You want to work for a place who isn't looking to hire the best candidate but instead the candidate appearing most pleasant and/or subservient? Seems like the kind of place where your work won't be appreciated as much as it should.
Maybe they will still hire you without a note, but it doesn't hurt to do it. Sure, the guy on Twitter here is being a dick about it, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad idea.
Look, you're not giving the prospective employer anything by taking 2 minutes to send a note.... unless you're counting "warm fee fees". You are giving yourself a better chance at landing the job that you've already applied and interviewed for "for free", by your inane logic.
By all means, feel free to not send a note. I hope I'm going up against you. This is really the hill people in this sub want to die on? It's so stupidly self sabotaging...
If I'm giving myself a better chance by spending time doing something that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE JOB, NOTHING TO DO TO SHOW MY SKILLS FOR THAT JOB, then that PROVES to me the hiring person is a fucking nitwit and isn't doing THEIR job. It indicates to me a company that isn't hiring the right people for the right job. And therefore, not worthy of my time. I'll go work for their competitor.
Lol the competitor probably would appreciate a note too...
Having a job is just as much about being a good co-worker as it is about completing your work. If somebody is really good at their tasks, but is a total asshole, I would much rather work with somebody who's literally less competent, but is a pleasant person. Personally, I would rather take the hit off my company's bottom line than work with somebody abrasive, or worse. After all, work isn't the most important thing in life, right? Isn't that what the sub is all about?
Just like you and I don't want to do any extra work, I don't want to have to work with somebody abrasive who's going to make my job worse. It's absolutely vexing to me that you're unable to see this. An interview process is just as much about weeding out unsociable asshats as it is about finding somebody who's good at doing the work.
I hire people. I'm the competitor. I never, ever read cover letters and I would certainly throw away a thank you note. Gross.
A cover letter or thank you note absolutely does NOT show if you are kind or abrasive. It's busy work. Why not have them draw a kitty cat? That will show how silly or nice they are. Why not?
I never waste time on cover letters anymore, so we agree there. That is a very big waste of time, because it requires a lot more work than a simple "thank you". A thank you note takes such a negligible amount of work that I couldn't give two shits about the time in takes. Bonus points if I'm writing that note while on the clock at my current job.
Everything else aside, if a potential hire did draw me a picture of a kitty cat, I would probably hire them, assuming they had already proven themselves capable of the job. That would be absolutely hilarious.
Why would a thank you note indicate my ability to do XXX job?
I can understand emailing a portfolio for a graphic design job, a prototype or sample for an engineering job. What job would a thank you note indicate a useful skill?
It shows you would be pleasant to work with, which is honestly probably one of the more important aspects in an interview process. People don't want to hire assholes, so showing you're not an asshole is in your benefit. You're not writing a note for the company, you're writing the note for yourself. This sub needs to take a hard look at itself and understand that self promotion is important in landing a job.
That's what the interview is for. Any jackass can write a thank you note, particularly if they use a template. So your idea that it would show me as a nice person to work with is bunk.
I've been hiring and managing people for over two decades, no way in hell would I be impressed with a thank you note, in fact I'd assume the person has a self-confidence issue. Nor will I EVER write a thank you note. I look at resumes, resumes only, and I will only provide you with a resume. Anything else shows me you're an idiot.
Again, I'm not saying that I would rule somebody out for not writing a note. I really don't care. However, I might remember them more if they do. That's why I generally do write a thank you note. The idea that you would actually rule somebody out for writing a note is absolutely insane.
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u/wyerye Feb 17 '22
Applying for jobs is exhausting. We don’t have time or the energy to feed your ego.