Post interview thank you notes for Judges Forum

[avatarz]

Normally, after a regular job interview, I'd send a few sentence thank you note, thanking an employer for their time, briefly repeating my strongest qualifications that they seemed interested in, and saying I'm excited about the job.

I'd be curious if current/former clerks think a thank you note should be different for judges?

(1) should you send one at all or only send something to the JA,
(2) is email okay if you have it, and;
(3) if you send one, should it be simply thank you I'm excited to clerk for you, or is it beneficial/not negative to include the short bit about your strongest qualifications?

[Anonymous User]

Current clerk: Don't email the judge. If anything, just send a thank you note addressed to the judge's chambers. The secretary will read it and will probably tell the judge that you sent a card. Don't include your qualifications. Just thank the judge for taking the time to meet with you and discussing the position.

[mjb447]

Do not email the judge, and don't bother mentioning your qualifications again (your application and interview should already have made those stand out as much as they're going to). If there was a topic during the interview that made you really 'connect' with the judge, you might mention that. That said, for most judges, I don't think it matters much whether you send one at all.

[Fireworks2016]

I did handwritten thank yous for the judge, clerks, and JA. I don't think it had any impact either way on my chances.
In hindsight, I probably would skip them since they are creating an extra hurdle for you to screw up in some way and aren't really going to move the needle in your favor.