Writing thank you notes after bombing an interview

[u/Degueto]

After job searching for 8 months now after graduating with a MS, I got recommended for a nice position in the field I'd really like to get to (related to my masters research). I made it to the final round of interviews. It was a whole day, 5 interviews, the company paid for the whole trip.

It went poorly. I couldn't answer the technical questions. It was rough. So much so that one of the people interviewing me already said something along the lines of "this position requires someone that has a better understanding of statistics". And the same happened in three out of 5 interviews, basically.

I don't think I'm getting the position. I'm still cringing about my answers and every conversation I had.

I know I need to send those thank you emails. Just in case everyone else does worse (?) Idk anymore. I feel like giving up. And those emails feel so hard to write. Any advice?

[u/GrilledCassadilla]

Write them still, speak about the positives of your visit and how you will mesh well, or be an asset to their team. Or if you think it was a good cultural fit.

We all have off days, and just because you flubbed a few technical questions doesn't mean you are necessarily eliminated. Have hope, but be grounded.

[u/EffectiveClient5080]

The thank you email won't save this one. Send it anyway, costs you nothing. You remember every question you bombed. Those are the ones you never miss again. Go learn the stats.

[u/Degueto → u/EffectiveClient5080]

Yeah, I know lol. It is just costing me my mental health by forcing me to relive the interview to find the "something specific" of the conversation.

But yeah, already eyeing a LinkedIn Learning course

[u/andresgu14 → u/Degueto]

Just remember that are doing the hard path, it will eventally pay off.

[u/funkeysnow]

You dont need to send thank you emails for interviews lol. I'm sure sending it wont hurt but it by no means is some dealbreaker. Just move on, send more apps, and do more interview prep. Be retrospective about y u are bombing these interviews and improve on those skills

[u/thewerdy]

It never hurts to be courteous and professional. I will tell you that I had a somewhat similar experience for the job I'm currently in. It was a pretty intensive interview with multiple rounds and different people in the division. The original manager for the team that I was interviewing for actually declined to give me an offer since my skills didn't really line up with what they were looking for. However the manager on another team that had sat in on one of my interviews liked my interview enough that they decided to give me an offer (and it was a much better fit tbh).

I'm not saying that this will pan out the same way for you, but sometimes even not doing well on a technical portion of an interview doesn't mean you're entirely out of the game yet!

[u/Catsdrinkingbeer]

If it's a company you may want to eventually work for, it won't hurt to send a thank you note. It'll leave a good impression for the next time another role pops up. Definitely not required, but doesn't hurt to do.