When working with a recruiter and just in general, candidates should really limit their contact with potential employers. I will give a good example so you can see what I mean. I sent a good candidate for an interview at a reputable agency. She was totally on point in terms of personality and skillset, and she was very interested in the role and the agency. She did the right thing by sending a “thank you” email after the interview. I have stressed in the past that thank you emails/notes are very professional, appropriate, and often make a candidate stand out from the rest (I know it’s difficult to imagine but some candidates do not think to send a thank you following an interview, and this does reflect poorly on them in the eyes of the client).
In this particular case, the candidate did send a thank you but then also sent a follow up email that was a little bit quirky in hopes of being funny and perhaps seeming unique or different. The note was sent to a very senior person at the agency, and it completely turned him off from the candidate. It was unnecessary and was not entirely professional as a candidate should not be superfluously emailing/contacting a potential employer in this manner.
As a recruiter, a critical part of my job is to manage the relationship between candidates and clients throughout the interview and hiring process. Candidates should leave it to the recruiter to act as the communication liaison during these stages and truly limit interaction with the client until (fingers crossed) they have gotten the job. It is the best, smartest, and safest way to go about it. And if a candidate has a point to relay that was not stressed in the interview, for example, the candidate should speak with the recruiter instead of the client directly- and the recruiter will handle this communication in a professional way.
In this case, the candidate literally put herself out of the running through one email. The candidate’s intention may have been great, but the end result was quite negative and unfortunate.