Who do I send a think you note to after a panel interview?
May 22, 2018 3:34 PM   Subscribe

I was interviewed by four people today, one of whom would be my supervisor and three other department heads. About an hour after the interview I received a call telling me that they would like me to come back for a interview with the big boss of the organization.

I’ve only interacted with the potential supervisor over the phone (he called me after I had a phone screening with HR) and I did not write down the names of the other three people, as I was anxious at talking to that many people at once. I’m unsure what to do as to a thank you note/letter and I’d like to be polite as the company has been very polite to me and done an excellent job keeping me informed of the process/timelines. Advice please!
posted by SpaceWarp13 to Work & Money (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
"Dear hiring committee" is perfectly fine. Sent to whatever email you used to apply, maybe ccing the supervisor if you have her email.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:38 PM on May 22, 2018


Best answer: Have you been emailing with anyone at all? If so, send the email to them, and ask them to "please pass it on to #Supervisor and everyone else I met with today". If you haven't had any email communication (and nobody's given you their email address), then honestly I wouldn't send one - nobody wants a physical letter, and it feels intrusive to get an email from someone who you haven't given your email address to.
posted by brainmouse at 4:06 PM on May 22, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Whoever you are emailing with send it to them and ask it to be passed on to the rest of the folks.
posted by nikaspark at 4:16 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]


One applicant sent e-mails with read-receipts to all members of the hiring committee. The e-mail explained that it was raining and she would have delivered her customary pen-and-ink notes but she didn't want to be "one more car" on wet roads. (Uh... the USPS delivers here.) The next day she hand-delivered hand-written notes that mentioned that we didn't respond to her read-receipts. That woman set the bar for me for all time. Whatever anyone does that isn't what she did I will appreciate.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:04 PM on May 22, 2018 [6 favorites]


I would wait until the second interview is over and they say there won't be another one. I wouldn't want to give an impression that I'm trying to ingratiate myself as a way to possibly sway the result. And then, I would immediately send notes to all four since it's likely you will interact with them all and it's a good way to start out the working relationship. It seems to me that sending a thank you after the interviews are over is more appropriate than during the interview phase.
posted by CollectiveMind at 5:40 PM on May 22, 2018


I would wait until the second interview is over and they say there won't be another one. I wouldn't want to give an impression that I'm trying to ingratiate myself as a way to possibly sway the result.

This really doesn't resemble any interviewing advice I've ever heard.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:26 PM on May 22, 2018 [8 favorites]


The committee already made their decision (that's why you have a second interview), but you should send a thank you email anyway.

Busy people generally don't waste time in interviews if others didn't like the candidate. There's a slight chance that the committee had mixed feelings and they brought in someone else to break the tie, but most likely people in the committee looked at each other, said they liked you, and scheduled another interview with someone whose time is even more important.

I wouldn't send a physical letter unless that was how you have been communicating with them in the past. It would just mark you as out of touch. People don't do business though snail mail anymore.
posted by meowzilla at 9:13 PM on May 22, 2018 [1 favorite]


Interviewing boards don't always stop with second interviews. There can be thirds, fourths, etc. This is also not unheard of. In fact, a committee can decide they don't like any of the candidates, and wipe the slate clean and repost the vacancy for an entirely new slate. There are no hard and fasts when it comes to what companies may choose to do.
posted by CollectiveMind at 5:18 PM on May 23, 2018


Response by poster: I ended up emailing the In house recruiter and asking her to pass on a thank you to the panel and I spoke to my potential supervisor on the phone. I chose not to email the panel members as I hadn’t been given their contact details and all the communication with new supervisor had been on the phone.

Then I had a third interview which was with the head of the firm (and was expected as the company did a great job appraising me if the hiring process) and was offered the job which I’ve accepted and am really happy with.

Thanks for everyone’s help!
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 2:13 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]


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