. Secondly, I would feel uncomfortable that there was some implicit expectation that goes along with it.”

Who you’re sending a thank-you note to matters

Eric Thomas the CEO of Simple Solar Living, said that the decision whether or not to send an emailed thank-you note can depend on the size of the organization.

“For a small business like mine, a thank-you note after an interview would go a long way to increasing my estimation of an individual, post-interview,” Thomas said. “For a larger organization [that] is doing many interviews, sometimes for multiple positions, I think a thank-you note wouldn’t hurt, but it might be unlikely for your note to reach the person who you most want to see it, and therefore would negate the effect you’re going for.”

Julie Titterington, chief culture officer at MerchantMaverick.com, an online publication for small businesses, agreed that who you send your thank you note to can make a difference.

“More than once, I’ve received a thank-you note from a candidate that I didn’t personally interview, because the person simply searched all of the executive email addresses and cc’d everyone,” she said. “That kind of overeagerness can be a real turnoff. Make sure you are only thanking people you actually met during the interview process.”

Personalization is key

No hiring manager or recruiter had a problem with personalized email that adds value and continues the conversation started in your interview.

Nathan Tanner, vice president of people at Neighbor, the Airbnb of self-storage, noted that as he sees fewer thank-you notes come his way, it becomes a competitive advantage for those who do send them.

“A simple thank-you email is a nice touch and is always appreciated,” he said. “But if the candidate can directly call out what was learned in the interview and how they’ll make an impact at the company, it definitely makes them more attractive”

Again, recruiters and hiring managers receive so many emails. A generic note of thanks can be off-putting to some, but mentioning specifics about your interview can go a long way toward making the interviewer feel like you actually do appreciate their time.

“The email should be concise and illustrate your excitement about the prospect of joining the organization,” Mary Alice Pizana, a human resources manager with the Texas law firm Herrman and Herrman, said.

A thank-you note can reinforce your positive qualities

If you’re on the fence about sending a thank-you note, one way to look at the concept is that it can actually show off your writing skills, which is especially helpful if the role you’ve applied for depends on that skill set. It can also further illustrate a strong work ethic.

“A well-written thank-you note can leave a positive impression on the interviewer, showcasing the applicant’s written communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to follow up,” said Benjamin Farber, president of the boutique executive search firm Bristol Associates. “It is also an opportunity for candidates to share any last-minute information that they may have forgotten to mention during the interview. … As an executive recruiter, I have always valued and appreciated candidates who put in the time and effort to express their gratitude after an interview. Not only is sending a thank-you note a simple way for applicants to put their best foot forward, but it also reinforces their enthusiasm and genuine interest in the role and company.”

It’s safe to skip handwritten notes

One thing that most everyone seems to agree on at this point is that an email is more appropriate than a handwritten letter of thanks. In Parsons’ original post, she detailed an experience where she didn’t receive a piece of mail for a solid seven months after it was postmarked. A well-timed email is preferred by most professionals.

“As a hiring manager, I absolutely believe in the power of a follow-up thank you note after an interview,” Hillary Keller, chief marketing officer of the software company Flatirons Development, said. “The old-school way of sending a handwritten thank-you note in the mail is now defunct (which was still common when I was starting out in my career), but a thoughtful follow-up email after an interview shows me that the candidate cares about getting the job after leaving my office.”

Sending a thank-you note probably won’t hurt

According to a 2017 Accountemps survey of HR managers in the U.S., only one in every four candidates bothers to send a follow-up note, yet 80% of those surveyed agree that when they’re received, thank-you notes do help them make hiring decisions. At the end of the day, though, the decision to send a thank you note to follow up after an interview is a personal judgment call.

A well-written thank-you note takes time, energy, and effort to get right. The best advice is to send it promptly and make it personalized, but, still, keep it brief.

If you need some inspiration, take a look at some of the following tips on how to craft the perfect thank-you note after an interview:

How to write a thank you note after a remote interview (with examples)

That thank you note is costing you the job — write it this way instead

Use this after-interview thank you note sample to crush the hiring process

How to write the perfect thank you note after a job interview

5 things to include in a killer post-interview thank you (template included)