Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every Tuesday.

Q:What is the current etiquette on post-interview thank-you notes? Is e-mail acceptable? Does it matter if the firm requested that you send your résumé via e-mail?

Dear Etiquette: Although I have addressed this topic previously, I believe it deserves another look.

First of all, I am a firm believer in post-interview thank-you notes. I'm a believer in thank-you notes altogether. It's how I was brought up, and I believe it is the appropriate and proper thing to do.

I love receiving a hand-written note after I have met a candidate who has interviewed for a job at my firm. It doesn't necessarily mean that he or she will get a job offer, but it certainly helps to keep that candidate in my memory.

These days I receive fewer and fewer hand-written thank-you notes. More than likely, the thank-you messages come by e-mail. Several years ago I wrote in a column that you should never send a note by e-mail. The truth is that I really feel the same way now, but I suppose I need to be a bit more flexible. Times have changed, but my opinion hasn't really changed all the much, but for specific reasons.

I worry about unsolicited e-mail messages getting caught in a spam filter or being immediately deleted without ever being read. I know you have deleted e-mail messages from names you don't recognize or have not examined every message sitting in your spam filter! Now think about the spam filter of a very busy partner who simply doesn't have the time to go through all those messages sitting there. Do you really believe that your e-mailed thank-you message is going to be read? I think the chances are probably 50/50 if the message gets dumped into a spam filter.

So now, what happens if the firm has requested that you send your résumé via e-mail? Well, I don't think that makes a difference in terms of your e-mailed thank-you note. Your résumé is going to the recruitment department and then being entered into the database. I don't think that is where you want your thank-you note to go, is it? Wait, let me clarify that statement. You might very well want to send a thank-you note to someone you have met during the interviewing process from the recruitment department. That e-mail probably will find its way to the right person.

So, let's get to the bottom line here -- for what it is worth, my opinion on all of this is that I like thank-you notes sent after an interview. I prefer hand-written notes sent by snail mail. I worry about thank-you notes sent by e-mail being caught up in spam filters or being deleted because they have come from an unknown source. An e-mailed thank-you message is better than no thank-you message at all, and last but not least, sending a résumé by e-mail to a firm doesn't mean that a thank-you email will get to the right source.

Happy New Year and best wishes to all!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates