Should I email my interviewer after the interview?

Claddagh_Noir

In the role I am currently in, I have emailed after the interview because I felt a very good rapport because I asked the interviewer a few questions that caught them off-guard and they were pleasantly surprised at...'what do you enjoy about your position in the company / what do you find most frustrating about the role / what challenges do you face in the company?'
I would only email to say thank you not about something that can help the company that you are not part of just yet. 
   
I do not see anything wrong with following up after an email that elaborates on the interview. As a previous poster said, you have nothing to lose. I see it on-par with jobhunters wanting feedback after an interview if they get the job or not. 
 

AskAsk

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:
...if the OP is really trying to help, without trying to gain anything from it, is to email the interviewer after the process has been completed whether he is successful or not.

I agree. If unsuccessful there's nothing to lose - worst case you might look weird, best case it might open the door to a different or later role with the organisation.

an interview is the time given for you to perform and get tested for the job.  after the interview, you no longer have this chance and so it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

the question may have been posed to test the OP and he only has a limited amount of time to give his answer.  that time has expired, so it would feel like someone saying after they have handed in their exam paper that they would like to take it back and add something to it.

k12479

AskAsk said:

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:
...if the OP is really trying to help, without trying to gain anything from it, is to email the interviewer after the process has been completed whether he is successful or not.

I agree. If unsuccessful there's nothing to lose - worst case you might look weird, best case it might open the door to a different or later role with the organisation.

an interview is the time given for you to perform and get tested for the job.  after the interview, you no longer have this chance and so it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

the question may have been posed to test the OP and he only has a limited amount of time to give his answer.  that time has expired, so it would feel like someone saying after they have handed in their exam paper that they would like to take it back and add something to it.

Once again, I agree with you. I wouldn't do it, but if, as you say, the "OP is really trying to help" then an email following an unsuccessful outcome saying "thanks for the interview opportunity...by the way you mentioned x problem and I thought you might find this helpful..." doesn't have much of a downside other than looking weird and addressing a hypothetical/obsolete problem. 

horsepills

AskAsk said:

 it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

For god's sake - how presumtuous? (and a bit rude).  I am not weirdly "still trying to sit the interview".  I have a lot of technical software skills that this company/employer does not currently have (hence the need to hire someone).  During the course of our chat, I was asked if one software package could communicate/integrate with another & I genuinely didn't know - it was very obvious that the interviewer didn't know either as he is non-technical and was just hypothesising. 
Afterwards, as I was going through my notes I remembered the question and out of curiosity I decided to do some digging - when I found the answer online, my first instinct was to share this with him - not because I am still trying to interview, but because (regardless of any interview outcome) I thought the info could prove useful for him/his company.  As others have now suggested, I'll wait until I hear the outcome of my interview before I share this info.  I'm not naive enough to think that whether or not I get hired is dependent on me sending over a blog post, I simply wanted to help - so some of these comments about being "weird" or trying to "ingratiate" myself, etc... are frankly a bit insulting.

bradders1983

You might not think it looks weird, but you arent the interviewer.

Exodi

I personally don't think it's that weird and I think in today's job climate doing things that differentiate you from others can't be a bad thing.

That said, it's clearly a subjective matter so I think we'll have to chalk it up to it depending on the interviewer. I personally wouldn't find it weird if someone emailed me this after but others may.

AskAsk

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:
...if the OP is really trying to help, without trying to gain anything from it, is to email the interviewer after the process has been completed whether he is successful or not.

I agree. If unsuccessful there's nothing to lose - worst case you might look weird, best case it might open the door to a different or later role with the organisation.

an interview is the time given for you to perform and get tested for the job.  after the interview, you no longer have this chance and so it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

the question may have been posed to test the OP and he only has a limited amount of time to give his answer.  that time has expired, so it would feel like someone saying after they have handed in their exam paper that they would like to take it back and add something to it.

Once again, I agree with you. I wouldn't do it, but if, as you say, the "OP is really trying to help" then an email following an unsuccessful outcome saying "thanks for the interview opportunity...by the way you mentioned x problem and I thought you might find this helpful..." doesn't have much of a downside other than looking weird and addressing a hypothetical/obsolete problem. 

i think you may have misunderstood my statement.  i said that the OP should not email the employer at this stage, but he can do so after the selection process has been completed as then there would be no doubt that he is only trying to help and not doing so to gain an advantage over other candidates.

AskAsk

horsepills said:

AskAsk said:

 it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

For god's sake - how presumtuous? (and a bit rude).  I am not weirdly "still trying to sit the interview".  I have a lot of technical software skills that this company/employer does not currently have (hence the need to hire someone).  During the course of our chat, I was asked if one software package could communicate/integrate with another & I genuinely didn't know - it was very obvious that the interviewer didn't know either as he is non-technical and was just hypothesising. 
Afterwards, as I was going through my notes I remembered the question and out of curiosity I decided to do some digging - when I found the answer online, my first instinct was to share this with him - not because I am still trying to interview, but because (regardless of any interview outcome) I thought the info could prove useful for him/his company.  As others have now suggested, I'll wait until I hear the outcome of my interview before I share this info.  I'm not naive enough to think that whether or not I get hired is dependent on me sending over a blog post, I simply wanted to help - so some of these comments about being "weird" or trying to "ingratiate" myself, etc... are frankly a bit insulting.

excuse me, it was you who posted this question on the forum to ask for independent opinion, and i have given you my independent opinion as to how your action may be interpreted by the interviewer.  i am not judging you or accusing you of anything as i do not have the full background of the circumstance and i can not mind read the interviewer or you.

i am simply stating that this is the risk that you could face if you sent in your 'after thought' email now before the selection process has been completed, which may end up working against you as they may decide to drop you if they had considered you before.  you do not know what people's intentions are when they ask a question at interview.  it may come across as informal or 'by the way', but for all you know, it could be designed as part of the interview process, or your answer to the question may be assessed as part of the interview process.

everything you do during the interview is assessed, whether consciously or subconsciously, so it is best not to add any information for assessment to this process once it is over as it may work against you.

MrJamez

Personal opinion but I would completely avoid doing this at all costs.

It would put me off you as a candidate as it would appear you are trying to be too kind.

k12479

AskAsk said:

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:

k12479 said:

AskAsk said:
...if the OP is really trying to help, without trying to gain anything from it, is to email the interviewer after the process has been completed whether he is successful or not.

I agree. If unsuccessful there's nothing to lose - worst case you might look weird, best case it might open the door to a different or later role with the organisation.

an interview is the time given for you to perform and get tested for the job.  after the interview, you no longer have this chance and so it seems a bit weird to me that a candidate is still trying to sit the interview!

the question may have been posed to test the OP and he only has a limited amount of time to give his answer.  that time has expired, so it would feel like someone saying after they have handed in their exam paper that they would like to take it back and add something to it.

Once again, I agree with you. I wouldn't do it, but if, as you say, the "OP is really trying to help" then an email following an unsuccessful outcome saying "thanks for the interview opportunity...by the way you mentioned x problem and I thought you might find this helpful..." doesn't have much of a downside other than looking weird and addressing a hypothetical/obsolete problem. 

i think you may have misunderstood my statement.  i said that the OP should not email the employer at this stage, but he can do so after the selection process has been completed as then there would be no doubt that he is only trying to help and not doing so to gain an advantage over other candidates.

No, I think we are saying the same thing. Do not email between the interview and hearing the outcome. Email after that, if you feel you really must.

By 'unsuccessful' below I meant the candidate not being selected. Emailing after that there's little to lose, with a small possibility of something to gain.

k12479 said:

If unsuccessful there's nothing to lose - worst case you might look weird, best case it might open the door to a different or later role with the organisation