Job interview: Forgot thankyou note - Advice?

[stcelia]

ETA: Thanks for the advice. For good measure I just sent 6 moderately indivualized thank you notes in the mail today. One for each person I interviewed with. They should at least get postmarked in the same calendar year as the interview! Not ideal, but if they are reasonable people they'll consider the holidays.

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know when I find out!

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I interviewed for a job the Wed. before Christmas. We went out of town right afterward and got wrapped up in holliday stuff, and I just realized I never sent a thank you note! I'm mortified. I've never not sent one. And, I think I'd like to get this job. The interview went really well, and they said they were hoping to get a "package" to me by the 28th. That has come and gone and I haven't heard a thing. They even drug screened me, which I'm supposing is a good sign. I'm figuring that the hollidays affected them in ways they didn't expect either.

So - Should a send a note? Or does it just look goofy this far out? Also, I interviewed with 6 people: the CEO, and five members of the practice. Should I send 6 individual thank you notes, or could I write one to the CEO (who spent extra time with me), and then one to the practice members as a group? Keeping in mind that it has been 9 days since the interview! I'm beside myself - I can't believe this slipped my mind. I've been thinking about this job ever since they called me for the interview!

Any thoughts? TIA.

[swampus]

Definitely send a note.

I wouldn't make a big deal about how long it's been... (personally, I might not even mention it)... but in a roundabout way, you could refer to it. Spend the words on specifics from the interview process. Give details--they'll appreciate it!

I don't think separate thank-you notes are needed... the two you separated out are plenty.

I hope you land the job! :)

[tarabenet]

It has not been that long, especially with the holiday in between -- that throws off a lotsof people's normal schedules. Send the notes, don't mention any "delay", and see what happens. Best of luck!

[mskitty]

Send the note as soon as humanely possible. Hiring decisions tend to get delayed around the holidays as people are out of the office a lot. I've gotten second interviews solely based on the fact I've sent a thank you note.


MsKitty

[jodi_b]

I worked in HR before becoming a stay-at-home mom-to-be. I definitely don't think it's too late to send a note, especially with the holiday in between. I don't think you even need to mention the 'delay' in getting the thank you note sent.

Individual thank you notes are nice, but probably not necessary. You might just send a thank you note to the CEO and include an expression of appreciation for the practice members' time as well. A group thank you note would require the practice members to circulate the card... not a big deal, but it does take a little more of their time.

A word of encouragement... it frequently took my old company longer than expected to make a job offer. I'm sure you'll hear from them soon!

Good luck!
Jodi

[HannaAddict]

I would send a thank you note ASAP. I also always sent thank you notes to everyone I met with, sometimes it was quite a list and took some thinking to come up with something slightly different to say in each. It doesn't hurt to thank everyone, especially if they all have input in the hiring decision. When I was interviewing associates (lawyers) for my firm, I appreciated getting a thank you note versus having the candidate just send one to the partners. Especially since we actually had quite a bit of input on hiring other associates. If you really want the job, I would get a thank you note out to the CEO and really try to send short but sweet thank you notes to the others in the practice. Good luck and hope you get an offer!

Kimberly

[annasmom]

I would definitely send a note. I did some interviewing in my former life and I never cared whether I received one or not. BUT, you never know whether the person with whom you interviewed would take notice.

Also, and I think most importantly, a thank you note puts you back on radar of the potential employer.

[KBecks]

You know, when I've done interviews, I didn't care much whether I received a thank you note. It seems sort of contrived to me.

If they said they're sending you an offer, why not call after the new year and check in? Things get busy around the holidays and lots of people take vacation, so I'd let it rest a little, then call.