Thank you after group interview? - update in original post!

[Kassia]

Any idea how this is done?

Dd just had a virtual group interview with four people.  She said two of the people were in and out during the interview and she's not sure how to write a thank you (she only expected one person).  She doesn't expect to get the position since she felt they were looking for someone with more experience.

Does she send one email to all four people and address it like "Dear Mr. X, Mr. Y, Mr. Z, and Ms. A,?" and then write it as she were writing to one person, "Thank you for your time.  I enjoyed talking with you and look forward to the opportunity...?" I'm not sure how she could send separate thank yous to everyone since she said one person left fairly soon and the other was in and out the whole time.

 

UPDATE:  The recruiter sent dd an email saying they are preparing an offer and she'll get it next week!!!!  🙂  

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Kassia

[Hyacinth]

Ideally, she should send an individual message to each person who took time to meet with her. But with the leaving early and popping in and out, I don't know . . . (and, by the way, how rude).  

Was there a primary person who did most of the interacting? If so, I'd recommend a more detailed message to that person and mention the others. "I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you as well as Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Ms. A."

Edited March 5, 2021 by Hyacinth

[gardenmom5]

16 minutes ago, Hyacinth said:

Ideally, she should send an individual message to each person who took time to meet with her. But with the leaving early and popping in and out, I don't know . . . (and, by the way, how rude).  

Was there a primary person who did most of the interacting? If so, I'd recommend a more detailed message to that person and mention the others. "I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you as well as Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Ms. A."

 that depends who is doing the popping.  HR peons?  rude.  Those with the power to make actual decisions or give real input in who is hired?  (and who are actually involved in running the intricacies in the dept) - maybe and maybe not.  

 dd is at a level where it sometimes happens.  (before covid)  she was flown to California for a series of interviews and two of the people she was scheduled to meet ended up doing zoom for shorter than the original time allotment, even though she'd been told they were to be in person. (and that that was why they were flying her to california in the first place!)

she has received job offers when some people popped in and out.

[Kassia]

34 minutes ago, Hyacinth said:

 

Was there a primary person who did most of the interacting? If so, I'd recommend a more detailed message to that person and mention the others. "I appreciated the opportunity to meet with you as well as Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Ms. A."

I like that idea - I will mention it to her.  She was told she'd be meeting with the hiring manager and she said he left halfway through to take a call(?).  So I don't know if that idea will work since the meeting was scheduled to be with him and then he'd only get a mention later...  

So complicated for a position she is certain she's not qualified for.  

 

 

11 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

 that depends who is doing the popping.  HR peons?  rude.  Those with the power to make actual decisions or give real input in who is hired?  (and who are actually involved in running the intricacies in the dept) - maybe and maybe not.  

 

It was the hiring manager who she was told she'd be having the interview with.  I don't know who the other people were (yet).  My guess is that he wouldn't have left if he had interest in hiring her.  

[Katy]

I wouldn’t assume anyone intended to be rude or made any blanket decisions. DH pops out of meetings sometimes when he hears our kids making a lot of noise because he knows I can’t be all over the house simultaneously. I apologized one day when he ran up & I was in the bathroom and he said not to worry, so far everyone else in his department had their kids wander into the camera at least once except for the single guy. He’s also popped off a meeting at least twice just because our internet needed reset. 
 

Even if they find someone that’s a better fit for that position they’re likely to remember her if another job opens up that she’s a better fit for. 

[Kassia]

7 minutes ago, Katy said:

. 
 

Even if they find someone that’s a better fit for that position they’re likely to remember her if another job opens up that she’s a better fit for. 

That's what I told her.  Poor kid wants to rush through the email because the interviews were all very last minute and now she's way behind in her schoolwork.  She's in TX and everything is crammed in now due to the school closing from the storms and it's also midterm time.  I told her to leave a good impression with a quality email showing thought and effort, but then she sent me a list of all she has to do and I told her to just send her generic email and be done with it.  😞  

 

She's so upset because she feels like all of this time was wasted.  They contacted her on Wednesday night asking to set up interviews.  Set a phone interview up for the afternoon...the recruiter was an hour late.  Then they set up a video meeting with the hiring manager this morning.  So, she has spent the past 36 hours preparing for all of this and it was all unexpected. 

 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Kassia

[Katy]

That's sad and frustrating, but common in adulthood I'm afraid.

[Arcadia]

My husband only had group interviews for the past 20 years. It’s to reduce potential human bias. When I was working, my boss would ask me to sit in for interviews as the observer. 

Even pre-COVID, it is not unusual for interviewers to have to leave during an interview or for them to pop in and out.

My husband main focus is quality control/quality assurance so if something needs his urgent attention, he has to pop out of an interview and take the urgent call. 
 

I would send generic thank you emails to each interviewer. The one that leave early and the one that pop in and out might have higher decision power/authority than whoever could stay for the whole interview. 

[RootAnn]

Wow, @Kassia! That's great!

[BeachGal]

Congratulations to your daughter!

[klmama]

Congratulations to your dd!  

[easypeasy]

Yay @ the update!!

[gardenmom5]

14 hours ago, Kassia said:

 

 

 

It was the hiring manager who she was told she'd be having the interview with.  I don't know who the other people were (yet).  My guess is that he wouldn't have left if he had interest in hiring her.  

Sorry it took so long to get back.  Congrats to your dd on the job.

HR are generally only determining if a person fits what's on a the job description (they don't know squat about what the job actually MEANS) - they generally don't hire.  

Dd has been interviewing where she only talks to those in the dept.  , and usually includes the person who would be her boss - and their boss, as well as team mates.    - and it's not uncommon even for the person who makes the "actual" decision regarding hiring to have to pop in and out. (dd tech interviews have generally been back-to-back, not groups. higher-ups, might double up. she'll spend 45 minutes (plus a break) with each person so chances of someone needing to be in two places is reduced.  Still, makes a long day)  That's the nature of business.  They choose who on their team does the interview, and they trust their judgement and competence at determining if someone is competent and will fit with their team.   They all talk to discuss a candidate before a decision is made.  So - the person who would be the boss (and will make the actual hiring decision) popping in and out, of itself isn't a bad sign.

 she also has a verbal offer (pending background check),  her former employer shut down due to covid.   

Edited March 6, 2021 by gardenmom5

[Hyacinth]

Awesome update! 😀

[Kassia]

Thank you everyone!  We are thrilled for her.  It's an amazing opportunity and she is so happy and relieved!  🙂  

 

[mommyoffive]

AWWWW!!!!  I am so happy for her.  Congrats!!

[Katy]

That’s great news!  Congratulations to her!

[Jaybee]

Congrats to your dd! Also, as far as feeling under-qualified for the job, my impression is that many jobs are looking for the capacity to learn, dependability, and a good attitude and work ethic more than they are for a candidate to have the exact training and skills for the job. I could be wrong, and it does depend on the job, but that is my impression. Training a new person can often be much easier than it is to find someone with the other qualifications.

[Kassia]

9 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

Congrats to your dd! Also, as far as feeling under-qualified for the job, my impression is that many jobs are looking for the capacity to learn, dependability, and a good attitude and work ethic more than they are for a candidate to have the exact training and skills for the job. I could be wrong, and it does depend on the job, but that is my impression. Training a new person can often be much easier than it is to find someone with the other qualifications.

I think that's where she really did well on her interview.  She said that as soon as she realized she didn't have the experience/skills they were looking for, she started coming up with examples of how she could learn things quickly and apply that new knowledge to her work.  I was impressed that she did that since she's very shy and inexperienced with interviews.  She was so nervous, too!  

 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Jaybee said:

as far as feeling under-qualified for the job, my impression is that many jobs are looking for the capacity to learn, dependability, and a good attitude and work ethic more than they are for a candidate to have the exact training and skills for the job. I could be wrong, and it does depend on the job, 

Think of a job description as a "wish list".  It's what the person wanting to fill a position hopes to get, but aren't necessarily out there.  But - while they can hire someone who doesn't meet all the requirements, they can use someone not meeting all the requirements to disqualify them for the position.    (no one wants to work with a jerk, even if they meet all the qualifications.)

there have been some studies that showed men will apply to jobs where they don't meet all the criteria.  women will only apply to jobs for which they meet most/all the criteria.   when dd learned that, she started applying for jobs where she didn't meet all the criteria.  she did interview for many of them, not all.   some of them she received offers.  

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by gardenmom5

[Kassia]

5 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Think of a job description as a "wish list".  It's what the person wanting to fill a position hopes to get, but aren't necessarily out there.  But - while they can hire someone who doesn't meet all the requirements, they can use someone not meeting all the requirements to disqualify them for the position.    (no one wants to work with a jerk, even if they meet all the qualifications.)

there have been some studies that showed men will apply to jobs where they don't meet all the criteria.  women will only apply to jobs for which they meet most/all the criteria.   when dd learned that, she started applying for jobs where she didn't meet all the criteria.  she did interview for many of them, not all.   some of them she received offers.  

 

Wow, that is very interesting.  I would just assume a job seeker would pass on job descriptions where they don't meet all the required criteria figuring there would be too much competition with other applicants who would be good fits.  Good for your dd!  I'll have to remember that for mine.  🙂 

[Ali in OR]

2 hours ago, Kassia said:

Wow, that is very interesting.  I would just assume a job seeker would pass on job descriptions where they don't meet all the required criteria figuring there would be too much competition with other applicants who would be good fits.  Good for your dd!  I'll have to remember that for mine.  🙂 

I've read that women are much more likely to think they need to meet the whole checklist (to our detriment); men are more likely to just go for it.

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Kassia said:

Wow, that is very interesting.  I would just assume a job seeker would pass on job descriptions where they don't meet all the required criteria figuring there would be too much competition with other applicants who would be good fits.  Good for your dd!  I'll have to remember that for mine.  🙂 

and most women think the same thing.   But if it sounds interesting, even if they don't meet all the criteria, men will apply.   

[Kassia]

2 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

and most women think the same thing.   But if it sounds interesting, even if they don't meet all the criteria, men will apply.   

I'm really glad to learn this.  I just would assume that applying for a position when you don't meet all the requirements listed would be a waste of everyone's time.  Definitely something to consider in the future for dd!  

[stephanier.1765]

What a great update! Congratulations to your girl! I'm so happy for y'all. I know how stressful that can be even for the parents.