I am impressed that you are discussing "Thank you" notes!  Thank you notes, either emailed or air mailed are important.  It shows attention to detail and follow-through. They should be sent out within 24 hours following an interview. Everyone, regardless of what position you are interviewing for, should send a note to the HR rep and your other interviewers.  I think that either are sufficient - as the saying goes "JUST DO IT"

Good question Bob...I think quite often they go hand in hand.  That being said, the thank you letter does not matter one single bit if you bombed the interview...it's more of an "icing on the cake" after a great interview.  And, it really could be a deal breaker if two like candidates interview extremely well and both come across as exceptional; when looking for that one thing that may push one over the edge, it may boil down to the thank you letter.  And if you refer back to my comment right at the beginning of this response in which case both stellar candidates would have sent a thank you letter, well then you look at the quality of the writing and the content.

Personally, I like the snail mailed versions.  It shows that the candidate took the time to actually write something down and go out of their way to show appreciation.  An email is nice, but I can't let that sit on my desk for a week after receiving it and showing it off to visitors in my office.

Another way to look at it is to maximize the use of all of the senses in making an impression on another person.

Sight, Sound, touch, taste and smell

Sight - in person interview, if they can see you you are a real person and vise versa
Sound - verbal communication both ways creates a real bond between people
Touch - Handshake, snail mail thank you note is very tactile (or tangible)
Taste - "breaking bread" together leaves an impression
Smell - For this one one does not want to leave a negitive impression.

David Perrings

Amen to those who still believe in saying "thank you". Sadly, in general, I don't think we do it enough. I was recently disappointed when looking to fill an HR opening on my team, I was saddened to learn that even people I thought KNEW to send thank yous, didn't send one. If I do a dozen interviews, I'm lucky to get 1 thank you email/note. And that stat applied to my past search for an HR person as well.