Tag Archives: faculty

Will They Pull a Faculty Position Offer?

For anyone applying for a faculty position, this is probably the nightmare scenario: you interviewed, you like the position, they liked you, they offer you the position, you begin negotiating, and then they pull the offer. What the hell just happened? This topic is difficult for me to discuss because it is so thoroughly beyond-the-pale unprofessional and unacceptable for institutions to pull an offer that I can barely wrap my head around it. Nonetheless, it does happen in veterinary medicine, and I have personally seen it twice.

The first I heard second-hand about but did not participate in. The small, private institution had offered a candidate the position and the candidate came back with requests. The problem is, one of those requests was absolutely impossible for the institution. The applicant felt strongly about it, though, so contemplated it for a long time and came back with another possible solution. There was at least one other back-and-forth like this. The candidate came back with another possible solution, and the hiring manager at the institution became frustrated and said, “Forget it.”

The second happened to a friend of mine. They received an offer for a faculty position at an off-campus research center affiliated with a large state school. My friend came back with a request for flexibility to allow remote work from an office on-campus (4 hours away from the research center) 4-6 days per month because of a personal family situation. The institution pulled the offer without further negotiation or explanation.

Let me be clear: this is the fault of the institution, NOT the applicant. I told my friend that it was probably for the best: any organization which would pull an offer during negotiations is not one you want to work for. This happens only because individuals at the organization get ego and emotion involved, which you SHOULD NOT do during negotiations. Here’s how negotiations are supposed to work:

The institution extends an offer. You respond with what you would like in order to accept it. The institution responds. They may give you everything, they may give you something, or they may give you nothing of what you ask for. If they give you everything, great, you accept the offer. If they give you something, you may be able to reply asking for a different something. The second-to-last step in any negotiation is the institution saying: this is our final offer, take it or leave it, and we need a decision by this date. It is then up to the candidate to decide if that is acceptable to them or not.

I can’t imagine why an institution would rescind an offer unless it is due to ego or emotion. I have heard administrators say during a negotiation, “Well, they aren’t appreciative enough of our offer,” or “What they are asking for is unreasonable.” The first reflects a ridiculous premise- of COURSE they appreciate the offer, but they want to do the best thing for themselves, their colleagues, and the institution. The second is irrelevant- if the institution believes it is unreasonable, they can reply with, “We cannot do that.” That’s how negotiations work!

If you are applying for faculty positions and are concerned about the pulled offer, my advice is: Do not be concerned. First, they are vanishingly rare. I have a personal sample of probably 50 negotiations of which I am aware enough to know if this happened. The fact that this happened in only two cases indicates a 4% incidence rate. In fact, the rate is very likely much lower than that, as there are hundreds more negotiations I do not know of that did not result in a pulled offer. Second, it is a GOOD thing if an institution pulls an offer to you. This indicates they are immature and unprofessional and don’t know how to conduct a negotiation. You don’t want to work at an institution like that. Of the two cases I described, I believe both candidates dodged a bullet.

Any competent administrator, if faced with a situation where they can’t give a candidate what the candidate is asking for, will say so, “This is the best we can do. Let us know by this date if you will accept or not.” When negotiating, you need to ask for what you NEED and what you WANT and offer reasonable explanations for your requests. Don’t accept any less because you are afraid of the pulled offer. The reasonable institution will give you what they can and negotiate in good faith.

NB: All of this assume YOU dealt with the institution in good faith. If you withheld something (pending license investigation, legal trouble, accusations of academic malfeasance, etc.), you should absolutely expect this will be discovered and, no matter where you are in the process, the offer will probably be rescinded. But you wouldn’t do anything like that, would you? So does not apply to you.

Choosing Letters of Recommendation for a Faculty Position

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The Vetducator - letters of recommendation series image.

Aim for zero. Seriously. The faculty selection process is largely based on the interview. All of your written materials are designed with only one goal: to get you an interview. Once you interview, all of your written materials will be of minimal value, unless those materials ‘ding’ you. Therefore, your strategy is simple: aim for zero.

Consider what those recruiting a faculty member want out of a candidate. They want someone personable and low maintenance. No department chair wants to recruit someone who is going to be a pain in their side. Your letters, therefore, should primarily speak to your collegiality. Therefore, you can get letters from three sources: supervisors, colleagues, and mentees.

Supervisors. See the above description of what a department head is looking for. If your current head can write that you are low maintenance and highly productive, that makes it easy to offer you an interview. If you are finishing your residency, obtain at least one letter from a faculty mentor, and preferably two.

Colleagues. This could be someone in your discipline and someone outside your discipline. If possible, a letter from each of these is ideal. It’s important to demonstrate that you can get on with others in your discipline as well as those outside of your discipline. You should definitely have at least one and preferably two letters from colleagues.

Mentees. These are preferably residents who have now gone on to bigger and better things. If you are an administrator, they may be faculty you have supervised. In general it is better to solicit letters from people with whom you no longer work- that way there is no concern of inappropriate pressure applied to them. If you trained a resident, they loved you, and they are out in the world as a specialist, they have no pressure to write you a good letter except that they loved working with you. If you are a resident, a more junior resident or a former intern who liked working with you may be good. This category is not a requirement and these letters of recommendation should be considered additional to the core letters.

I strongly advise you get at least one letter from a supervisor and one letter from a colleague. You need people who will speak to your collegiality and productivity/work ethic. Ask potential writers if they are willing to write a good letter, send them the position description, and give them plenty of notice/time to put a letter together. Remember your goal: get an interview.

Recommendation Letters Series

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The Vetducator - interconnectedness image for recommendations.

Asking for letters of recommendation is hard, which we have discussed before. In addition, from whom should you get letters of recommendation? This differs depending on what position you are applying for, I have create four separate posts for each of my audiences:

Those applying for vet school.

Those applying for internships.

Those applying for residencies.

Those applying for faculty positions.

I will be posting one a day this week to have them consolidated all in one spot. I hope they are helpful to you!

You Can Live a Lavish Life on an Academic Salary

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No, you can’t buy this ridiculous vehicle. You shouldn’t on ANY salary.

One of the most common complaints I hear about academia is that the salary is lower than private practice, sometimes substantially lower. While this is factually correct, I have never understood this argument. Most academic specialists make at least $100k a year, sometimes quite a bit more, which is way more than you need. Then there are the benefits, which are almost always better in academia than in private practice. The opportunity to earn a PENSION? This is guaranteed money for the rest of your life once you retire. I have never heard of anyone getting a pension from private practice, no matter how large the company.

If you calculate the value of the benefits, academia pays much more than the cash salary you earn. I’ve heard some practices don’t chip in for health insurance or retirement- that is HUGE! So it’s hard to compare private practice apples to academia oranges. In addition, many academic institutions give you consulting time, which is time off during which you can go locum elsewhere and make more money. Unless you have a chronic illness which continually drains your resources, academia pays enough. Even if you have huge student loans. Let’s look at how.

Let’s assume you make $100k a year as an academic- a pretty low salary for any specialist. This puts you in the 24% marginal tax rate. With social security, health insurance, and other cuts taken out, let’s say this leaves you with $5000 a month in take-home after-tax after-benefit pay. Now let’s break down expenses for a single person without roommates. This is a pretty free-wheeling estimate since this isn’t a personal finance blog, but it will serve as an illustration.

Expense	Amount/Month
Mortgage ($200k house @ 4%)	$950
Property taxes & insurance	$200
Groceries	$500
Transportation (gas, taxes, etc.)	$400
Eating Out	$100
Utilities (power, internet, etc.)	$150
Cell Phone	$50
Clothes, household items	$100
Misc	$200
TOTAL	$2,650
SAVINGS	$2,350

There are several assumptions made in these calculations. Houses in most college towns are inexpensive (apologies if you decided to take a job at UC Davis). Transportation is based off a 10-minute commute- college towns are usually small. You could dramatically cut your transportation costs by living in biking or walking distance to work. You can increase your income by getting a roommate, dramatically offsetting your housing costs. Even if you have high student loans, you can pay them off in a few years and begin saving for retirement with this salary.

Maybe all of this sounds like deprivation to you. Maybe you want to buy a huge house, drive an expensive car, and eat out every night. But… do you really? Is that what will make you happy? Because the science for this is NOT on your side. The science says the paths to real, meaningful happiness are through the purposeful life and the meaningful life, not the hedonic life. And this is NOT a deprivation lifestyle. If you need more evidence, check out this blog which explains how you can have a great life without wasting tons of money.

So, there, if you want to have a nice quality of life as an educator or researcher or academic clinician, you can do so. You have a flexible schedule, intellectual engagement, meaningful engagement (helping students AND animals AND clients), purposeful engagement (great flow during clinics or research or teaching), and you will make PLENTY OF MONEY. OK, bring on the arguments in favor of making tons of money in private practice.

How to be Successful: Being an Introvert in an Extrovert World

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According to Susan Cain in her book ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,’ before the turn of the 20th century, our country had a culture of character. You were trusted and people did business with you on the basis of your integrity. Around the turn of the century, though, the culture began to change to the culture of personality. Everyone should read this book, since it’s incredible. Extroverts should read it so they understand the introverts, and introverts should read it so they understand themselves. Until you can, let’s talk about how to successfully be an introvert in this day and age.

Fortunately, you have done well with your chosen career. Many people enter veterinary medicine believing- incorrectly- that they get to work with animals more than people. So it seems the profession may select for more introverts than, say, business. This means there are more of Your People around, which will make things easier. You don’t have to explain as often why you don’t want to go out after a hard week of studying and test taking. You can spend time with your small collection of close friends without much pressure to do more. Not everyone is an introvert, but it’s not hard to find them in vetmed.

I personally think introverts have an easier time with my first rule: Aim for Zero. Introverts take time to observe before acting, and deliberate, and therefore tend to make more thoughtful actions. It seems that extroverts are the ones who may try to put themselves out there attempting to be a +1 and fail miserably. I personally prefer people who are quietly competent, and this seems easier for an introvert than an extrovert.

On the other hand, it’s also important to show up and smile, which may be harder for introverts. So you may need to do something outside your comfort zone. Fortunately, this is good, because it forces you to get better at something which is difficult: a key concept embraced in Kaizen. If it’s hard for you to go socialize with people, then work on this. Develop it like any skill, and it will pay strong dividends for you.

Give yourself permission to be an introvert. If you are at a social function and you are Just Done, feel free to ghost. Push yourself a bit, but in measured amounts. Give yourself time to recharge. If you want to have quiet time to read at lunch, find a little nook on the top floor where nobody goes and curl up with your book.

Although introversion and social awkwardness and anxiety and shyness are not synonymous, they often co-exist. If you are socially awkward, that is just fine, PARTICULARLY for academic veterinary medicine! You don’t have to be the most flamboyant, expressive, bubbly person. None of the suggestions I give in the How to be Successful series hinge on being an extrovert. Because you don’t have to be sociable. You DO have to be pleasant to work with and hard working, but quiet people can do this easily.

Academic veterinary medicine is a great place for an introvert. You can (generally) set your own schedule and decide how much or little you want to interact with people. Yes, you do need to teach, but with practice you will get better and more comfortable. You can engage in highly detailed and cerebral pursuits. You can lock your office door or go for a walk to recharge. If you’re an introvert, seriously consider a career in academia. It’s pretty great.

Please Use Commas

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I was reading some residency application letters and my head was almost exploding. Everyone has their “thing”, and maybe I have more than most, but I am passionate about appropriate comma placement. I wouldn’t sink an application for poor comma use, but it just grates on me, and why would you want to irritate the people who may make your professional dreams come true? I am not a grammar nut and this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of rules- those you can find elsewhere.

The most common error I see in letters of application is not using the comma as a pause. The most bothersome absent comma is the one needed to create an appropriate rhythm to the sentence. Here are some examples. Say the one without the comma out loud. When you say that sentence, isn’t there a natural pause? That pause is where a comma goes.

No comma	Appropriate comma
As a student I worked with a faculty on a special project.	As a student, I worked with a faculty on a special project
No I didn’t realize that trip would change my life.	No, I didn’t realize that trip would change my life.
I did some research and did a RAVS trip.	I did some research, and did a RAVS trip.
When I did an externship in Costa Rica I experienced the connection between people animals and the environment.	When I did an externship in Costa Rica, I experienced the connection between people, animals, and the environment.
When I saw my first case a 5-year-old GSD I realized this was real.	When I saw my first case, a 5-year-old GSD, I realized this was real.
Fortunately I was able to work with great mentors.	Fortunately, I was able to work with great mentors.

I could go on. My point is you should pay attention to this. It doesn’t mean you’re a monster, but it does make me question your attention to detail. If your letter of intent has these kinds of simple flaws, will you have the attention to detail needed for good records or research? Be detail-oriented in your written materials. And please, PLEASE have other people read and edit your letters!

Successfully Navigating the Spousal Hire

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The Vetducator - married wedding rings on each hand picture.

So you want to go into academia, and your spouse also wants to work at the same institution. There is a position open for you, you interview, you get an offer. How do you handle negotiating a hire for your spouse? I have been successful and unsuccessful in this pursuit, so I will share my perspective with you. Realize that the spousal hire is probably the most complex, nuanced, and difficult negotiation in academic veterinary medicine. There are no guarantees, but hopefully these notes will help.

1) Do not bring it up during your interview. I spoke to a department chair recently who mentioned that an applicant brought up the potential for a spousal hire during their discussions and I physically cringed. DO NOT DO THIS. The job interview is about the JOB. Don’t bring up your kids, your significant other, NOTHING that doesn’t directly relate to your ability to be awesome at the job. You wait until you have an offer in hand to bring up a spousal hire. Imagine two identical candidates: one is single without any hassles about hiring them, the other with a spousal hire which requires significant hassle dealing with the Dean and Provost. Which do you think will get a job offer? Even if they don’t consciously discuss it, unconscious biases can creep in. Do not discuss your spouse before getting an offer.

2) Make it your highest negotiation priority. You may not get a higher salary, or equipment, or any of the other things you can negotiate for as a faculty candidate. Make it clear that a spousal hire is your highest priority- don’t just tack it on like an afterthought. Open with it in written negotiations once you have an offer.

3) Some institutions Do Not Do spousal hires. This is most evident overseas. I had a couple of offers from universities in Oceania; when I asked for a spousal hire they looked at me like I had grown a second head. Possibly some overseas schools do offer them, but I have heard that this is Not A Thing outside the United States. Possibly Canada- can anyone comment on Canadian schools doing spousal hires? Also, within the U. S., some schools have a moratorium on them. One school I worked at had a strict no-spouse-works-for-that-same-university-at-all policy. So even if we had two open positions which would be perfect for two people who happened to be married, we could only hire one of them.

4) Be specific. I recommend being as specific as you need to be for the position for your spouse. If they would be happy doing any job at the university, fine. If they want a tenure-track position, specify that. If there is a salary range they want, specify that. The worst thing is to say, “Yes, please give my spouse a job”, they do so, then you come back with, “Oh, yeah, no, can I also have This and That and The Other Thing?” As with all negotiations, ask for what you want up front. This also makes it clearer when the department head brings it to the Dean.

5) Be flexible. Maybe your spouse WANTS a tenure-track position, but would they be happy with a lecturer position? Decide exactly how important each element of a potential position is. My spouse ideally wants a teaching-heavy lecturer position, but, when offered a clinic-heavy position with some teaching, she was happy with that. Decide AHEAD OF TIME exactly what your spouse would be content with so that if you don’t get your first ask, but the institution is willing to work with you to some degree, you will know how to navigate it.

6) You must be outstanding. If you are just finishing a residency, or only have one publication to your name, or otherwise are just ‘meeting expectations’, you are in a relatively weaker negotiation position. If the institution is desperate, you may still get what you want. But the more amazing your CV, the more likely you are to successfully negotiate for a spousal hire.

7) Be prepared for no. I asked for a spousal hire after getting an offer and was told “no” and “we need your answer in under 2 weeks.” I was caught a little off guard, because I didn’t consider it an exceptional request for this institution. I should have spent more time thinking about and talking with my SO about what we would do if there weren’t a position for her. Most other things you ask for in a negotiation you can get at least some traction on, but the spousal hire is a rare bird. Don’t count on it.

As always with negotiations, be dispassionate and professional. You can always ask, but realize that you may get a ‘no’. Decide ahead of time if that is a deal-breaker for you or not. On my last round of job applications, I decided the spousal hire WAS a deal-breaker, and I was willing to wait until I found an institution willing to offer one. I believe that fortitude was essential to my success. I wish you luck, and let me know what questions you have about this process!

Why You Need an Elevator Speech and How to Make a Great One

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How do you sum up everything that you are and do professionally in a short span of time? This is the premise of the elevator speech- a few lines of dialogue which encapsulate your professional experience, approach, and future. We don’t use them often in veterinary medicine, but I think it’s useful to have one ready. Let’s look at who the elevator speech is for, some uses for the elevator speech, and how to make a great one.

Use #1 – Talking with non-veterinary types. Although most of the people you engage with during an interview are in the veterinary field, you may encounter some who are not. Maybe you have a meeting with a Senior VP (for higher-level positions), maybe you have time with a basic sciences researcher or someone from a different college. These people need a purchase to stand on and enter a conversation. Your elevator speech gives them a starting point.

Use #2 – You may get asked regardless. Particularly in larger group interviews, you may get asked to give a quick summary of what you do. Hopefully, everyone has read your CV and letter, but those don’t necessarily answer this question. If you don’t have an answer prepared, you can flail around looking for an answer. This question may come up as, “Do tell us about yourself” or “I’ve read your CV- give me some insight into your overall approach.”

Use #3 – Priming your brain. Similar to a mission statement, having an elevator speech helps to crystalize what you do and why you do it. This can inform any professional interaction you have, even if you don’t actually say your elevator speech. You can refer back to it and ask, “Is this still true? Do I want it to be?” You can even ask, “How would this project fit into my image of myself, given my elevator speech?”

Now that we’ve decided it’s useful, let’s work on crafting one. Here are the few short, sweet suggestions:

1) The most important rule is to keep it short. One to three sentences- what you could say to someone as you ride an elevator to the next floor.

2) Give some context for who you are now and what you do.

3) Provide an example.

4) Make a conclusion. Or not. I like to leave the ending opening for a question. You can see that in my elevator speech:

“I’m The Vetducator, I’m a Professor of Veterinary Anesthesia at the University of Wherever. I look for improvements in systems- teaching, research, service, policies- using an evidence-based approach. For example, I measured how students performed on quizzes of varying length over the years to arrive at the best amount of time to balance efficiency with student performance.”

Let’s look at how it hits the four points above:

1. It’s short- 3 sentences. It takes about 18 seconds to verbalize. 2. The context is I work at this place in this role. Since people may not know what a professor of anesthesia does, I expanded on what I do on a fundamental level. Saying “I anesthetize pets and research animals” doesn’t add much to “I’m a veterinary anesthesiologist.” Also, it doesn’t really encapsulate my whole professional approach and philosophy. 3. There’s an example of my research. 4. I don’t give a conclusion because I want to leave them with something to ask. Hopefully, this gives the other person an easy next step in the conversation: “What did you find in your study?”

My wife’s is: “I’m The Pharmducator; I’m a PharmD and PhD at the University of Wherever. I teach pharmacy and other healthcare topics and I research natural products. The project most people are most interested in is my research on the phenolic and antioxidant content of craft beer and its ability to inhibit some of the processes by which diabetic complications arise.”

Let’s look at how it hits the four points above:

1. It’s short- 3 sentences. It takes about 16 seconds to verbalize. 2. The context includes her degrees, which is important- she can do both clinical and basic sciences work. She specifies what exactly in pharmacy she does. 3. She gives an interesting publication. 4. She doesn’t include a conclusion, but beer and science are always intriguing to people, so giving them an example, which will make them curious, leads them to asking about it.

The elevator speech is not often found in veterinary medicine, but I think it’s a good tool to have ready, just in case. I believe it also helps to cement what you are interested in professionally, which can affect your global thinking.

How to be Successful: Smile

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I have no intention of smile-shaming anyone. I know people- women especially- get told all the time, “You should smile more.” I don’t want to make those with Resting Bitch/Asshole Face feel worse. All that being said, I am going to give you a piece of golden advice: during interviews, smile more.

This came into prominent focus for me during vet school interviews. We had a batch of 6 applicants to interview. They were all basically good, and then we had one candidate who really grabbed my attention. Her answers were similar to the others, but she seemed more engaged and interested in the whole process. After her interview, my partner and I said to each other, “Did you notice how much she was smiling?” It made her interview instantly better and her more likable.

Dozens of job-focused websites advocate smiling, probably all for reasons you know about. Our nonverbal cues are important. Smiling helps to recover from a gaffe. It influences first impressions. The science indicates smiling improves the likelihood of being shortlisted. Professional job advisers all advocate smiling.

One note of caution is to make sure your smile is genuine. And it should be! You’re excited to be interviewing for a position. Show that excitement and enthusiasm through your smile. You’re allowed to be nervous- nervous excitement can manifest in a smile. Realize that the interviewers are there to support you and not knock you down. Make sure your smile is genuine and not forced. If you’re not feeling it, don’t stick a plastic expression on. Try instead to find within yourself a reason to smile. You got an interview! That’s great!

I will also advocate that you smile during phone and video interviews. Even though those on the phone can’t see you smile, it alters the way you speak and this, amazingly, comes across over the phone. Video interviews obviously add the visual aspect, but it is amazing how often people forget basic interview tips. Remember this one- naturally smile during all interviews.

I understand it can be difficult. You may not have a naturally bubbly personality. Heck, I fall into this category. But when I am on an interview, I am genuinely happy to be there. I am excited to meet all the people I may be working with and find out what they have to say. I feel that excitement internally, so I just remind myself to display it externally. Try to find your inner cheerleader and let them out during the interview. Do you have strategies you use to smile more?

Should I Send a Thank You Note?

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The Vetducator thank you note for interviews.

Interviews are tiring events for everyone. The interviewee has to be ‘on’ all the time. But the interviewers are taking time out of their busy schedule to meet with you. Academics always feel overwhelmed and time-stressed. Staff are often underappreciated. Thank you notes acknowledge the time and energy dedicated to your interview.

Should I Send Thank You Notes? Yes. You won’t be cut from the shortlist for not sending a thank you. But you DO appreciate people’s time, don’t you? Why not show it? This reflects a level of class and professionalism. Who wouldn’t want to hire the classiest, most professional applicant?

Should I Send a Thank You Note to Staff? Yes. I always send a thank you note to the staff who helped arrange the interview. I have gotten reports from my admin during faculty interviews ranging from, “She seemed really nice. She asked me questions and was interested in the area” to “We drove in silence the whole way.” Staff can subtly alter the perception of your visit- let them know their hard work is appreciated.

Should I Send a Thank You Note to Faculty? Maybe. I recommend sending one to anyone you spent a significant amount of time with. These will be the individuals who directly interviewed you. If you had a large session with 20 faculty for an hour, I wouldn’t send a note to all of them. But if you had lunch with 2 faculty, a note to each is suggested.

Should I Send a Thank You Note to the Hiring Managers/Committee? Yes. If applying for an internship/residency/faculty position, you should send thank you notes to the decision-makers. For faculty positions, this is the search committee and the department chair, possibly to include the Dean. For internship/residency positions, this is whomever is in charge of those programs, assuming you met with them (Intern Training Committee, group of specialists for residencies, etc.).

What Should I Say? I recommend personalizing each note as much as possible. If you can remember a specific topic discussed with that person, mention it in the note. If not, you can make it generic. It does not need to be long- 3 sentences are plenty. Begin with “Dear Title Lastname,” and end with “Salutation, Yourfirstname Yourlastname”. Do not use your title in your salutation. Respectfully, sincerely, with thanks, and regards are all good salutations.

What Form Should the Note Take? This is up to personal opinion so I will not be prohibitive here. Your options are email and a physical thank you card. I personally prefer to send a physical thank you card, but an email in this day and age is acceptable. I feel a physical thank you card is a little classier and more consistent with my professional image- I am a little bit old school and a little bit formal. It can also be hard to find email addresses for some individuals. If you are concerned about a physical card arriving after the decision-making group meets, an email may be preferable. Decisions are rarely made less than a week after an interview, though, giving plenty of time for a physical note to arrive.

What Happens if I Don’t Send a Thank You Note? Probably nothing. For vet school, those who interview you may not be on the selection committee. In this case, after the interview is over, they have no say in your selection. For internships, residencies, and faculty positions, those who participate in interviews will probably have varying levels of influence on any hiring decisions. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Well, that person didn’t send a thank you note, so I think we should put them lower.”

Does a thank you letter change them from a “no” vote to a “yes” vote? Unlikely. In the event of two equally qualified candidates, does getting a thank you letter cause them to vote slightly higher for that candidate? Possibly. It is a very low-cost action to take which may ever so slightly improve your chances of success. Why not send a thank you note?