Sitting through your interview with the hiring manager is the brunt of the hard work when searching for a new job. However, there is still work to do.
You may return home and sit waiting for a reply; however, potential employers can sit waiting to hear from you as well. There are many positions lost for the ideal candidate because they never send a follow up email.
While you can send up to three post-interview emails, one being a thank you, one being that you haven’t heard, or lastly, a check-in mail to keep in touch.
In practice, you can get away with only sending one follow up email after job interview. If you get this right, you can cover all the above in one go, and you can make a final impact to help sway the employer in your direction.
However, a thankyou email after an interview can be used in some instances, but these are much different in structure to a true follow up email.
Employers do need to spend time in their decision-making process, so you do need to allow them some time.
How Do I Write a Follow-Up Email?
Once you begin writing follow up emails, you need to know what to include. They do require the same thought as you put into your cover letter, as these will be the final impression you leave with hiring managers.
They can help you get to the next stage of the hiring process, so you receive a second interview, or if this isn’t the case, it can help you land the job.
You do need to portray enthusiasm about the position, offer thanks for the time, and use any interesting points from the interview to show you possess strong, soft skills. Doing this shows you have respect, can communicate, and you do have excellent listening skills.
Here are the steps on how to write a follow up email.
1. The Subject Line of Your Follow-Up Email
Any subject line needs to be clear and concise. You can thank them here, and they will notice it immediately.
Samples:
- Great speaking with you today!
- Thank you for the opportunity (interviewer’s name)
- I appreciate the time and advice given
- Follow-up regarding (add position title)
You can also use the following, especially if there has been any previous email communication. It is much better to reply to previous emails instead of creating a new one from scratch.
- ‘RE Interview on Friday at 2 PM’
2. Follow-Up Email Body
Your job interview follow up email has to cover specific topics while remaining simple. You shouldn’t be unclear or appear shy. Make it clear you are excited to hear from them, and you are checking if there are any updates on the decision making process from their end.
- Make the greeting with their first name
- State you are following up concerning the position you were interviewed
- You need to be specific when mentioning the job: Include the job title and the date of the interview
- Be sure to affirm you are still keenly interested in the position. Make sure you sound enthused, and you enjoyed learning about the company in your interview, and you’re eager to learn of the next steps
- Ask for an update. Be sure to ask is there is any additional information they require. Doing this can set you apart from other candidates.
- In the last paragraph, close by saying you look forward to hear from them.
- Finish with a “thank you” and sign off with your first and last name. You can add other contact information underneath this.
- Be sure to keep it short and to-the-point. Only use two or three sentences per paragraph.
When to Follow Up After Interviews?
There may be some debate about the perfect time to respond with your follow-up email. The employer may give you an indication if they offer an expected date for feedback. If they do, then respond on the next business day to the date they gave.
If they did not give you a date, then you should allow five business days after your interview. We already know that they have their steps in their decision-making process.
Waiting this long prevents you from looking too anxious, and can fit into their process and revive their memory of you.
One thing worth mentioning is to keep applying for other jobs; this part of your job search should not stop until you have signed a job offer.
You may have sat the perfect job interview and written the best interview follow-up email possible, but a company will only move at your pace and not change steps or avoid delays for anyone.
Follow Up Email Sample
You can find plenty of email templates around, and many may not be suitable for your application. You can also find you may need a different one for different job interviews.
The more personal you can make them, the better; however, to get an understanding of how your email will look, you can follow this sample.
Sample:
Subject line: Follow-up regarding RE: sales coordinator role
Dear Jasmine,
I hope you are well! I am checking in on the sales coordinator role. It was great to meet you (insert date), and I am looking forward to your update.
Please let me know if there is any further additional information I can provide you to aid you in your decision-making process.
Thank you,
Arthur Cole
444-444-4444
Acole@email.com
Company Replies
You can receive various replies from the company ranging from they have no news, or the process is taking longer than expected. The likelihood of this is very high, and it does need you to be patient.
Yet, there are some instances where you may not get a reply, no matter how good your follow-ups are.
To be sure, you don’t sit waiting for something that may never materialize; you need to keep applying for job interviews and grab that job you always wanted.
