Why Should You Send a follow-up Email After your Interview?
A follow-up email after your interview is all about helping you stand out from the crowd of other interviewees that the recruiter or hiring manager has seen.
If a hiring manager has interviewed 10 applicants in a day, the ones they are most likely to remember are the most recent. It’s called the “Recency Bias”, and it’s a common problem in the hiring process. But it’s also something that you can, and should take advantage of, when you’re interviewing for your next role!
If you follow-up your interview with an email thanking them for their time and re-expressing your interest in the role, it will help you stand out as someone who is polite, eager for the role, and make you the person at the top of their mind.
But of course, it’s important not to seem too eager. You don’t need to send a follow-up email after the interview has just ended! But you don’t want to wait too long either. So when should you send a follow-up email?
When Should You Send a follow-up Email After an Interview?
Between 24 and 48 hours after your interview is a good sweet spot to send your follow-up email. It’s not too soon that your email will be an annoyance, or too late that they will have forgotten who you are. Which should allow you to refresh the interviewer of who you are, thank them for their time, and leave a positive impression of yourself as they start deliberating who to hire.
In some instances you may even need to send a second follow-up email, if you haven’t heard anything in a couple of weeks.
A second follow-up email is appropriate 10 – 14 days after your interview, whether to reiterate your interest in the role, or to ask if you are still being considered for the position.
This is unless you have been told to expect to wait longer than two weeks. If you have been told that they will get back to you after 3 weeks, and then don’t, then it’s perfectly acceptable to inquire on whether you are still being considered. After all, if you’ve got other opportunities on the table, you can’t spend your life waiting to hear back from one company.
What Should You Put in Your follow-up Email?
What you should include in a follow-up after an interview email is fairly simple, but can differ slightly depending on the kind of follow-up email you’re sending, and when you’re sending it. Let’s look at what your follow-up email should actually include.
A clear subject line stating who you are.
Don’t stress too much about a witty subject line that grabs attention. Simplicity and clarity is best here.
If you have an old email chain with the hiring manager then great! You can just reply to that. But if you went through a recruiter or simply want to start a new email chain, then something simple that says who you are and why your emailing is perfect:
- “John Smith: Following up on Network Engineer interview”.
- “John Smith – Re: Network Engineer Interview on Tuesday, 4th of February.”
- “Thanks for interviewing me yesterday – John Smith”
Clear, and to the point.
A warm but professional greeting.
Having had an interview with someone, you’re allowed to be a bit more friendly and warm than if this were a completely cold correspondence. After all, you’re trying to create a connection with the interviewer. However, you obviously still want to remain professional and respectful: But sounding like a robot won’t win you any favours either.
The body of your email.
This section will differ on whether you are sending your email directly after the interview, or if this is a follow-up email if you’ve been waiting to hear back.
- Thank them for their time and consideration for the role.
- Explain that you are following up to your interview. You should include key details here to help prompt the interviewers memory: The job title, the time and date of the interview.
- Be enthusiastic about the position: You’re reaching out to show you are keen to progress to the next stage of the process.
- You may also use this as an opportunity to reiterate any specific points you made in your interview.
- If you’ve been waiting two weeks or more to hear back, this would be a time to ask about an update on their decision-making, or for any further information.
Your farewell and contact details.
Obviously you should end your email with a goodbye and by including your contact details. Hopefully, they will have all this information regardless. But it doesn’t hurt to make yourself as easily contactable as you can be.
After Interview follow-up Email Templates and Examples.
Let’s have a look at some follow-up email templates and examples that you can use for your own follow-up email.
The Thank You Email Example: 24 – 48 Hours After Interview.
This is the simplest follow-up email and should be standard practice for all your interviews. A simple “Thank you” email to show that you appreciate the time the recruiter has given to interviewing you.
Subject line: “Thanks for interviewing me yesterday – John Smith”
Dear (Hiring Manager’s Name),
Thank you for taking the time to interview me for the Network Engineer role yesterday. It was great to get the opportunity to speak with you and learn more about the role.
I eagerly await your reply, and please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist in your decision-making.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
P: +44 1234 567891
The Follow-up Email Example: 10 – 14 Days After Interview.
As the second interview follow-up email will be further from the date of your interview, you will want to contain more information to remind them of who you are: As well as remind them of the reasons they should hire you…
Subject line: “John Smith – Re: Network Engineer Interview on Tuesday, 4th of February.”
Dear (Hiring Manager’s Name),
I hope you are well. We spoke two weeks ago on February 4th, in my interview for the Network Engineer position. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with you, and I loved discussing the position in depth with you and our off-topic conversation about the roll-out of the fibre network.
I wanted to check in with you regarding the next steps in the process, and ask if you’ve come to a decision regarding my application; or when I can expect to hear from you?
I understand that this is no simple process for you. But I am very interested in the role, and am eager to progress to the next stage.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
P: +44 1234 567891
A Longer Follow-up Email Example: 2+ Weeks After Interview.
Alternatively, you may choose to send a longer, more detailed follow-up email. This will give you more opportunities to reiterate anything you discussed in the interview, or even maybe to cover some things you forgot.
Despite the name, the “longer follow-up email”, still isn’t that long.
Subject line: “John Smith – Re: Network Engineer Interview on Tuesday, 4th of February.”
Dear (Hiring Manager’s Name),
I hope you are well. I just wanted to reach out regarding my interview on February the 4th. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with you regarding the Network Engineer position. Your enthusiasm and passion for the position and for (Company Name), speaks volumes about how much you enjoy working at (Company Name).
When we last spoke, we discussed how engineers you have hired previously, have had trouble with client communication and translating technical concepts into something that your customers could understand. This is an area where I think my customer-facing experience in a network role will really benefit (Company Name), and I’m excited at the prospect of being a part of the Networks team.
I wanted to check in with you regarding the next steps in the process, and ask if you’ve come to a decision regarding my application; or when I can expect to hear from you? I understand that this is no simple process for you. But this is a position I am passionate about, and I am eager to progress to the next stage.
Yours sincerely,
John Smith
P: +44 1234 567891
While these are general examples of what you may want to say, the more customised they are to your specific situation the better your results. Especially the longer, more detailed ones.
In Summary
Follow-up emails can be an essential tool in landing your next job. They help you remain at the forefront of a recruiter/ hiring manager’s mind while they deliberate the hiring process, and stand out from the other interviewees in a positive light. And when it’s a tight decision between you and other applicants, that can be all that you need.
But be careful. A poorly written follow-up letter can actually harm your chances as much as it can improve them. Making it all the more important for you to do the research, and write a follow-up letter that works in your favour.
Of course if you’re working with a recruitment agency, then you don’t need to send a follow-up email at all, because we take care of it for you! A recruiter will chase up the interviewer for feedback on your behalf, and be able to bring that to you without you having to wait to hear back. After all, a recruiters job is to represent you to the best of their ability.
If you’re looking for your next role in the Network and Infrastructure industry, you can look at our open vacancies here, and see how we can help support your career.
