New York callback thank you email? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Have a callback tomorrow in NY. I was wondering if you’re expected to send a thank you note. I’ve always heard that it’s worthless because lawyers won’t read it. My recruiter said it’s my choice.

[QContinuum]

Have a callback tomorrow in NY. I was wondering if you’re expected to send a thank you note. I’ve always heard that it’s worthless because lawyers won’t read it. My recruiter said it’s my choice.

As far as I understand it, the consensus is that thank-you emails are not expected in NYC BigLaw*. I have yet to hear a credible dissenting opinion on this. If you feel a particular rapport with some of your interviewers, though, a follow-up email can't hurt IMO. But if you do choose to send a thank-you note, I'd recommend making it brief and personalized. There's nothing to be gained by sending a generic form thank-you email.

*This is pretty specific to NYC BigLaw. Non-BigLaw NYC employers may still expect thank-you notes, and even BigLaw offices outside NYC may expect thank-you notes, particularly in the South.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Agree with the above except that it's also a waste of time in SF/SV too.

[kaiser]

I do quite a few CB interviews for my firm (NYC biglaw), and the vast majority of interviewees do not send thank you emails. Doesn't really make a difference to me one way or the other. At least for me, I've already entered my input and recommendation well before the interviewee would have an opportunity to send a thank you email anyway. Maybe if you really hit it off with the interviewer and have a really great convo, then it would be warranted. But if its not something personalized and meaningful, then I don't really see the point.

[JHP]

I really think that, even if 99% of the time it won't matter or make a difference, it's still best to err on the side of caution and send a short, succinct thank you for their time. While it most likely won't make a difference, there will always be someone at a firm that makes a mountain out of a molehill for everything, and this could be the reason one person finds to put a -1 on your application.

The only time I think it really hurts is if you send an unreasonably long or weird thank you. I've gotten a thank you e-mail that was like 3 long paragraphs long that was too detailed and personal. Very weird, and did not make me more likely to recommend the person to the firm.

[soft blue]

FWIW CLS explicitly says not to do this; a thank you note can't help you + it's not expected, but it can hurt you if you 1.) are weird (it shouldn't be more than two or three sentences) or make a mistake (mess up someone's name, practice, etc.)

[confitdecanard]

Just a data point: did not send thank you notes during OCI or callbacks but performed very well (in NY). At YHS and my school's recommendation for NY is similar to the CLS recommendation above.

[Anonymous User]

Also at a T14 and our career services told us not to send thank you emails. There really is no reason to send one. Like an above poster said, it won't help you. It can only hurt you. So why do it?

FWIW, I interviewed in both New York and secondary markets. Didn't send thank you emails to anyone, and both of my offers came from secondary markets. So, it's not just the norm in NY.

[Anonymous User]

To echo what others have said, thank you notes are not generally required (as in you don't have to send one to every person that interviewed you). If you made an especially strong connection then consider sending one, if not, then don't bother because it has a higher chance of hurting than helping. If you choose to send one then make it personal and meaningful without being weird.

I attended one of YHS and during EIP/OCI I basically struck out (1/20 for callback). I mass-mailed and got a screener with a V10 NY firm. I spoke with OCS and the adviser told me that I needed to send a thank you email to at least one of the partners I interview with at the V10 firm. So after the interview (that same day) I sent a thank you email to one of the partners. During the interview we had chatted about several things, but two things stuck out to me: (1) our shared interest in country music and (2) the partner mentioned that he had interviewed/worked with my next interviewer when she was a summer associate ~5 years prior whom he had not had contact with since. In my thank you email I thanked the partner for his time. Then I mentioned that I felt like I would fit in well to the firm culture because (1) I liked the diversity in interests present at the firm and referenced his interest in country music and (2) I appreciated that he remembered a summer associate that he hadn't interacted with for several years and this was great evidence of the culture of the firm. The partner responded by email the same day with something like "I appreciate it. You'll do great wherever you end up." I assumed it was a rejection. Then the next day the partner called to give me an offer, and specifically mentioned my thank you email as part of the reason I got the offer.