Express Interest In The Position
Yes, you want the job!
This is the bottom line of why youre following up.
As mentioned earlier, many hiring managers expect candidates to follow up after an interview.
In an initial follow up after an in-person or phone interview, you should make your interest in the company clear:
After learning more about the position, Im eager for the opportunity to be a part of your team and help .
If following up after a second interview, take your interest a little further:
After learning more details about , Im even more enthusiastic about the opportunity to make an impact in the future of .
In an email to check in, you can keep this brief, but reiterate your hope to be hired:
You expressed that you were looking for someone with new ideas and a willingness to put in the hours. Im still interested in the position and am eager for the chance to show you that I could meet your expectations and exceed them.
If hoping to keep in touch, you wouldnt express your interest in the position, but in maintaining professional contact with the individual:
I enjoyed connecting with you. I learned quite a bit by observing the culture at . I would love to keep in touch.
Does It Make A Difference Whether I Follow Up Or Not
Yes, it does!
In fact, only five percent of job seekers follow up after an interview, as per a national study.
Another survey of HR managers revealed that fewer than one out of four job applicants sent a thank you after an interview. But, you might ask, do HR managers care about this?
They sure do. Four out of five hiring managers appreciate receiving a post-interview follow up.
You might be surprised to find that one out of every five hiring managers have dismissed a candidates job application because the candidate didnt send an email afterward.
More than two out of three recruiters and hiring managers in a survey mentioned their decisions can depend on whether they hear back from a candidate after the interview.
These statistics are important because they show that you can differentiate yourself from other candidates with the simple act of following up.
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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Template For A Follow Up Email After An Interview
Lets say you interviewed, sent a Thank You email and now you havent heard back in a few days or a week. What should you send?
Here are two good options:
Hello ____,
I wanted to follow up in regard to the ____ position that we discussed on ____ . Im excited about what I learned and wanted to check if there have been any updates on your end. Thanks for keeping me in the loop!
Hi ____,
I wanted to check in and see whether a decision had been made regarding the ____ position. Im excited to hear feedback based on everything I learned in the interview. Let me know the latest when you have a chance. Thanks!
Remember to be direct and brief, stay polite, and be clear about what youre asking for in your emails, so theres no confusion. Your subject line matters a lot but thats only half the battle, so put time into the body of your emails too.
Include A Sentence About The Position
After the greeting, include a sentence stating the role you applied for, which helps the hiring manager recall the exact details. Since hiring managers typically interview several candidates per day, you can include the date and location of your interview to help them remember you. You can also write about a memorable portion of the interview, such as connecting with the hiring manager on a mutual hobby or interest.
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When To Send A Follow Up Email
A general rule of thumb would be at least a week after you heard from the recruiter or two days after they said theyd be in touch. This will help you to avoid seeming overly keen or anxious.
Dont forget, the process does take time, its quite possible that senior managers have a number of items on their to-do list and unfortunately, the hiring process can occasionally fall behind more business-critical issues. The best way to avoid the frustration is to keep looking for jobs and keep attending interviews. There are all sorts of factors that go into the decision-making process and the more jobs you apply for, the higher your chances of landing your dream role.
How Do I Keep From Coming Across As Annoying When Following Up
This especially applies to the checking in follow up email.
Youre eager to hear back about a decision on the position, but you dont want to come across as overeager, or worse, desperate. And here’s how:
- Keep your note brief, and only add the details needed.
- Avoid using words like really or super or very.
- If youve already sent a follow-up, dont send another one for three to five business days.
Here are seven essential parts of every great follow up message.
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Add A Persuasive Call
When you send a follow-up to a cold prospect, you should be very clear with what you want to achieve with it.
Just imagine you receive a similar follow-up to the email that you didnt have an opportunity to open:
The first question you may ask yourself would be, What does this person want from me?. There is no context, no personalization, no CTA. Even if you read the context from the previous email, how do you know what you should do?
CTA is uber important for the follow-ups. If you dont guide your prospect with the next steps, highly unlikely they will take this initiative.
Make it easy for the recipient to respond.
For example, if youre arranging a meeting, suggest a specific date and time: Does 4:20 PM on Monday work for you?.
If youre building links for your content, you can ask an open question: Would you be interested in linking to our guide, perhaps?
If you want to find the right person in the company to discuss a specific topic ask, Are you the right person to talk about this? If not, could you point me in the right direction?
Many cold emails are missing or have an ambiguous call-to-action that wastes you and your prospects time. Make your call-to-action crystal clear, persuasive, and hard to resist. Tell your prospects what you want them to do.
The Interviewer Kept Going Through Your Resume Over And Over
Its normal for an interviewer to ask, Walk me through your resume, or look through the document while asking questions about your prior responsibilities.
However, if they kept looking at your resume and asking you about the same piece of experience over and over, they might have had concerns about how your skills would fit their job and team.
It could also be a sign that the interviewer was new or inexperienced, though. So if this happened in an initial interview with HR, or with someone who is lower down in the companys structure, it might not be a sign that things went badly.
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What Is The Best Length For A Follow
This depends on what kind of follow up message you are sending.
The initial thank you email should be no more than a couple of paragraphs.
A follow-up email after a second interview can run a little longer either three solid paragraphs or four shorter ones, at most.
A checking in email generally doesnt need to be more than a single paragraph.
When Should You Send A Follow Up Email
The best time to send a follow-up email is within 24 hours of the interview. Its best not to wait too long.
If you can, send an email the same day. However, thats not always practical.
If you took the interview in the morning or early afternoon, you can send the follow-up email that same afternoon. However, if you send it too late, it might defeat its purpose.
Thats because if you send it at night, your email might get pushed down in the inbox overnight by other incoming mail. So, if you took the interview at the end of the day or at night, send the follow-up email the following morning, at the start of the workday.
At the same time, its never too late to send a follow-up email! If you didnt send a follow-up email within 24 hours, and its been a few days or even a week, dont despair.
You should still send a follow-up email. Doing something is better than doing nothing!
Youll need to tweak your follow-up email a bit. Even if you didnt get a response since the interview, it doesnt mean they arent interested!
Sometimes, especially if its a small team , they might have just gotten busy. Sending a follow-up email, even a week later, can help you keep yourself on their radar.
Also, as I explained above, it allows you to add some details that will help you stand out and show your qualifications even more.
Even in more organized companies, mix ups and mistakes happen. Thats why it never hurts to send a follow-up email, even two weeks later.
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These Emails Seem Too Simple Should I Add More
Some job seekers have asked me whether the example emails above are too brief or too simple. In my opinion, no.
I always recommend using a short and sweet follow-up email in your job search. I recommend keeping the length approximately the same as the templates I provided above.
Dont complicate your message. Give a polite greeting, be up-front and say what you want , and then conclude your email politely without any unnecessary fluff or filler content.
This type of follow-up email is your best shot at getting a prompt update after your interview without seeming pushy, desperate, etc.
In all likelihood, the person you emailed will get back to you and apologize and say theyre still working on a decision. Or theres a chance they have news to share and will update you as soon as they get your email.
Either way, you reminded them youre waiting for news and still have interest in the position, which is the goal
If you want to know what else hiring managers look for when conducting interviews, read my list of job interview tips here. Itll help you understand the employers mindset better and will give you a big advantage over the competition in your job search.
Follow Up Email To Check In
Now, this can be a difficult email to compose.
How do you follow up if you hear nothing back from the company?
Fortunately, this message does not have to be detailed or long.
Here’s what you want to accomplish with this brief email:
- Mention you are still interested in the position
- Indicate the time frame that was initially agreed upon to get a reply
- Express that you are hoping to hear back
Short and sweet, right?
Here are some quick tips for your follow up email to check in after you haven’t received a response to your initial email. More details about writing this type of email can be found throughout this article.
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You Didnt Connect Or Bond With The Interviewer
Different interviewers and hiring managers have different styles in the interview process. Some may joke with you and ask their interview questions in a casual format, while others are dead-serious.
So dont just judge this one sign on its own and panic. However, if you noticed some other signs above that the interview went poorly, and the interviewer also didnt really bond with you at all via humor, small-talk, etc., then its not a good sign.
This could mean the interview didnt go well in general. Or, it can indicate that the interviewer didnt see you as a good fit for the company culture.
However, if the interviewer was quiet and serious, but did take the time to ask you some questions about yourself and get to know you as a person, it might just be that their job interview style is to keep the conversation dry and professional.
Be Patient After This
If you still havent gotten a response at that point, Id be patient. Theres a chance that an important person in the hiring process is on vacation, or that the person youve been emailing is extremely busy, sick, etc.
So I recommend waiting a minimum of 48-72 hours at this point, and in some cases, a full week is better to wait.
Sending another follow-up sooner than this wont help you get the job. So try to focus on other tasks in your job search while waiting to ask for an update again.
Once you do feel its time to take things further, heres who to email and how to write the email
Pick the next logical person in the company to email.
For example, if you were emailing an HR person before, try the hiring manager or somebody in the department youve been talking to in your job interviews. Or vice versa if youve emailed the hiring manager multiple times with no response, then try checking in with HR, a recruiter, or another relevant contact within the company.
Since this is a brand-new email thread, youll need to write a subject line. I recommend keeping it simple and using one of the example subject lines that I shared earlier in this article.
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Sample Interview Thank You Email/note #:
Hello < Interviewers Name> ,
Thank you for taking the time to interview me < yesterday/Friday/etc> . I enjoyed our conversation about < specific topic you discussed> and it was great learning about the < Job Title> position overall.
It sounds like an exciting opportunity and a role I could succeed and excel in. Im looking forward to hearing any updates you can share, and dont hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns in the meantime.
Best regards,
< Your First and Last Name>
This is a short, casual email thats best for modern industries like tech, e-commerce, digital marketing, etc.
This type of short message also makes an ideal thank you email to a recruiter or HR person after a phone interview or other first-round interview. At that stage, you dont need to be sending a lot of detail in your thank you letter you simply want to give thanks and reaffirm your interest.
And modern companies dont want to see a ten-paragraph, formal thank you letter that takes ten minutes to read. In fact, it might make them want to hire you less because theyll doubt whether youre a fit for their company culture. Thats why I recommend keeping your message short and genuine, like the sample above.
Even if its a second- or third-round interview, this type of very short, concise thank-you email can still be effective. Heres an example of the type of message Id personally send if I were job hunting right now:
The Interviewer Seemed Hurried Throughout The Interview Especially At The End
Note whether the interviewer took their time walking you out and concluding the interview, or whether they seemed rushed at the end of the process, after their last few questions.
Usually, if they took their time, its a sign the interview went well.
Unfortunately, if they rushed you out or seemed focused on their next task , its a sign that things probably went badly during part or all of the interview.
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It Gives You A Chance To Strut Your Stuff
Sometimes you leave an interview, send a thank-you letter, then realize days later that you have a great idea, something else you shouldve asked, or another example that demonstrates your abilities.
When this happens, a follow-up note is the perfect time to show that the company is still on your mind and youre really mulling on how you can help. Lead with asking for an update, as suggested above, and then go into your business question or suggestion.
Hi ,
Since we last spoke, I couldnt stop thinking about our conversation about . I wondered if the team has considered ? I faced something similar at and this .
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this approach,
It Helps You Stand Out
The fact that you got the interview shows that you made it further than most other applicants. For any job position especially a coveted one with a good company there are usually dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of applicants.
Most applications and resumes get thrown out pretty quickly. Thats the harsh reality when a job is in demand, recruiters just cant give everyone a chance.
Nevertheless, youre probably not the only applicant who they are interviewing, either. If it was a phone interview or an interview over Zoom or Skype, the likelihood that there are other interviewees goes up.
After all, its not that hard to schedule phone or Zoom interviews back to back.
A follow-up email gives you a chance to stand out and make yourself look better.
You might think that everyone is sending a follow-up email, but thats not true! In fact, 57 percent more than half of interviewees do not send any thank you note after an interview.
After all, you can never go wrong with a Thank You note!
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