Is it cool to NOT send a thank you email? Forum

[jay115]

I got multiple offers from V10 firms and didn't send a single thank you post-callback. I only wrote to/called the partner who gave me the offer. Thank-yous are a waste of time unless you have something important to say.

And a friend of mine send thank you notes to interviewers after screeners, and he has multiple V10 offers as well.

I'm not sure what either anecdotal account proves, except that it appears to not matter. Send them or don't send them.

Exactly, but I would send them anyways because:

The particular partner I was warned about was friendly and personable, he apparently just thinks it is kind of obnoxious and a ridiculous waste of time to send thank you notes in this context. I don't think it speaks poorly of him or the firm's culture at all.

this is bullshit. One has to wonder the size of the stick up a hiring partner's ass if s/he decides not to hire you because s/he had to spent that extra 3 seconds to delete, rather than read, your generic thank-you email.

Most callback interviewers had made up their minds whether to recommend to hire you before you stepped one foot into their office - so you're letter probs won't get you an offer. However, a couple people responded to thank you emails at a firm I eventually accepted an offer from, and I think those relationships are worth the time to write a personalized thank you email.

These firms are considering whether to pay you over $3K for 10 weeks to do work a liberal arts undergrad could do for free. Don't cut corners; get off TLS and write your damn emails.

[YourCaptain]

Sending a thank-you email to your OCI-interviewer after they bring you in for the CB can be helpful, but otherwise I do not believe that it's really necessary.

[Anonymous User]

I decided to not send "thank yous" at my first three CB's (pre-OCI) and was already rejected from two of them. Probably for other reasons other than a note, but since the hiring committee met so much later than my interviews, a lack of "thank you" may have made the firm think I wasn't interested (and this is non-NYC).

I'm personally going to change my tactic and start doing "thank yous". I'd rather risk a typo then come off disinterested.

[Anonymous User]

I sent thank-you notes to the people on my first callback, at a V50. Rejected.

Didn't send anything to the people at my second callback, at a V20. Offer.

[quiver]

Welp, I'm glad we could reach a clear consensus on this topic...

[Anonymous User]

Welp, I'm glad we could reach a clear consensus on this topic...

I think, if anything, the proof is coming down heavily in favor of it not mattering. X (offer) happens with Y (thank-you letters), but X also occurs without Y. Certainly seems to me that we can find neither correlation nor causation.

[Anonymous User]

I got multiple offers from V10 firms and didn't send a single thank you post-callback. I only wrote to/called the partner who gave me the offer. Thank-yous are a waste of time unless you have something important to say.

And a friend of mine send thank you notes to interviewers after screeners, and he has multiple V10 offers as well.

I'm not sure what either anecdotal account proves, except that it appears to not matter. Send them or don't send them.

Is this really your analysis? Of course it doesn't matter. That's why you objectively should not send them. I usually meet with 5 to 10 attorneys at CBs. It would take at least an hour to draft and proofread thank you notes to all of them. Since it can only hurt you and since I'm up to my neck in chores, I'm not writing thank you notes.

[Anonymous User]

Is this really your analysis? Of course it doesn't matter. That's why you objectively should not send them. I usually meet with 5 to 10 attorneys at CBs. It would take at least an hour to draft and proofread thank you notes to all of them. Since it can only hurt you and since I'm up to my neck in chores, I'm not writing thank you notes.

Unnecessary hating

[Anonymous User]

I got multiple offers from V10 firms and didn't send a single thank you post-callback. I only wrote to/called the partner who gave me the offer. Thank-yous are a waste of time unless you have something important to say.

And a friend of mine send thank you notes to interviewers after screeners, and he has multiple V10 offers as well.

I'm not sure what either anecdotal account proves, except that it appears to not matter. Send them or don't send them.

Is this really your analysis? Of course it doesn't matter. That's why you objectively should not send them. I usually meet with 5 to 10 attorneys at CBs. It would take at least an hour to draft and proofread thank you notes to all of them. Since it can only hurt you and since I'm up to my neck in chores, I'm not writing thank you notes.

It doesn't matter ----> don't send them. One doesn't follow from the other.

Some of us only have to meet with 3-5 partners during a CB. It took me about 3 minutes to write a couple of lines per person. And since we're all looking for jobs as lawyers, I don't think it should be too much of a problem to make sure it's error free, right?

I'm still missing how it can hurt you. Sure, if you have a typo or mis-spell someone's name, it can be a detriment. But that's crazy. We're presumably all diligent enough to be able to send a couple lines of email text that are error free.

I've been interviewing at offices of less than 50 attorneys. Having talked to some of these people last year, there were a number who said that the notes were appreciated. Might it make a difference? Who cares. It's good manners.

[Anonymous User]

Actually, rationally, "it doesn't matter" does lead to the conclusion that you should not send them. If it has no effect, why put in the work, even if its minimal? Your argument is that it does matter a little bit, and so it's worth the little bit of effort. I disagree. Ultimately though, whether or not you send a thank you note is a triviality, and the answer to OP's original question is, "Yes, it's very cool not to send thank you emails."

[keg411]

Actually, rationally, "it doesn't matter" does lead to the conclusion that you should not send them. If it has no effect, why put in the work, even if its minimal? Your argument is that it does matter a little bit, and so it's worth the little bit of effort. I disagree. Ultimately though, whether or not you send a thank you note is a triviality, and the answer to OP's original question is, "Yes, it's very cool not to send thank you emails."

I think it may matter in terms of showing interest -- especially for smaller or regional firms (probably not so much for big NYC firms that make the decision that day). Like I said, I chose not to send "thank yous" so far and it's one of many things I regret about recruiting season. It seems like "good manners" and I'm kicking myself for not doing it because it probably sent out a "rude and disinterested" vibe.

[luthersloan]

Even though I am generally very anti-thank you note I agree with the above. In smaller or more regional firms, especially those in the south, Thank yous might help. But not in NYC BigLaw.