Saying thank you after you’ve interviewed with a hiring manager, team, or supervisor is important. It shows that you respect the time that they provided you. And displays a healthy amount of passion toward wanting to be hired in the role. But what are some unique ways to say thank you to a team after you’ve spent so much time with them? And how can you get these kind acts to the team quickly in order to leave a lasting impression on them?
Types of thank-you’s that are inappropriate
Before digging into what you can do, let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do. Sending large gifts, let’s say items that have a value of over $40, can seem like a bribe. And while sending a gift is a great idea, you have to pick and choose what it might be. Anything over this sum would be considered a bad idea and isn’t something advisable.
Making a telephone call, just to say thank-you isn’t advisable either. It can seem like badgering. And it can be a little intrusive to the employees who decided to meet with you. This goes for sending a thank-you text message as well. You shouldn’t be doing that. It is slightly invasive to their privacy and isn’t right.
Lastly, sending a letter might seem like a nice idea. But if it doesn’t get to them on time, then it could make you look bad. And while it’s not inappropriate, it’s certainly not something you should rely on. The time it takes snail mail to get to your employer is too long. Don’t rely on this.
Creative ways to say thank-you
Before you do anything at all, you should be sending a thank-you email after your interview. This email is the most appropriate way to say thanks to everyone. It needs to be customized to the interview that you had, and should cover or recap parts of the conversation you appreciated. It’s vital that you first send this message by email before you do anything else.
Here’s the creative ideas:
- A small gift is okay. Sending a notepad or unique gadget that is relative to their interest is okay. Keep it small. And something that relates to the conversation that you shared during the interview. Be sure that you include a note along with it so that they know it’s from you. You’ll need to overnight this package. So if you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you should veto this idea.
- Send a thank-you card. Make sure you overnight this, as well. It needs to be a very cool card. Something letterpressed and unique. Be sure to simply state your thank you in the card and then include your full name so they know who it’s from.
- Send them a thank you tweet. If you’re comfortable with it, you can send a tweet or something on social media. But don’t invade their privacy. Try not to do it publicly unless you feel certain that you’ll receive a job offer. This could make it difficult to explain to others in the future if they decided to go with another job candidate.
- Say thank you to their superior. A great way to say thank-you is to provide a compliment to each employee to their superior. This is a nice way to make them feel appreciated and to provide feedback to their manager that they did a great job. This small act is useful because it also shows teamwork and the ability to give kudos to others that do a great job. You should send this as an email to the person who you first met with during your interviews.
- Use ice breakers or games. While it might seem odd at first, custom ice breakers or “would you rather” questions are a fun way to continue the conversation. Include it as part of your thank-you to see where the conversation can lead. Include it at the bottom of your email note. It can increase engagement and solicit a response.
These are some of the best ways to show your appreciation to the professionals that you met during any interview. It could be a phone interview or informational interview. The point is that you are considering the amount of time they spent with you and are appreciative of it. This shows great professionalism and the ability to be creative when other job candidates might not be able to. Just remember that your acts need to be professional and have some boundaries to them so they don’t seem invasive or overly eager.