Thank you! Thanks, Again!

Business etiquette & thank you

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to work with a group of summer associates starting work in Atlanta. My summer associates, interns and students always come up with the best questions, and this week’s event followed that pattern.

Here’s the question one summer associate raised: “After a couple of senior lawyers take me out to lunch, I always thank them in person. When I get back to the office, I generally send them an email also saying thank you. Should I follow-up with a handwritten note?”

My reply went something like this: A summer associate should express thanks and appreciation for the meal, the time set aside for lunch and the insights the lawyers exchanged. However, following every verbal expression of thanks with both an email and a handwritten note may be a tad excessive.

I recommended the summer associate consider another approach. At the end of every business lunch or dinner, she should continue to thank everyone for including her in the meal. I also think she doesn’t do herself any harm by reinforcing her verbal thanks with a quick email sent at the end of the day. It could say something along the lines of, “Before I close down for the day, I wanted to follow-up and tell you how much I appreciate the information you shared about your vision for the practice group . . . .”

Hand-written thank-you notes

In terms of a handwritten thank-you note, it’s not essential to send one after every business-social event. However, I urged that summer associate to spend some time every Friday afternoon to think over the entirety of the business week that’s about to end and to identify one or two people who really made a difference. It might be one of the people who took to lunch. It might just as well be a person in the library who helped her complete a research project or a person in the mail room who helped her race a document to the courthouse. Whoever those people are, they deserve a handwritten note.

As I mentioned to the summer associate, this weekly contemplation and then expression of thanks will likely yield a huge additional benefit. I’m willing to bet she’ll quickly develop an attitude of gratitude. It’s an attitude that could benefit new and established professionals alike.

What Do You Need to Know?

You'll never err by saying thank you. Consider handwriting thank-you notes to people who have extended themselves for you.

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