Not quite the same thing, but applicants we interview for jobs tend to send a personal note to each person [3] on the committee. It’s a nice touch – especially when the applicant includes something along the lines that @reckless noted, so we know they were paying attention. I don’t think it has ever affected a hiring decision, but it may have encouraged me to keep an applicant’s resume on file even if they weren’t offered the job. Never know when I’ll have vacancy (aka wait list).