Send "thank you" letter?

[BLUBLR]

I had my written(passed), physical fitness (passed), and oral interview. Should I send a thank you letter. I know with other jobs after a interview that is normal practice.

thanks

[greshampd]

Re: Thank you

I sent a thank you note and I think it's smart practice. It makes a good impression and gives you an opportunity to thank them for their time. No need to make an essay, I would keep it short and sweet, just thanking them.

It puts you ahead of all the others that didn't and they will remember you.
Good luck!

[BLUBLR]

Thanks

Any others?

[Mid_Ohio_Po]

Couldn't hurt. Just keep it to "thank you for your time". If you go much further it's going to be looked at like "Hey, look at me, I'm desperate"

[BLUBLR]

What do you think:

Thank you for the opportunity to interview with you and your fellow officers on September 21. I am aware that you are a very busy man and hope that the information I shared with you about myself was well worth your time.
I look forward to the next step in starting a career in law enforcement with the ******** Police Department. Please don

[greshampd]

Too much, it sounds desperate. Again, keep it simple and don't try so hard.

1. Do you remember their names? Important!

EX: "Officer..." Mr.Mrs. Lt.....etc.

Thank you for taking the time to interview me, it was a pleasure meeting you.

Regards,

.......

[Da Po-po]

A thank you card??? First I've ever heard of it and my office mate who does applicants got a strange look on his face when I asked him about it...

[e-man]

Without giving it much thought, I would say NO. It sounds too much like a Brown noser and the people doing your background dont want anything to be personal, its business. Yes you said for other job interviews it was busniess but this is {i think} civil service and the background folks are more or less looking at you right now as a number. They might have liked your personality at the interview, thats where the THANK YOU shoulda been, Iam sure it was but I dont think ita appropriate, but again i dont know what or where u r applying too..
Good luck

[purdinpopo]

You have to consider that many of the people in power at law enforcement agencies have never ahd anything to do with normal jobs and the business world, I can remember many occassions of Sheriffs and Chief laughing at people for calling to check status on their application, sometimes this included the persons app in the trash. I have had arguments with my wife about this as she wants me to call places, as she thinks this "will show that I am interested" I advise her that this will show I am desperate, and make them think I have some problem.

[BLUBLR]

I see your point about civil vs real world. But I still sent a letter.

Now its down to four of us. They are hiring two officers.

[Cerberusdog]

I have sent those notes, but only after getting "no thanks" letter. I figure that eliminates the brown nose factor, and maybe on the next hire it will make a difference.

[lsmalibu]

----------

[hellokitty]

I'm glad I read this thread. I often wondered the same thing about thank you notes. I haven't done any, because I knew better than to write more than simply 'thank you for your time', yet felt discomfort at standing out as the one trying to sneak my name back up again.

Older detective/BI types (just my assumption) are probably extremely busy. Taking the time to open, read, and throw in the wastebasket might just be a wasted 30 seconds. I'm not suggesting it's good or bad; just saying LE 'interviews' are so different from the norm. **Having said this, I did want to send a quick word of thanks to the female cop I did a ride-along with back in 2003. She was fantastic, very informative and professional, but also very personable as well. I got lazy and never bothered. This year, my ride-along for my actual application just so happened to know her (duh!) and sounded like he was close with her. Darn. Had I sent that note, and I'm only assuming the two of them (might have) chatted about me (?), it might have looked pretty good on my part that I was doing it at that time for no special reason at all.

Put it this way, cops are taught to pay attention to one's motivation and I believe this must carry over into their personal lives as well. Better not to test this out and hope the one who gets it doesn't see it as a kiss-butt move. Just my opinion. Interesting thread.

[MPD-A9]

I have been told that it is common practice for most job interviews. It is a good idea, as lang as it does not appear that you are kissing ***. I agree that short and sweet is the best way to go about it. One line, and no more than two lines. Good luck through the rest of the proccess.

[GRI5TH]

In 4 years of processing applicants, I've received maybe 3 "Thanks for your time" cards. Two after the individuals were hired. They were both short and to the point. I felt that it was a nice gesture.

I suppose the reason that I don't receive more is because our process if pretty short, if you consider 3 to 4 weeks being "short". I imagine people don't feel much like sending a "Thank You" card after receiving our "Thanks, but No Thanks" letter.