Thursday, September 27, 2007

Too soon for a thank you note?

Dear Mr. Steichen:

Earlier this week I had an informational interview. It went really well, and we ended up not having enough time to finish talking. My interviewer suggested we get together again later in the week, and we set up the second meeting before I left. Should I write a thank you note for the first meeting even though we are meeting again so soon?

Although it might seem like overkill, you should write a thank you note for the first meeting. For one, you should never pass up a chance to write a prompt thank you note. If you met with him once and then again a month later you would write two notes, yes? So why treat the situation differently just because the meetings are a bit closer together? He's still taking the time to meet with you on two occasions, so by all means write two notes. More important, you have no way of knowing whether the second meeting will be canceled or postponed, in which case then you'd end up having to write a belated thank you note for the first meeting, which would be less than ideal. Knowing that you will be seeing him again soon to continue your conversation, you can certainly make the note shorter than what you might otherwise write. And by all means try to get it in the mail such that it will arrive before your second meeting.

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