Do not send "thank you" notes after OCI/callback interviews. Forum

[84651846190]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

[84651846190]

Like everything else in life, it is a judgment call. If you are interviewing with a very large office that has a huge summer class, there is probably little to be gained (but much to be lost) from sending a thank you note. If, however, you are interviewing at an office with a relatively small summer class, then I think there is quite a bit to be gained from thoughtful thank you notes that re-emphasize your interest in working in that particular office.

I took the time to write personal (but brief--as in two paragraph max) thank you notes to everyone with whom I interviewed during callbacks. With only one meaningless exception, I never heard anything back from the attorneys in the larger offices (think NYC-headquartered vault firms), but, not only did I get responses to most of the thank you notes sent to attorneys at smaller offices, I know that they helped get me offers at least two of those smaller offices (NYC satellite offices for non-NYC headquartered vault firms with summer classes of less than 10 SAs). And I know that from the direct feedback from the recruiters at each of those offices as they explicitly mentioned my thoughtful thank you notes when they extended their offers.

TLS generalizations are often quite useful, but do not substitute them for simply acting like a reasonable, sincere, polite human being if you actually have the ability to act in such a way.

I have absolutely no problem with these kinds of thank you notes if you make a good connection with an interviewer and want to score some brownie points. The kind I'm addressing in my OP are the ones that are clearly copy-paste jobs with almost no substance.

[84651846190]

Just be genuine about it. If you're inclined to do it, then send a note. No one will care because it's genuine. and it may even help you. If you're not that person, then don't force it because it'll come off fake and generalized, and it could hurt...

[Cicero76]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

I don't care if you don't like thank you notes. I don't care if you don't think they're necessary, or wouldn't write them yourself, or think they're stupid. You might even have a point. But your OP is that you actively dislike people who write a thank you note, and that is just obnoxious.

[84651846190]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

I don't care if you don't like thank you notes. I don't care if you don't think they're necessary, or wouldn't write them yourself, or think they're stupid. You might even have a point. But your OP is that you actively dislike people who write a thank you note, and that is just obnoxious.

No, my OP does *not* suggest that I actively dislike *all* people who write thank you notes. It suggests that I dislike people who send "canned" thank you notes because it communicates to me that 1) you didn't want to take the time to actually address anything that we talked about or personalize your thank you note in any way but 2) you still felt like you would somehow score easy points with me just by checking the "thank you note" box, even though you couldn't think of a single thing about our office/practice group/me/the area/my cool desk trinkets, etc. to mention in your note.

[6lehderjets]

[moneybagsphd]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

Maybe not because...

[beachbum]

Ya'll are getting way too upset about this. Dude conducts interviews, says he doesn't like thank-you notes. Great. That's another data point in the endless debate over the utility of thank-you notes.

Maybe he could've been more thoughtful in his phrasing (?), but I didn't see anything in there worthy of character assassination. And, even assuming this guy is indeed the Great Satan and we should all be super pissed, he's still sitting on the other side of the desk, interviewing law students. And a lot of people on this thread are law students. It seems to me that TLS should encourage people like OP to make these sorts of posts, even if what OP has to say isn't agreeable to everyone.

[ResIpsa21]

I am profoundly frightened about the future of the legal profession when saying "thank you" becomes a high-risk proposition.

At the same time, I also dislike receiving those obvious copy/paste e-mails -- not because it's a waste of my time to read, but because it feels disrespectful. It's kind of like when you get a birthday present for a kid and their parent yells at them to "say thank you!" and they stare off into space and mumble "...thank youuuuu" before running off to do something else. It's obviously insincere and I'd get nothing at all.

TCR, as DBG eloquently explained, is to use the opportunity effectively and say something meaningful. All you have to do is remember ONE thing you discussed during the interview and mention it in your e-mail to show you're not a cyborg law robot like most everyone else. There's only a risk if your thank you e-mail outs the fact that you were manufactured by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Otherwise, it's actually a good chance to show you're a decent person whom the interviewer might want to work with.

[2014]

Dear Mr. Biglaw_Associate_V20,

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to speak with me this [morning/afternoon] on my visit to [yourfirm, LLP]. I particularly appreciated hearing about your practice in [group], your individual career path as a [lateral/home grown] associate, as well as [insert anecdote]. After our conversation and similar ones with your colleagues, I really got the feeling that the work environment is exceptional at [Shortname for yourfirm, LLP] and this, combined with the high quality corporate work, really makes [Shortname] stand out amongst its peers in [Big City].

I remain highly interested in [Shortname] and should I be fortunate enough to get an offer, I would be very likely to accept. I really hope to have the chance to speak with you again in the future and would love to work with you this summer.

Thanks again and if I can provide you with any further information, please let me know.

Best Regards,
EagerRising2L

[Rahviveh]

Just doesn't sound like there's anything to be gained. Even if most attorneys won't be put-off by a generic/cookie-cutter thank you note, why bother if they aren't doing any good?

Seems like a stupid trend set by gunners and strivers that the rest of the sheep follow blindly. Like most things in law school. A sincere in-person "thank you for taking the time to speak to me" right after the interview should be enough.

JFC, it's not "gunning and striving." It's basic, if somewhat old-fashioned, courtesy.

Ok, but how many people are genuinely being courteous. How many people would send them if they were 100% sure it would bring no benefit or harm to them? Let's be honest here.

[jesus2121]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

Adhering to idiotic social niceities is called "society" and people who don't are generally somewhere along the autism scale and/or take inordinate pride in what they view as some sort of indication that they are not "part of the system."

Most normal people will read a thank-you note and not give a fuck one way or the other. Whether or not it should or should not be the norm is irrelevant and your passive aggressive post-interview angst about it isn't going to change it. Either be straightforward and tell people not to send them or get used to it and stop being a dick about it.

Of course if we're talking about one-liner copy-pasted thank yous then that's a different story...

[ymmv]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

Adhering to idiotic social niceities is called "society" and people who don't are generally somewhere along the autism scale and/or take inordinate pride in what they view as some sort of indication that they are not "part of the system."

Most normal people will read a thank-you note and not give a fuck one way or the other. Whether or not it should or should not be the norm is irrelevant and your passive aggressive post-interview angst about it isn't going to change it. Either be straightforward and tell people not to send them or get used to it and stop being a dick about it.

Of course if we're talking about one-liner copy-pasted thank yous then that's a different story...

+1

[Anonymous User]

By the time you send your thank you note, the recipient has already filed his or her feedback with the recruiting folks. So it is a completely meaningless gesture. Do it if you want, but it has absolutely zero practical impact.

[sfoglia]

Okay, so, I don't send electronic thank you notes, but I have always sent handwritten "thank you" cards after any interview. They don't say "thank you" explicitly on them - think nice, but in no way flowery, stationary. I keep it short and simple, and also personalize to the addressee. What is the general consensus on this? Also a no go?

[rpupkin]

Okay, so, I don't send electronic thank you notes, but I have always sent handwritten "thank you" cards after any interview. They don't say "thank you" explicitly on them - think nice, but in no way flowery, stationary. I keep it short and simple, and also personalize to the addressee. What is the general consensus on this? Also a no go?

I've received handwritten thank-you notes after interviews. I think they're cute, though they have zero impact on the likelihood that the applicant will get an offer.

Your notes are probably a waste of time, but they're harmless.

[84651846190]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

Adhering to idiotic social niceities is called "society" and people who don't are generally somewhere along the autism scale and/or take inordinate pride in what they view as some sort of indication that they are not "part of the system."

Most normal people will read a thank-you note and not give a fuck one way or the other. Whether or not it should or should not be the norm is irrelevant and your passive aggressive post-interview angst about it isn't going to change it. Either be straightforward and tell people not to send them or get used to it and stop being a dick about it.

Of course if we're talking about one-liner copy-pasted thank yous then that's a different story...

The problem is that I never should have acknowledged that thank you notes after interviews are a social nicety to begin with. As evidenced by the lengthy discussion on TLS about this over the past few years, there's obviously a genuine disagreement as to whether they're apropos or not.

[sfoglia]

Okay, so, I don't send electronic thank you notes, but I have always sent handwritten "thank you" cards after any interview. They don't say "thank you" explicitly on them - think nice, but in no way flowery, stationary. I keep it short and simple, and also personalize to the addressee. What is the general consensus on this? Also a no go?

I've received handwritten thank-you notes after interviews. I think they're cute, though they have zero impact on the likelihood that the applicant will get an offer.

Your notes are probably a waste of time, but they're harmless.

Very good to know! I'll be sure to take on a case by case basis, and only send when I actually, genuinely feel the need to thank the individual in question.

[Anonymous User]

By the time you send your thank you note, the recipient has already filed his or her feedback with the recruiting folks. So it is a completely meaningless gesture. Do it if you want, but it has absolutely zero practical impact.

For a lot of firms you might not know if that person sits on the hiring committee.

[sundance95]

If you're going to write a thank you note, go handwritten. The higher transaction cost makes them more meaningful, while simultaneously forcing you to only send them to folks you actually feel you made a good connection with instead of anyone and everyone to whom you briefly spoke.

[SLS_AMG]

I know my school suggests that we send in thank you notes. Is this true for all schools and if so why when so many actual attorneys say they hate it? OCS ineptitude....again?

Basically does anyone at a firm know of a person in a hiring position who actually looks for thank you notes?

Yes. I know a couple partners/a nonprofit director who dock candidates if they don't send thank you notes after an interview. In fact, my boss came in just last week to inform us interns that we "had better send thank you notes for any interview we do" because so few from the search he was currently doing had sent them, and he was pissed.

This is the South though, where courtesy is expected rather than ridiculed. The kind of guy who dings someone because the thank-you note he took the time to send was insufficiently sincere or creative must be awful to be around.

Yeah, I'm awful to be around because I don't mindlessly adhere to idiotic social niceties that make literally no sense at all.

Adhering to idiotic social niceities is called "society" and people who don't are generally somewhere along the autism scale and/or take inordinate pride in what they view as some sort of indication that they are not "part of the system."

Most normal people will read a thank-you note and not give a fuck one way or the other. Whether or not it should or should not be the norm is irrelevant and your passive aggressive post-interview angst about it isn't going to change it. Either be straightforward and tell people not to send them or get used to it and stop being a dick about it.

Of course if we're talking about one-liner copy-pasted thank yous then that's a different story...

One-line notes are a no go, but they also shouldn't be very long. I think anything more than 3-4 sentences actually is too long. Keep it short and sweet.

[scholarlyprance]

What about parents and ASW?

underrated