I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently about thank you notes. Remember that thank you notes are low-hanging fruit in the admissions process. They are easy to write and can make a big impression.
Make sure to write handwritten notes; email thank you notes can look a bit lazy and can be easily deleted.
See my last blog on the low cost and high potential gain of writing thank you notes after your interviews.
I get asked by clients what the best way to send post-interview thank you notes is – email or snail mail. I strongly advise sending your thank you note by good old USPS. The reasons are:
1) Email may be viewed as lazy. Hand-written notes demonstrate you’ve put some time into being appreciative.
2) Email can be deleted without much thought. Emotionally, it’s harder to throw someone’s hand written note in the trash.
Get your handwritten thank you notes in quickly. The night after you’ve completed your interview or the next day is a good time to write and send.
Two years ago a medical school applicant wrote me to say that the dean of the school at which she had recently interviewed called her to tell her that he was impressed with her candidacy and the hand-written thank you note she had sent. The client thanked me for my help and the thank you note tip I had given her. As you might have guessed, she was admitted to that med school.
Writing a thank you note after a medical school or residency interview is so easy for you to do, and it can go a long way. More on thank you notes in future posts.
I was recently asked by a client about the best way to send post-interview thank you notes – email versus snail mail. This client said he had read conflicting advice online.
As a former Harvard admissions decision-maker who used to receive thank you notes, I can tell you that I strongly advise sending your thank you notes by good old USPS. The reasons are twofold:
1) Email may be viewed as lazy. Hand-written thank you notes take more time, which shows.
2) To put an email thank you note in your file, the receiver needs to take the time to print out your email. You don’t want any barriers between you and your good impression.
I do recommend getting those handwritten thank you notes in quickly. The night after you’ve completed your interview or the next day is a good time to write and send.
An applicant recently asked me to whom he should be sending thank you notes after interviews. Use this as a general guideline: If, during the interview day, you have spent more than five minutes of one-on-one time with someone from the institution, that person deserves a thank you note.
See my other blog postings on thank you notes for more information, but the bottom line is that these short notes should be handwritten (no email) and sent promptly after the interview.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
