So, you’ve completed the job interview, and now you’re waiting to hear back…
Whether you smashed the interview or crashed and burned, waiting for feedback can be frustrating. So, why is it taking them so long?
One of the biggest things we all wonder about is what we should do about it. Should you call back after the interview? Should we send a follow-up email after the interview? Or just sit there and wait?
Silence means you're saying nothing, but a phone call may seem pushy, so be proactive and send a follow-up email after an interview.
This guide breaks down the basics of the best interview follow-up emails. Then we bring it to life with 8 sample emails you can send after any interview.
If you send a lot of email follow-ups, try MailMaestro, our AI email assistant
How to write a follow-up email after an interview
This section breaks down how to write a follow-up email after an interview. We'll explore why sending a follow-up email after every interview is a good idea and look at what to say in a follow-up email after the interview.
Finally, we provide 8 examples of excellent follow-up emails after an interview.
Business News Daily experts recommend that you should always send a follow-up message after an interview by snail mail, email, or phone call.
We disagree. Stats show we answer less than half the calls we receive, which means there’s a 50% chance your interviewee will ignore or not notice your call.
As for sending a letter. Can you be sure you have the correct address for the person you’re messaging? Flexible working means many of us won’t step foot in the office most of the week. You may already have lost the job by the time your letter arrives.
So, should I send a follow-up email after an interview?
We’ll repeat it: always send an email follow-up after an interview. But when?
When to send a follow-up email after interview
Businesses are in a battle for talent all the time. In the past, recruitment may have taken weeks or months, but today it can be done in days – and sometimes even hours.
You should send a follow-up email within 24 hours after an interview. That doesn’t mean you need to send it immediately after leaving the room (or closing your laptop), but make sure to do it soon after.
This way, you’ll provide the best impression on the recruiter and keep you in their thoughts as they make their decisions. (It’s known professionally as the recency effect, and a good follow-up email after the interview could work in your favor.)
You may also want to provide some additional information to support your interview. It could be a sample of work, some extra information on a project, or a link to a site. Whatever it is, the sooner you send it, the stronger it will work in your favor.
Of course, the 24-hour rule may not work in all circumstances. For example, your interviewer may be a friend or colleague, and an email could be inappropriate. They may have asked you not to message them or told you they were off on holiday.
Use your common sense when writing and responding to emails.
Now we’ve got that out of the way, here’s how to get the follow-up email after an interview format right.
Follow-up after interview email format
Your post-interview follow-up emails should follow a formal structure. Every email sent after an interview should include the following:
- A clear subject line
- Professional greeting
- Email body
- Sign-off
Let’s start at the top with the subject line and work our way down the list.
1. Follow-up email after interview subject line
While there is an almost infinite combination of words you can use, there are just three ways to go about writing a subject line for a follow-up email after an interview:
1.1 Use “Re:”
If you scheduled your interview via email, it’s often best practice to reply in the email thread. As a result, you’ll use the original subject line – saving you the time of having to think of one.
So if the original email had a subject line like:
When you hit “reply”, the subject line will automatically fill up and add a “Re” upfront, like this:
1.2 Use “Follow-up:”
The simplest subject line for a follow-up email is to use follow-up! Here are a few examples to illustrate how this can work.
- Follow-up to my interview yesterday
- Interview follow-up (your name)
- Interview follow-up (date)
1.3 If there’s no previous email to reply to
If there’s no previous email chain, or you don’t want to use a simple follow-up subject line detailed above, here are a few alternative options:
- Thanks for interviewing me today
- I really enjoyed our interview
- Great to meet you!
- Additional information after my interview
2. Body of a post-interview follow-up email
Now we’ve sorted the subject line; we can get into the meat of the message – the body copy.
We’ll demonstrate what we mean in the email follow-up examples below, but here are five principles for writing the best interview follow-up emails:
- Keep it simple – Anyone interviewing you is likely to be busy, so keep emails short, straightforward, and simple. Don’t go into huge details (unless it’s essential you do so). Likewise, keep your thank you emails as simple as possible.
- Show interest – You want the job, right? Show some interest and enthusiasm in your replies. Why are you the best fit? Why should the interviewer hire you? Show it!
- Add extra details – Sometimes, your interviewer may ask for additional information, or you may want to provide it. You can add extra details to your post-interview emails, but don’t overload your interviewer with too much – they can always ask for more if they want.
- Ask for details on the decision – Come on, we all know why you’re emailing, so be upfront and ask for further information on the decision. See below our eight examples of emails to send after an interview.
- Proofread and check before sending – Nothing says “I don’t care” faster than a spelling mistake in an email. Proofread everything, and remove any spelling errors and grammatical mistakes before sending your message.
3. How to end an after-interview follow-up email
When signing off, be sure to do 4 things:
- Say thanks
- Offer to answer questions
- Greeting
- Provide your contact information every time
Don’t forget to say thank you. While we hope you’ll get the job, the reality is that you may not.
How you handle yourself can have a huge impact on your career. You may not be suitable for this one, but a great follow-up email could put you at the top of the pile for the next one.
As well as saying thanks, you can invite them to ask any questions. This can keep the conversation going.
To end the email, include a friendly sign-off, such as:
- Thanks
- I look forward to hearing from you
- Kindest regards
Finally, provide your contact information clearly at the end. Always include your phone number so that the interviewer doesn’t have to search for it (nothing is more annoying than that).
Tips for following up after an interview
Following up after an interview is crucial for showing continued interest and professionalism. Here are some expert-backed tips:
- Send a thank-you email within 24-48 hours: This keeps you fresh in the recruiter’s mind. According to survey, 68% of recruiters appreciate a follow-up email after an interview.
- Personalize your message: Reference a specific part of the interview to show engagement.
- Choose email over LinkedIn: Recruiters prefer emails for follow-ups due to their organized structure.
- Ask about next steps: This shows initiative without being pushy.
As Lynda Spiegel, a former global HR executive with over 15 years of experience, notes: “A well-timed, thoughtful follow-up can often be the difference between being forgotten and standing out.”
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
When following up after an interview, it’s important to avoid common pitfalls:
- Following up too soon: Sending a message right after the interview can seem impatient. CareerBuilder suggests waiting at least 24 hours before following up.
- Being too generic: Personalize your message to stand out, referencing key points from the interview.
- Not proofreading: Typos or errors can hurt your professionalism.
- Overly frequent follow-ups: Unlike in sales where 60% of customers will say no 4 times before saying yes, for recruiters, multiple follow-ups can be annoying. Keep it to one or two follow-ups max.
By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll improve your chances of standing out positively.
Why should I send a follow-up email after an interview?
Sending a follow-up email after an interview is an essential step in showcasing your professionalism and enthusiasm for the position. Research shows that 80% of recruiters appreciate receiving follow-up emails, as it demonstrates initiative and engagement.
It’s also an opportunity to reinforce your interest in the role and remind the recruiter why you’re the best fit. Email follow-ups tend to be more effective than LinkedIn messages, as they provide a more formal and organized method of communication.
Follow-up email after interview examples and template
So, we’ve explained how to write the best follow-up emails after an interview; now it’s time to show you how it’s done! Here are 8 emails you can send after an interview.
We’ve provided examples for several common scenarios. Of course, no template will perfectly capture your situation, circumstances or tone of voice, so be sure to adapt them as required!
8 follow-up emails after interview samples
1. Second follow-up email after interview sample
OK, so you’ve sent the first email after an interview, but it’s been ignored. Sending a second one is a sensitive subject, but we think it’s worth doing.
Understandably, you’ll be frustrated, but remove emotion from your email and ask the questions you need answering. So here’s an example second follow-up email after an interview.
2. Interview follow-up email after a week sample
Leaving your follow-up email a week after the interview isn’t ideal, but it can happen, as we explained in the intro. So we start this email by explaining the delay before going into a standard follow-up message.
3. Interview follow-up email after 2 weeks sample
Maybe you’ve sent one or two follow-ups already, but don’t give up! Sending a follow-up email after two weeks is most likely going to be used to get an update on the process and ask if you’ll ever hear any information on the outcome of the process.
Understandably, you could be feeling upset (and even a little angry), but there are many reasons why you may not have received an update. So here’s how you can write a sensitive email that will get a response.
4. Email follow-up after second interview sample
In many cases, the second interview is the final stage before an appointment, so getting the tone of this message right is essential. Thankfully, our email follow-up after the second interview sample contains what you need.
5. Short and sweet follow-up email after interview sample
Post-interview follow-up emails don’t need to be long and drawn out. Instead, they can be short and sweet, like this sample.
6. Follow-up thank you email after interview sample
Sometimes, you’ll simply want to say thank you after an interview – and here’s how. This follow-up thank you email after an interview is an effective way to leave a positive and lasting impression on your interviewer.
7. Follow-up email after phone interview sample
Phone interviews (and video conference interviews) are increasingly popular as more of us work flexibly. But don’t worry; the same principles apply to follow-up emails after a phone interview. Here’s an example for you to use.
8. Follow-up email after interview status sample
The purpose of a follow-up email is often to understand the status of recruitment. For example, have all interviews been completed? When will a decision be made? When a decision is made, how will they let you know? All these questions (and more) can be asked using our follow-up email after the interview status example below!
Follow-up email after interview template
We’ve provided several examples of how to create follow-up emails after an interview. Here’s a basic sample follow-up email after an interview template that you can use as a base for any situation or scenario we haven’t already covered.
Ready?
Final words on after-interview follow-ups
By this stage, you should understand why a follow-up email after an interview is an essential part of the process.
There’s no question whether you should follow up after an interview with an email. The only questions are how you should structure it and how long you should wait before sending it.
We hope we’ve provided some examples of how to write better follow-up emails. From all of us at MailMaestro, we hope you get the job!
To write a perfect follow-up email after an interview, try our AI email assistant, MailMaestro. It will write messages for you from scratch based on your conversation's context or will improve your existing drafts using the power of AI.
