Kids these days are the worst. We are lazy, narcissistic, and impatient. We have trouble finding work and committing to a single job for long. We are entitled, too — a shelf full of participation trophies has convinced us we deserve a job promotion at least every two years.
Handwritten thank-you notes are the perfect antidote for young people seeking to avoid the reputation of their peers.
Unfortunately, however, we rarely write them.
According to the United States Postal Service, first-class mail dropped by more than 50 percent in the last decade. In 2018, the New York Times reported that the average American home received just 10 pieces of personal mail each year.
In a world where Gmail and Outlook automatically create a brief statement of appreciation for you at the end of an email, we need thank-you notes more than ever.
It takes effort to write a note, print the correct address on an envelope, stamp it, and drop it in a mailbox. Unlike an electronic message, thank-you notes aren’t free.
The time and cost of expressing gratitude in a thank-you note acknowledge the sacrifice of the generosity received. It signals that you don’t take someone’s kindness for granted and are willing to put in the work to recognize that kindness.
It takes time to handpick the words that convey why we value an action or a gift. Further, a thank-you note is intrinsically selfless.
The time-consuming act of writing a thank-you note is a good remedy for the impatience and narcissism common in many young people.
Handwritten thank-you notes also provide several advantages to young people trying to make a good impression in a competitive world. College students seeking employment will do well to remember that often those hiring are from a generation more accustomed to written communication. We are entering their arena, and we should play by their rules.
Since so many of our peers don’t write thank-you notes, this is a great opportunity to make a favorable impression. Writing a thank-you note after an interview is especially important.
According to the Center for Generational Kinetics, more than 83% of millennials did not send a handwritten thank-you note to the person who interviewed them for their current job.
Many professionals receive dozens, if not hundreds, of emails every day. A brief note expressing gratitude for the interviewer’s time shows follow-through and makes you stand out in a flood of blanket thank-you emails. It communicates that you aren’t entitled.
Digital thank-yous are commonplace and transient. Written thank-you notes are exceptional and timeless.
Writing them even will make you happier, too. Numerous studies show that thank-you notes are appreciated by nearly everyone. According to Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, they can even make the writer happier.
Thank-you note writers “immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month,” Seligman said.
I write between 30 to 40 thank-you notes each year, and can affirm that it grows easier the more you do it. You can express gratitude for so many things — professors for teaching you, friends for inviting you to dinner, professional connections for offering career advice, mentors for writing letters of recommendation, or family for showing hospitality.
The more thank-you notes you write, the more you will realize how much you have to be grateful for.
Thank-you notes combat the oft-bemoaned stereotypes of young people. Written thank-you notes may be out of practice these days, but they will never be out of style.
Russell Richardson is a Master’s student at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship.