Emailing after interview (civil service)

[TraceyandJackie]

Hello

I have a CS interview coming up. I keep seeing things online about sending a follow up email after job interviews (thanks for your time, look forward to hearing etc etc). This definitely wasn't the norm when I last applied for a job and my instinct is to think it's maybe an American custom and one which British employers would find a bit odd. But maybe I am out of date?

Would you send a follow up email after a civil service interview?

No OP, I'd leave it. In my experience there will be a central recruitment team dealing with the vacancy. Any follow up e mail from you will probably be met with a bog standard reply and certainly won't reach the hiring manager 🙂

Not for the civil service. External recruitment will be through a central team so they don't have any influence over who gets the job.

Meh doesn't matter either way. Unless you have a specific question or update (fine) then it is very clearly just an attempt to make the best impression as per online advice. Nothing wrong in that but for me it never used to add or detract any particular value. I can't speak for every dept but it was never essential etiquette for any I worked in.

CS recruitment- they basically have a checklist criteria they want you to meet. Emailing them is a waste of time and probably will get lost somewhere.

I’m a recruiting manager in the CS and our recruitment has never been managed centrally?! You have to score highest to get the job. It doesn’t hurt to make a good
impression though. I also would
often call recruiting managers for a chat before applying and maybe even meet
for coffee to discuss the role. Little touches do make a difference if
the top two applicants score the same.

It's an American thing - Ask A Manager site recommends thank you letters but I've never done it in over 40 years working.

No, this would look weird for a civil service job. Very different from small company recruitment where it would be normal and a sensible thing to do.

No, def not needed for Civil Service.

Me experience of working in the civil service is that the outcome offers are sent out via shared services. If you have the interviewers contact details then yes you can email them but it won’t impact the outcome.

Please don't do this - as a PP said, for a private sector role / small organisation - fine and a nice touch, possibly.

For a civil service role, or anything in the public sector, it technically counts as canvassing. You could be disqualified - it's unlikely; I held interviews last week and one candidate emailed me and some of the panel prior to the interviews concluding and it wasn't taken well (it didn't ultimately affect the outcome).

I dropped an email to the hiring manager after my CS interview. I had however already spoken to her by email before applying as I wanted to ask a question about the role (and her name was listed on the advert). She sent me a lovely reply and was really encouraging.

I got an interview, and she was part of the panel. Next day I just sent an email saying thank you for her time and it was lovely to meet her and the rest of the panel.

I got through to the informal “fireside chat” with the Board Chair after that interview and whilst I wasn’t successful, I did get on the reserve list.

so whilst it might not be the done thing (had no idea that was a thing!) , I just felt it was a polite thing to do.

No as said this is an American thing, often comes up on recruitment sites like Monster but it's because they're American. I wouldn't do it in any sector of the UK.

I disagree with this, I’ve recruited several times - admittedly though in the private sector and sales - and I’ve never thought negatively of someone emailing me to say thank you for my time after the interview. If anything it made me think positively about that - in that they were keen, and as a result would trying to “close” me - which in sales, you need that tenacity.

clearly it’s a bit of a marmite thing to do!

@MabelMoo23 I didn't say it was a negative (or positive) thing but having worked across a few sectors it's not something I would do (nor have I seen) in any of them. I do not work in a sales or any kind of commercial field.

Tbh you’d just be wasting your time.

a central team does the recruitment, but it’s a pool of different managers who do the interviews asking set questions (with follow ups if required). The 2 interviewers then go through together and compare their scoring and come to an agreed score. This info is fed back to the recruitment team who then collate this etc.

so emailing won’t add anything to this. You’ll just get a standard auto thank you response if you’re lucky.

honestly civil service recruitment is not like any other organization.

I wouldn't for a public or private sector role. There is a recruitment process and the fact a candidate emails after an interview has no bearing on the scores they received at interview or whether or not they will be offered the role.

Just coming to the end of a recruitment run. Mostly we targeted civil servants. Our recruitment is very personal, a short note thanking us for our time is nice to receive - it feels polite. My dd is applying for placement jobs and the level and the tone of contact she is getting is very similar to us - and we encourage her to send a thank you too - it's all about making a human connection. Call that Americanisation if you like but we are all trying to build a relationship with the candidates to help them relax and perform at their best, we want them to succeed.

I agree with you. We are a people business and we recruit people who work well with other people and that involves networking and building relationships. It's a small thing but it matters - how much is hard to know.