Tuesday, March 19, 2024

How To Follow Up After An Interview

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Using Subjective Or Arbitrary Criteria

HOW TO FOLLOW UP after a Job Interview! (The PERFECT Interview Follow-Up Email Template!)

Rather than “screening out” candidates based on an initial gut feeling or on unpredictive criteria such as GPA, the address on a resume, or the sound of a name, the interviewer should make sure that the evaluation process is as structured, job-specific and objective as possible. This will give them the chance to hire great people they might not have even considered otherwise, said Michael Burtov, founder and CEO of GeoOrbital.

From A Hastily Written Thank

You dont want to rush your interview follow-up.

Navigating your first job search when youre fresh out of college is no easy feat. You have to craft your resume, apply to jobs, research prospective employers, and, of course, ace job interviewsbut you probably know you have all that on your plate. Asking, “Should I follow up after an interview?” is going to come up at some point. Here’s the fact of the matter: Interview follow-up mattersalmost as much as the interview itself.

Here are seven things to avoid doing after a job interview.

Short Interview Thank You Email Example

A short follow-up version may be most appropriate as a thank you email after a phone interview. In the short version, youll want to be concise:

Subject line: Thank you for your time

Dear Ms. Owekwe,

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about the marketing coordinator role. It was great to meet with you and learn more about the position.

Im very excited about the opportunity to join Horizon Marketing and am particularly interested in the details you shared about the upcoming launch of the brand campaign. Im enthusiastic about the prospect of taking on some of the project management and bringing my experience in successfully coordinating cross-functional initiatives to the table.

After our conversation, Im confident that my background in marketing and my interest in brand growth will enable me to fill the job requirements effectively and support the vision of Horizon. Please feel free to contact me if I can provide you with any further information or samples of my work. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks again,

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What If The Company Still Hasnt Responded To Any Emails After The Interview

If you sent your followup email after the interview and didnt hear back, heres what Id do:

First, make sure youve waited a one or two days for a response . Give them some time.

Then send a followup to the same person, replying to the same email you already sent and keeping the subject line.

Email Body:

Hi < NAME> ,

Just wanted to make sure you saw my last email and follow up again to see if you had any updates regarding the < JOB TITLE> position. Please let me know when you get a chance, thanks!

How To Write A Follow Up Email After An Interview When You Havent Heard Anything From Them

FREE 10+ Sample Follow Up Email After Interview in PDF ...

If you havent heard back from the hiring manager after your interview or after your post-interview thank you email, you can send an email checking in with them. If you arent sure how to follow up on a job, you should typically send the follow up email if you havent heard back after about two weeks since your interview. Remember to send the interview follow-up email to whoever said theyd be in touch, or whoever it is you have been in touch with for interview scheduling. Follow our tips below on how to write a follow up interview after an interview.

Interview follow-up subject line

The interview follow-up subject line is important. The email subject line is what the hiring manager will see right away and based off the subject they will decide whether your email gets opened and how fast theyll get to it. In the subject line, remember to include the job title you interviewed for. Here are some sample interview follow-up subject lines:

Following up regarding the position.

Following up on an interview for

You could also reply to the latest email between you and the hiring manager. Itll look something like, Re: Interview on Wednesday at 11 AM. Typically, they will open this immediately because theyll see that it is part of a previous email.

Interview follow-up body

Follow these 7 steps for the best follow-up email after an interview:

  • Address the hiring manager by their first name.
  • Explain that you are following up the job interview you had with them.
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    Writing The Body Of Your Follow

    The body of your follow-up email should be short and to-the-point. Most employers prefer to receive a short and sweet follow-up email after the job interview without any unnecessary info.

    So be clear and direct about why youre following up. Dont be timid. However, you should be polite and respectful, no matter how long youve been waiting.

    How to write a follow-up email after an interview:

  • Greet the recipient by their first name.
  • Explain that youre following up regarding the job you interviewed for, to ask about the status.
  • Be specific when mentioning the job include the job title, the date you interviewed, or both.
  • Reaffirm your interest in the position.
  • Ask directly for an update and say you look forward to hearing about the next steps.
  • Finish by thanking the reader and signing off with your first and last name.
  • Keep your interview follow-up email short and to-the-point without any unnecessary content.
  • Run spellcheck, and proofread everything before sending your follow-up email.
  • Maintain a positive tone throughout, and dont show frustration, even if this is a second or third follow-up after no response.
  • That last point is critical. Even if youre about to send a second or third interview follow-up email after two weeks, writing a rude message or showing frustration wont make the employers decision-making process move any faster, and it could even cost you the job.

    What To Do After An Interview: Your First Follow

    In a 2017 survey from our sister site, TopResume, approximately 16 percent of interviewers admitted to dismissing candidates because they didn’t send a thank-you email or note after an interview. Additionally, 68 percent of hiring managers and recruiters said receiving that note of thanks does matter and will impact their final decision.

    Right after your interview, fire up your computer and draft a thank-you email, or you can also go old school and write a handwritten note to send via snail mail. Regardless of what method you choose, you’ll want to send this thank you within 24 hours of your interview.

    Here’s what to include in your thank-you note:

    • Thank your interviewer for his or her time.

    • Reiterate your interest in the position and why you’re qualified based on what you learned during your interview. For example, if you really connected with the company’s culture, mention it and explain why.

    • Personalize your thank-you notes for each person you chatted with. Perhaps you went to the same school or have a similar professional background. You can say something like It was great comparing our adventures in magazine writing.

    • If you didn’t get a chance to ask about the next steps in your interview, you can ask that now. This can be done simply: What will the next steps look like? You should get a response that offers up a tentative timeline.

    Here are a few items to avoid in your thank-you note:

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    Ways To Follow Up After A Job Interview

    Whats the best way to follow up after a job interview?

    • First, write a thank you note to the hiring manager no later than a day after. Keep it short and sweet, but mention one specific thing that you learned about their organization.
    • If you dont hear back by the date they said theyd have a decision by, dont panic. Wait a week, and if its still radio silence, follow up with a short note expressing your excitement about the role.
    • Finally, if you dont get the job, you can send one last note asking for feedback. Who knows, it may teach you something and lead to better opportunities down the line.

    Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here.

    Much of the job application process involves waiting. You check job postings and wait for new opportunities that match your skills and interests. You put together a cover letter and a resume, send them off, and wait to hear about a possible interview. If you land an interview, you prepare, give it your best shot, and then you wait for a response.

    The closer you get to an actual offer, the more anxious you get to hear more. That anxiety creates anticipation and energy. When you are energized, you want to act.

    But dont. Wait. You need to be smart about how and when you follow up at this stage.

    There are, however, a few exceptions to this waiting rule. More specifically, there are four times when it may actually be in your best interest to shoot the hiring manager a note.

    Dear ,

    Dear ,

    Dear ,

    Dear ,

    • AM

    Sample Job Interview Follow

    How to Follow Up After An Interview

    Subject Line: John Smith Thank You

    Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:

    It was a pleasure meeting you the other day and discussing the teaching assistant position at ABC Middle School. I really appreciate the time you took to interview me for the position.

    I enjoyed meeting everyone on the sixth-grade team and getting to ask them questions about the teaching assistant position. The more I spoke with you and the team, the more I was convinced that my teaching experience and my passion for small-classroom learning make me a strong candidate for this position.

    I look forward to hearing from you next week regarding your final decision. Feel free to reach out to me beforehand with any questions or concerns. Again, my phone number is 555-555-5555.

    Thank you again for your time and consideration.

    Best,

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    Checklist: Things To Consider After The Interview Itself

    There are a number of questions to think about if you want to figure out exactly why your hiring manager has not reached out to you with a job offer:

    • Did you send a thank you email after the interview?
    • Did you dress appropriately for the interview?
    • Did the hiring manager ask a lot of repetitive questions about your resume?
    • Was your interview surprisingly short?
    • Did you forget to bring key items along?
    • Did your hiring manager seem bored?
    • Did your hiring manager make it seem like you probably wont get the job?

    These could all point to a less than an ideal interview. Regardless, you should send a follow-up email even if youre fairly confident that your interview went south.

    Related: 18 Signs Of A Bad Interview

    Bonus: How Often Should You Be Following Upand How Do You Know When To Stop

    A good rule of thumb when following up after an interview is the 3×3 rule. You can follow up every three days a maximum of three times. If you still haven’t heard anything, it may be time to move on.

    Of course, if the recruiter or hiring manager at the company tells you that it will be a week before you hear backdon’t follow up three times in that week. If they haven’t reached out by the end of that week, then you can begin the 3×3 rule.

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    The Interview Process Continues

    An obvious reason that a company may not contact you after an interview right away is that they are still interviewing other candidates. It’s common practice for HR departments to interview many people over a number of days or weeks. If your interview occurred at the beginning of the process, they may be reviewing all the candidates before they make calls for a second interview.

    Make sure to send a thank you email within 24 hours of your interview, and then give the company time to work through all eligible candidates.

    How Is The Follow

    How to Follow Up After a Job Interview

    One of the main differences between an in-person interview and a video interview is appropriate follow-up time. Just as you would for an in-person interview, it is highly recommended to send a thank you email as soon as possible. This is so for both one-way and live video interviews so, collect your notes from the interview and send them over right away.

    While not required, a handwritten thank you note as a follow-up to a video interview may help you stand out. If you decide to send a handwritten thank you, youll want to get it in the mail ASAP to avoid a delay.

    Since there is a hard deadline for completing a one-way interview, it is good to reach out once you have completed the video interview, and then again 48 hours after the interview deadline. This way, you will come off as persistent and will be fresh in the interviewers mind.

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    Dont: Send A Full Edible Arrangement The Day After

    Sending a thank you is a great idea…but dont go overboard.

    Maybe sending a full Edible Arrangement is a bit of a stretch, but think of it as a metaphor. Dont make your interviewers feel pressured to make you an offer or give you a firm final date through what you say in your note. Ask for a little bit of information, but keep it light and casual.

    Read more:Ask These Questions Before Accepting a Job Offer

    The Key Point To Take Away From These Templates Is To Be Short And Sweet Yet Express Interest Refer Back To The Interview To Keep It Highly On Topic And Be Sure If You Have Questions You Address Them In This Note

    For a one-way interview:

    Dear ,

    I am reaching out today to follow up on my one-way video interview I completed on for position at .

    Thank you for the opportunity and taking the time out of your day to review my interview.

    I want to reiterate my high interest level in the position at . .

    Im confident that I would be a great fit for this role because of .

    Thank you again, .

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    When You’re Waiting To Hear Back

    Whether you aced the interview or humiliated yourself, waiting to hear back from the interviewer after youve sent a follow-up email can be agonizing. Dont let your nerves prevent you from being productive in the days after an interview. Take these steps to make the most of your time after you follow up after a job interview:

    Template For A Thank You Email After A Job Interview

    How To Follow Up After An Interview? [Post Interview Follow Up] Learn This #1 Tip

    An in-person job interview is a huge opportunity. And employers tell us that the way candidates follow up is an important indicator of their interest in the position. Candidates who go silent after the interview come across as disinterested. So if you really want the job, take the time to write a sincere, customized email immediately after you end the interview, and send it the same day.

    Subject Line: Thank you from ] ]

    Dear ],

    Thank you, again, for the time you spent with me today. I really enjoyed meeting you and exploring how I might be able to assist ] as the new ].

    After our conversations, I am even more confident that this position is a job I would enjoy, as well as one where I can be successful and make a valuable contribution.

    I am particularly excited about ]

    You mentioned that the decision on this position will be made in ]. In the meantime, if there is any additional information you need from me please let me know and Ill get it over to you!

    Again, I appreciate the chance to interview with ] and am grateful for the time you spent with me.

    Sincerely,

    There you have it! Follow these templates, and make extra sure to customize them to your own voice and situation. Before you know it, youll be perfecting your interview follow-up and hearing back after more interviews. Ill wish you luck with your next interview, because I know youve got the thank you email covered.

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    How To Follow Up After A Phone Interview

    Even if your interview is a phone interview, you’ll still want to follow up with a thank you. Typically, at this point in the hiring process, the interviewer will be talking to several candidates, so it’s important to send your email shortly after your conversation ends.

    Take notes during your phone interview, jotting down anything interesting or unique from your conversation you can use in your follow-up email. Do this to help set you apart from the other candidates and jog the interviewer’s memory.

    Take Your Thank You Email To The Next Level

    While the template above is all you need, if you really want to blow a hiring manager out of the water, add in another few lines before I look forward to… with some ideas you have on how you could add value. Think: a quick mock-up of something you discussed in the interview if youre in a creative role, taglines if youre in branding, or some slides or possible partners if youre in business development or sales.

    It could look something like this:

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    Connecting To The Interviewer On Social Media

    Sending your boss a friend request is one thingand its a decision you shouldnt make lightly. Trying to add a job interviewer on social media? Bad idea. still very much seen as more personal platforms rather than a professional platforms, Badawi says.

    Though social media can be a great networking tool, Waite advises job candidates against sending hiring managers requests to connect. We tell students to hold off because it can come across as too assumptive that youre receiving an offer, she says.

    The exception? I think adding a recruiter is OK before you get a job offer, since its someone whose job it is to be out there networking and meeting potential job candidates, Badawi says. Still, its good business etiquette to check with a recruiter via email before sending a request.

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