Interviewing

3 Easy Steps to Write Follow-Up Emails After Job Interviews

Sarah O’Mahoney

Marketing Specialist & Freelance Writer


If you’re reading this article, the chances are that you’ve recently completed an interview… kudos to you! An interview can be a stressful situation from spending hours prepping typical questions to dealing with some pre-interview nerves. 

Although you may think all you have to do now is wait to see the verdict of your interview, that is not entirely true. Sending a follow-up email after your job interview can be a great way to get on track to bagging that dream job. Follow-up emails and post-interview thank-you notes are something that candidates have forgotten in recent times, but this is a chance for you to get ahead of the crowd! 

This blog article will dive into why it’s a good idea to write a follow-up email after your job interview. Don’t worry, we’ll guide you on how to do it, and even show you some examples. By the end of this article, you will be ready to send a well-written follow-up email after any job interview and be prepared to say “yes!” to your dream job.

Why Should I Send a Follow-Up Email?

Sending an interview follow-up email is a step that many interview candidates skip over, and there are many benefits to ticking this step off of your job interview checklist. 

Searching for a new job nowadays is as competitive as ever, and interview candidates should do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. According to Forbes, approximately 120 people typically apply for any given job opening. Only 23% of these applicants will get called for an interview. If you happen to be one of this 23%, you should be doing everything you can to keep on going until you get a job offer. 

Sending a follow-up email after your job interview is a great next step if you want to be remembered by the interviewing panel. Follow-up emails after interviews show you are enthusiastic about the job, and you appreciate being called in for the interview. Interviewers on panels are usually very busy people, so a follow-up email after your interview can demonstrate that you are thankful for the panel taking their time to see you. 

A follow-up email won’t take too much time to send, and can increase your chances of being called back for another interview, or even better, land yourself your dream job! Hiring managers also get the opportunity to see your soft skills in a follow-up email. By sending one, you have demonstrated great communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to show respect in the workplace.

When Should an Interview Follow-Up Email be Sent?

A post-interview follow-up email should be sent as swiftly as possible. Although it may take up to two weeks to hear back from some hiring managers about the outcome of a job interview, it’s important not to take too long when sending a follow-up email. The whole idea behind sending a follow-up email after your job interview is to remind the interviewing panel about you and to stand out. If you take too long to send your follow-up email, it may be pointless to do so at all. 

Aim to send your interview follow-up email within 24 hours of meeting with the panel or hiring manager. This way, the interviewing panel will still remember their meeting with you, and it will have the biggest impact. Ideally, it would be great to send it on the day of your interview to show how passionate and enthusiastic you are about the job

How to Write an Interview Follow-Up Email

Tips for writing a job application emails
How to Write Follow-Up Emails After Interview

Writing follow-up emails after interviews is easier than you may think. It doesn’t have to go into too much detail, but should be well written and conducted professionally. This is a great opportunity for you to remind the hiring manager why you are the perfect candidate for the role, and how great it was having the opportunity to interview with the panel. 

Write an Email Subject Line

Hiring managers and other employees receive many emails every day. It’s important to write something that not only is short and sweet but will catch their eye. It might be worth considering putting the interviewer’s name in the subject. An example may look like this:

  • It was great meeting with you today John.

Or if you wanted to keep it less personal, you could try something like:

  • Re: Interview on Thursday at 5:30 pm

Either way, keep it short and to the point to catch as much attention as possible. 

The Body of the Follow-Up Email

Writing the body of your follow-up email after your job interview is probably the trickiest part of the task. You know what you want to say, but you may not know how to say it. Just remember that the general purpose of any follow-up email is to show your gratitude to the interviewers, as well as your enthusiasm for the role and how you feel you are even more excited for this opportunity since the interview. You may also be itching to inquire about where they are in their hiring process. This email is a chance for you to stand out from other candidates once again, so make it count! 

Signing Off

When signing off on your follow-up email, it is important to keep it formal and professional. Consider telling the hiring manager they are free to contact you if they require any additional details or information from you. Make sure to end your email using the correct sign-off. 

Email Sign-Offs for Follow-Up Email After Interview
Email Sign-Offs for Follow-Up Emails After Interviews

Until you have built up a rapport with the hiring manager, consider using sign-offs that are more on the formal side.

Ensure to include your contact details when you are signing off on your follow-up email. Always keep in mind that the people on the interviewing panel are very busy, so make things easier for them. By having your contact information at arm’s length for the hiring manager, they don’t need to go searching for things like your phone number. If your follow-up email doesn’t have your contact details, another candidate will have included them!

Example Follow-Up Email After Your Job Interview

Here’s an example of what the body of the interview follows up email might look like: 

Dear Mr. Smith

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. It was great being able to learn more about the Marketing Manager role at Company X. I was really impressed with the company’s drive for innovation, and it was especially great to get a sense of the company’s notable culture. 

It was really interesting to learn more about the rebranding the company will be implementing, and I feel my background and experience in marketing and branding fits in perfectly with this vision. 

After our conversation today, not only am I more enthusiastic about this role, but I feel confident that Company X is the right next move for me professionally. Please contact me if you require any additional information or details in the meantime. I look forward to hopefully becoming a part of the Company X team. 

Kind Regards, 

Your Full Name 

476-384-2048 

youremail@mail.com

Post Follow-Up Email After Interviews

Once you have sent off your follow-up email after your job interview, you can let out another sigh of relief… you have successfully ticked off another step of the interviewing process. Next, hopefully, you will hear from the hiring manager with the next steps of the process, for example, if there is a skills test required, or maybe another interview. 

It may be the case that you haven’t heard back from the company in a few days but not to fret. This isn’t necessarily a bad sign. Like all of us, hiring managers can forget to reply to emails too, so if you haven’t heard back, it may be time to send another gentle follow-up. This time it can be to inquire about where they are in their hiring decision.  

The whole purpose of sending the follow-up email after your interview is to remind the hiring manager about you. If they haven’t responded to your first follow-up, it may be no harm to send another about a week after your first email.

When following up on your first follow-up email after your job interview, try and wait at least two days before sending the next one. It is important to remember that pestering the hiring manager should be avoided. If you’ve successfully got this far in the hiring process, being an annoyance to the hiring team is definitely not desired. 

To avoid this, the rule of thumb is to follow up a second time if you haven’t heard back from the company within a week of your first follow-up email. This leaves enough time for the manager to consider your interview, and all of the other candidates as well as leaving enough time to send another gentle reminder. 

An Example of the Follow-Up After the Follow-Up

Here’s an example of what the body of the second follow-up email might look like: 

Dear Mr. Smith

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on August 1 at 2:30 PM. It was great being able to learn more about the Marketing Manager role at Company X. I am emailing to follow up about the status of the Marketing Manager position that I interviewed for. I understand you all are very busy, and I just wanted to check in to get an update about your next steps.

As time goes on, I become more enthusiastic about the this role, and I feel confident that Company X is the right next move for me professionally. Please contact me if you require any additional information or details in the meantime. I look forward to hearing back from you and hopefully becoming a part of the Company X team. 

Sincerely, 

Your Full Name 

476-384-2048 

youremail@mail.com

Let’s Wrap Up….

By now, you should have a little more understanding of why sending a follow-up email after your job interview is an essential step on your job-hunting journey. Rest assured that putting in some extra effort to send an email after your job interview will be set you apart from the crowd. The hiring manager and interviewing panel will really appreciate that you have taken the time to thank them, and it can go a long way! 

Here is a recap of some of the main points to remember when sending an interview follow-up email: 

Some Top Tips for Sending a Follow-Up Email After Your Job Interview:

  • Send your email with 24 hours of your interview. This is because you are still fresh in the interviewing panel’s mind. 
  • In your email, express how grateful you are to have been interviewed for this role and recap in a sentence or two why you’d be great for the position.
  • Use appropriate sign-offs in your interview follow up emails
  • Include your contact information in your email 
  • Follow up again if you haven’t heard back in two days, and again after a week.

If you have an interview coming up, or maybe you’re just fresh out of a job interview, try sending a follow-up email using all of your new knowledge to put your best foot forward. Remember to be appreciative, confident, and professional… Happy Job Searching

Additional Resources for Your Job Search

Need to send a thank you email?

6 Steps To Write a Great Thank You Email After Your Interview

Need to refine your skills section on your resume?

Top Skills for Resumes: The Most Common Resume Skills By Industry

Need help writing your next cover letter?

Cover Letter Examples: Quickly Write the 3 Types of Cover Letters

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2 Comments

  1. Tammy Merritt Reply

    Hello jobseacher.com
    I wish I would have known this sooner – not only to send a post email after the job interview, but that it is OK to in about 2- 3 days after the interview! Then, again if the candidate still hasn’t heard back from a potential employer it is perfectly ok to send a 2nd email within a week, and so on…

    You’re so right! If this will help me stand out more, that is definitely what I am after! You’ve got some great articles on here!

    By the way, I have a several questions, so I’m going to take a risk and ask job searcher my new best friend , lol a few questions. Ok, look Jobsearcher I must continue pursuing my writing life, I love it so much. I have decided, like my dad who was a multi-millionaire (but a jerk) sometimes you gotta be courageous and ask for help and mercy. This is one of those times. I’m at my lowest point in life. I really want this thing called,” a great living as a freelance writer!”

    I want this life style for me so thank you for reading this, from my heart, truly.I have been writing for a Christian publication for 8 years, as a volunteer. I still do every now and then.I have been writing a lonnnng time!(mom encouraged me at age 7)I have never been paid to write.Life learner, grown like weeds but I don’t much about writing online content and immediately (within a few weeks) start getting paid, and how to go after jobs myself instead of through all these services like Indeed, or Linked In, ect. It costs so darn much, especially right now through this inflation and daily rising The whole point is I’m mad as hell, working temp jobs that suck, I would still take on a remote job for my independence, work upward, keep moving forward, build by doing writing gigs and create courses on on the side. I am about to dry up on funds, and some of these companies/writing services come off like they are about “Payment First” instead of helping someone and earnestly wanting to make an impact on people who are unemployed and especially when they are in their element. . So, I was wondering if you have an knowledge first of all:
    1. Do you know if paying Social media jobs.com is credible? yes, I paid $27 bucks for a ONE time fee, but you can’t actually go for a social media job until you get this certificate, and that part is not bad, it’s just there are ALOT of courses. 2.How do you know for sure credibility (even if you did some research on them (BBB, read reviews and so on). Do you you guys offer any free training on How to even get started. Would starting a free blog improve my chance of paid writing gigs?( clients , companies, or receive offers for writing gigs or do you have to use S.E. O. , what about a You Tube channel and are there ways to have your own self monetize social media posts, blogs, emails, and how do you write a pitch and approach what to get paid (salary request) or where to begin with payment for services rendered when you you gotta make enough to survive, you know you got this, you finally KNOW your self worth- the shoe fits- great salary or even if it’s a one time gig, I don’t know how to go about this entire process and every body wants to charge you for inquiring!I don’t think that’s right, seriously. I can’t help but think to my self, Ok, God, you are the one who equipped with all these gifts, but I am 57, really cute,(lol) great self-care, single, no kids, love people, want to make an impact, be in a position to help me first so I can really enjoy helping any body in this world that needs “HELP”. When I discipline my self to write (whatever) man I come alive ! It’s exciting, intoxicating, I want this as my livelihood, and soon! Covid destroyed my Inheritance,it just feels like some times people think you’re not “in their club” if your not already up and running!
    Sorry so long but for some reason I had to write this and make the time to follow through. I owe this to myself. It’s that important to me.
    Well, you just know Jobsearcher, I have really enjoyed asking and sharing with you today. I hope you have a most wonderful day. Hope you look as forward to building “RELATIONSHIP’ with me as I do with you!

    Warmly,
    Tammy Leigh Merritt

    • Christa Reed Reply

      Hi Tammy,

      Thank you for reaching out. The best thing I can do is recommend one of our blogs on freelancing.

      https://jobsearcher.com/blog/6-tips-to-go-from-employee-to-freelancer

      This blog will give you some insight on how to become a freelancer. From there, I suggest marketing your skills on UpWork, Fiverr, and other freelance platforms. You’ll become your own boss as a writer, and you won’t have to pay upfront to do it. Goodluck on your writing dreams!

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