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How to Write a Follow-Up Email After Interview

writing follow-up email after job interview

Phew! All of your panic and anxiety are over. You have just finished your job interview and you can let out a big sigh of relief! But don’t get all too cozy just yet. There’s one more ordeal you have to follow-through to cement the good impression you’ve made  — send a follow-up email after the interview.

Why Interview Follow up Emails Are a Big Deal?

The small gesture of sending a quick thank you email after an interview can make a major difference in your odds of getting a callback.

There are several very clear reasons why you should always follow-up your interviews:

  • You show appreciation and re-confirm your eagerness to join the team.
  • Follow-up emails allow you to provide some extra information or share something you forgot to mention during your interview.
  • You can get closure and some extra peace of mind by asking the recruiter about your performance.
  • Lastly, you provide the HR with a quick reminder on your status — something the busy folks will always appreciate.

And no, sending a follow-up email after an interview does not make you look like a pest. On the contrary, it’s a courtesy most employers will genuinely appreciate!

When To Follow-Up After an Interview

This may be a bit of a bummer, but — there’s really no right or wrong timing. You’ll have to go in with your guts to decide when it’s the best time to follow-up on your interview.

job interview process

But we do have several pointers that should help you zoom in on the right timing:

  • Sending a thank-you email can be done the same/next day the interview. In fact, 80% of HRs say they take thank-you notes into account when making hiring decisions. The same goes for a follow-up email after phone interviews. Keep both short and sweet. Recap the matters you’ve discussed, reconfirm your interest, and thank the interviewer for their time.
  • Go with the employer timeline. Most HRs will be the first to tell you when you can expect their decision. If you heard crickets from them within that time, take it as a sign to follow-up.
  • If else, send the first follow-up in two weeks after the interview — usually, that’s a good timeline for larger companies to make their decision.

With all the whys and whens out of the way, let’s move to the more exciting part of actually writing a kicker follow-up email.

How to Write a Follow-Up Email After Interview (Sample Emails)

So you already know that you can send several types of interview follow-up emails — a thank-you email and a general follow-up email. On top of that, you can follow-up to accomplish several different things:

  • Reconfirm your eagerness
  • Politely request an update
  • Bring up new information
  • Address some issue during the interview

Our team lined up several after-interview follow up email templates for all of these occasions. But before you swipe those, let’s recap some quick best practices of email etiquette:

  • Always set a positive tone with your email. Try to reinforce the reasons why you believe you are a good fit for the role on offer.
  • Keep your email short and on-point. Get to your purpose quickly and include a clear call-to-action in the end aka something you want the other party to do next (e.g. provide you with an update).
  • Include any valuable information that you didn’t get the time to pass on to your interviewer. You may have run out of time and failed to mention an example of where you demonstrated your skills as a team leader or how you devised a new workplace procedure that helped to improve productivity levels by 20%.
  • Clarify and answer any interview questions that you felt you didn’t answer very well. Interviewers know that job candidates get nervous during their interviews, so will understand if you occasionally stumble over an answer.

Sample Thank You Email After Interview

While as much as 80% of HRs value receiving a thank you email post-interview, only 24% of candidates actually go about sending one, according to the above-mentioned survey.

It’s a shame because thank you notes are easy-to-write and delightful-to-send. Plus, doing so helps to keep your interview fresh in the minds of the employer. Your email, popping up in their inbox, can act as a powerful memory jolt after a few days of back-to-back interviews.

This may be obvious, but it’s best to be stated: send a thank you email to the person you’ve had an interview with and the recruiter who set you up. If you forgot to make a note of the name of your interviewer on the day, you could look them up on the company website and find their contact email. CC both email addresses.

Now comes your letter:

Subject line: Re: Interview on Thursday 12th at 10 AM

Or

Subject line: Thank you for my interview on 12th September

[HR Name], 

I’d like to thank you for organizing the interview for me on 12th September for the position of (insert the job title here). Meeting you in-person was absolutely delightful and I appreciated the intro you gave about the company. 

[Interviewer name, if different], it was very pleasant to meet you too. I hope that you found our conversation as productive as I did. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information from me. 

[Your Name]

Sending a straight-forward thank you message such as this and finishing off your email with an open offer for them to contact you for more information will show the employer that following your interview you are still interested in the job. It also keeps the lines of communication open between you and the employer.

Second Follow Up Email After Interview

After you’ve dispatched your thank you note, mark your calendar for the next interview follow up email — a more substantial reminder that could reinforce and support your job application.

A second follow up email after an interview can be a great avenue for resolving any issues you may have or merely ask about the status of your application.

Here are several samples you can use, depending on the occasion.

General Follow Up Email To Send in One or Two Weeks After the Interview

Let’s look at a sample email that you can tweak to match your case. This is a straightforward template that you can use where you felt everything went OK during your interview.

Use your follow-up as an opportunity to present any extra information that you feel is crucial to your recruitment chances:

Hello [Name],

I am following up concerning my job interview on (date and time) for the position of (job title). Please could you update me with your progress and let me know if there is any more information that you would like me to supply in support of my application?

Since we last spoke, I have also started looking into [software X] that your company is using for customer support and already completed an Intro training module.

Anyhow, I would like to confirm that I am still interested in the position and look forward to hearing back from you.

Once again – thank you for your time and consideration of me for this position with your company.

[Your Name]

Sample Follow Up Email Addressing an Interview Issue

If you feel that you didn’t give the best answer to some interview questions or suddenly remembered another interesting data bit, use your follow-up email to bring this up.

Hello [Name],

I hope everything is well at your end. I just wanted to follow-up on the status of my application for [job title].

Also, I remembered that during our interview on 2024, you’ve asked me about how I was dealing with [some common problem] in my current role. Recently, I tried [an idea or solution], and it [created a positive outcome, backed by data]. 

Perhaps this is something we can also discuss during the next interview?

[Your Name]

Pro tip: Send your email as a reply to an already established email thread that you have with the employer. This means that you stand a better chance of getting your email opened quickly as it looks like a continuation of an established conversation rather than a brand new one.

Sample Follow Up Email Requesting an Update

Lastly, if a potential employer didn’t follow-through on their promise to update you on your interview within the pre-agreed timeline, it’s your sacred duty to follow-up. First of all, everyone deserves closure and you can get one. Secondly, things can often fall through the cracks and the busy HR may have just forgotten to update you on time. So if your goal is to politely nudge the other party, try this template:

Hello [Name],

Haven’t heard from you since our last interview on 2024 for [job position]. I don’t want to rush your decision-making, but wanted to check-in if you have any updates regarding my application?

I’m still very much interested in working at [Company name] and feel confident that I could be a great asset to the team.

Look forward to an update from you.

[Name]

Writing Winning Follow-Up Emails isn’t Rocket Science

The whole purpose of sending a follow-up email after your job interview is to emphasize your value to the employer and prompt them to update you with their decision. It’s a simple step many job candidates fail to make. So don’t be among those!

You now have the tips and templates for writing on-point and impactful follow-up emails for different scenarios!

This article has been originally published on March 11, 2019 and has been extensively revised and updated on September 8, 2020.

Author

  • Elena Prokopets

    Elena runs content operations at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers, and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. Up to date, she wrote over 200 career-related pieces around resume writing, career advice... more

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