Handwritten thank you cards Forum

[Anonymous User]

A senior associate recommended I hand write thank you cards after an interview. I declined an offer with this firm, but really hit it off with some partners who interviewed me and wanted to bring me on into their practices.

What are peoples' thoughts re handwritten thank you cards? yes or no?

One reason for writing them would be that they're less likely to be missed (in a day an age where partners are FLOODED with emails). Also, they can't be forwarded to anyone (although I can't see why the content of a simple thank you email could be incriminating down the line... but who knows).

[misterjames]

I sent some recently after a couple interviews. Normally I wouldn't but the contact who recommended me insisted, so I did as requested. Some older family members insisted as well and while I don't think it's all that important, the people I interviewed with were in that age bracket, so I figured it couldn't hurt.

[Bubbles1012]

For what it's worth, I sent handwritten thank you notes to the big law office I will be working at this summer. I didn't actually send them, but ducked into a coffee shop after the callback while I still remembered enough about each interview to make them personal, and snuck back up to the office and gave them to reception. When a partner called to give me my offer he mentioned the notes and said something along the lines of, "you have many friends here." I hadn't received any offers prior to this and was a pretty average candidate. I did the same thing for the next biglaw callback I went on and received an offer there as well. I outperformed my numbers and I think if you are an average/borderline candidate (I was only top 25%, barely a top 50 school, with limited work experience or great softs and think I am just an ok interviewer), it can definitely help you stand out as someone they want to work with. Basically, handwritten thank yous rarely hurt you and I think can often help you if you are a borderline candidate and can get them to people on the hiring committee before they meet. Everyone appreciates a thoughtful card.

[Bubbles1012]

also- if you do go that route make sure you give them to everyone you spoke with both in the screener and in the callback, including the recruiting contact who arranged everything. You don't know who is on the recruiting committee and who isn't, and someone might be miffed they didn't receive a card when their colleague did. My cards to screeners said something along the lines of, "thank you so much for recommending me for a callback and taking the time to tell me about your work at x firm. I really enjoyed my visit today blah blah blah."

[Anonymous User]

also- if you do go that route make sure you give them to everyone you spoke with both in the screener and in the callback, including the recruiting contact who arranged everything. You don't know who is on the recruiting committee and who isn't, and someone might be miffed they didn't receive a card when their colleague did. My cards to screeners said something along the lines of, "thank you so much for recommending me for a callback and taking the time to tell me about your work at x firm. I really enjoyed my visit today blah blah blah."

OP here. Thanks for the input!

It's actually been several weeks since my CB. For various reasons (which I will not reveal here), I'm sure the 2 screener partners will remember me though, in part because they were the one conducting the search for the associate.

I'm certain I'll send them handwritten thank yous now. The problem is, one person from my callback gave me his card and encouraged me to keep in touch. I'm worried it'll be awkward if I send handwritten thank yous to my 2 screener partners and the 1 CB partner who gave me his card, but not the others. And yet, I'm almost certain the others won't remember me at this point.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[BigZuck]

No thank yous ever.

This thread is made like every other week.

But the correct answer is, was, and forever will be no thank yous ever.

[fxb3]

I'm a V20 senior associate, been doing recruiting (including both OCI and callbacks) for a long time. I have never received a handwritten note, so if you don't do it, you aren't missing an edge. Really no one does it.

You do not have to send any kind of thank you. If you do, an email is more than fine. I have never had a situation -- and can't imagine what it would be -- where the receipt of a thank you helped a candidate, or the failure to receive a thank you hurt a candidate. For one thing, we've usually already submitted our evaluation of you by the time it comes through. If you do send one, my only suggestion would be to more or less mirror the tone of the interview in the email. So if you had a really nice, personable, casual interview with an associate where you talked about your hobbies and favorite sports teams, it would be odd to send an email addressed to "Dear Mr. X" and which contains stilted, formal language. (Even most partners can be addressed by first name, but that's more of a judgment call almost solely depending on their age.)

As for why one might do a handwritten note as an alternative to emails, I don't think an email is likely to get "lost." Most lawyers do try to do a pretty good job of reviewing every email that comes in that isn't obvious spam, because we don't want to miss emails from clients or important emails from colleagues. (Doesn't mean we respond to all of them, though, so don't feel bad if you don't get a response to your thank you.) Whereas I check my physical mailbox -- where everything goes that isn't received via FedEx -- about once a week.

I've also sometimes heard advice that you shouldn't send an email because lawyers are "so busy" that they would be pissed that you "clogged" their inbox. That's BS. If I got even minorly pissed at every email that I didn't need to receive, I would have had a coronary a long time ago. And a thank you is nice and makes me feel good, even if I only spend 5 seconds with it.

[Devlin]

No thank yous ever.

This thread is made like every other week.

But the correct answer is, was, and forever will be no thank yous ever.

Disagree. The correct answer is it depends.

At my firm in Texas I know that it makes a big difference.

[SFSpartan]

ughhh...do we really have to have this debate again?

[Anonymous User]

No thank yous ever.

This thread is made like every other week.

But the correct answer is, was, and forever will be no thank yous ever.

You're wrong.

[BigZuck]

No thank yous ever.

This thread is made like every other week.

But the correct answer is, was, and forever will be no thank yous ever.

You're wrong.

You're wrong.

[unlicensedpotato]

I'm in Texas and my experience is that it's the same procedurally as what I've heard about NY -- by the time I get your thank you, I've already submitted your evaluation. That doesn't mean it isn't nice to do, but honestly I wouldn't notice if someone didn't send.