I'm currently waiting for a final interview with an employer. But today is his birthday that I knew about from his Skype profile. I wonder if I should send him my birthday wishes or is going to look like I'm flattering him?
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How do you know his birthday? "Hi Viktor, thanks for coming in for an interview, which happens to be 3 days before my birthday" was not his first sentence to you, I guess? So if you know the guy already before the interview (through a professional network or personal relation) I think it is totally fine and normal.– dirkkFeb 26, 2017 at 11:54
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@dirkk yeah, we had several Skype interviews, an email conversation for 2-3 week and I have his LinkedIn. I think your comment could be an actual answer– ViktorFeb 26, 2017 at 11:57
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So you know his birthday from his LinkedIn then? Meeh, I personally would never send birthday wishes to anyone on LinkedIn as it is a professional network. Birthday wishes are (at least for me; I guess this is heavily culture-dependent) reserved for friends and family, so people I usually not contact via LinkedIn. Of course if you happen to see him or run into him a "Happy birthday" is totally appropriate. Otherwise I personally would refrain from it, but take this with a grain of salt (given that it might differently in your location/culture).– dirkkFeb 26, 2017 at 12:01
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@dirkk I actually know about his birthday from Skype. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter :)– ViktorFeb 26, 2017 at 12:02
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1I would not do this unless you actually know this individual personally.– NeoFeb 27, 2017 at 12:52
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2 Answers
No, you shouldn't.
Given that you just know his birthday by mere accident, in this case from his Skype account, there is not really anything to gain from it. If you do, it could be perceived as kissing up. However, it is very unlikely you will get any "bonus points" for sending him best wishes.
As many people don't check the Skype birthdays or turn the alerts off it would not be considered weird if you simply didn't know his birthday and hence don't send him best wishes.
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In addition, for some reason some people give a false birthday date in their Skype profile. I also had people congratulate me on a day I didn't have birthday because Skype gave some false information, and I don't know why.– PurrrpleFeb 26, 2017 at 21:06
I would consider it weird and creepy. I wouldn't worry, I can handle weird and creepy, but I can do without it. In some respects, I might be worried that I'm inviting a stalker to my company and god knows where that might lead.
In both cases, that final interview might not happen, and if it happens, it might very well fail.
I seriously suggest that you wait about a year, and if there is a birthday card going round that everyone signs then you join in and sign it as well. Right now it doesn't look like you are flattering him, it looks like an invasion of privacy.
PS. I don't tend to use my true birthday when websites ask for it. So if you sent me a birthday card on the day that is supposedly my birthday according to Skype, it's unlikely to be my birthday.
answered Feb 26, 2017 at 13:30
