How to Follow Up After a Job Interview, With an Email for Each Stage

If you just had an interview and you need to know what to send after the interview and when to send it then here is the short answer. Write a thank-you note within 24 hours of the interview. Wait for the decision date that they told you that they would make a decision by. Wait a few days after that date, then send one polite status check. If you get no response to your status check then write a final note about a week later and then go on to look at other job listings. As for length each of these notes can be just a few sentences. I include examples below.

Send the thank-you email within a day

Send it the same day the interview took place or by the next morning at the latest. Address the interviewer by name in the body of the e-mail. If there were multiple people on the panel for your interview, send separate thank-you notes to each of them. Alternatively, you could send one e-mail to all of them with their names listed in the body. Be sure to include their e-mail addresses in your e-mail contact list so you can easily find them to send the thank-you note.

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1. 1
   Notebook with interviewer details

   Write down each interviewer's name, the correct spelling and one thing they said. That detail becomes the specific line in your thank-you email.

2. 2
   Short draft on the laptop

   Keep the thank-you to three or four sentences and send it the same day, or by the next morning at the latest.

3. 3
   Decision date on the calendar

   Mark the date they gave you, plus a reminder two or three business days later. That reminder is your cue for a status check.

Expressing your gratitude in a thank you note is very straightforward. Acknowledge having been given the time to come in for an interview and express your continued interest in the position for which you interviewed. State one specific point that was brought up during your conversation and reiterate your enthusiasm for the position. Below is an example of what a thank you note might look like for Sam’s interview with Jordan:

You can change the “onboarding” detail to something else from your interview with them. Something like a project they described or a good question you asked them and they discussed with you would be fine. Just keep it short and sweet and keep the subject line of the email plain, such as “Thank you for today’s conversation”.

Hi Jordan, thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. I enjoyed hearing how your team is rebuilding the onboarding process for new hires, and this reimagined process really made me even more excited about this role. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can provide to help move forward.

This sentence points to something Jordan actually said, which shows Sam was listening and helps Jordan connect the email to the right interview. Replace it with a real detail from your own conversation. A generic line such as "I enjoyed learning about the company" could have been sent by anyone.

Use one sentence to clarify a weak answer

Even if your interview went well, you may have to patch up a single weak answer in your thank-you notes. Remember to keep these brief and to never, ever offer up an apology for your interview performance. Here’s an illustrative example of how Sam might fix up a small weakness in his conversation with Jordan concerning budgeting for his past projects:

You can add a lot of words to explain a small error but it can make the error look bigger. Just add one sentence to your thank-you note.

Stop worrying about the perfect wording

Many people are hesitant to write a thank-you note because they fear that it will sound foolish. In a set of four experiments, people who wrote gratitude letters to someone who had meaningfully touched their life overestimated how others would react with discomfort to expressions of thanks and underestimated how much the other person would appreciate the gesture¹. Although these studies were not about job interviews or hiring managers, they do give insight into how these types of letters are perceived.

None of those studies involved interviewees thanking hiring managers for talking with them about a job opening. They therefore don’t tell us whether a thank-you email helps you get hired. What they do suggest, however, is that our fear of sounding terrible in writing may be greater than the reader’s reaction to a plain, sincere note. Read your draft once, and then send the simplest note.

Wait for the decision date before checking in

Set the decision date mentioned during the interview in your calendar. Wait until this date has passed before checking in with them. Then, wait 2-3 working days before sending a status check.

The reason for this wait is that there are many reasons for delays in hiring such as other interviews, people being away on other issues etc., and also that a manager may need to sign off on a decision. If nobody gave you a date, wait about a week after the thank-you email.

Send a polite status check

Respond to Jordan in the email thread and express your continued interest in the position before asking for any update on the timeline. The note below is an example of what you might write:

There’s no need to include phrases like “I haven’t heard back” or “I know you’re busy, but.” These lines add pressure to the interviewer or sound apologetic without giving Jordan anything to answer. If another job offer comes with a deadline, indicate the date for that as well.

A status check that gets a new timeline

1. 
   Sam

   Hi Jordan, I hope your week is going well. I'm still very interested in the project coordinator role and wanted to check whether there's an update on the timeline. Happy to share anything else that would help.

2. 
   Jordan

   Thanks for checking in, Sam. We're finishing the last two interviews this week, so we expect to decide by next Friday.

3. 
   Sam

   That's helpful, thank you. I'll look forward to hearing from you, and I'm happy to answer any questions before then.

4. 
   Jordan

   Will do. Have a good weekend.

If the status check also gets no reply

A second silence from an interviewer can be very frustrating and even give the impression that the search for candidates has been paused. However, it is possible that the interviewer’s inbox is just full. Wait a week and then send the following short message that keeps the door open:

After this closing note, it is time to move on and stop emailing. If the interviewer does happen to get back to you weeks later, you can then pick up where you left off. Continue applying for other jobs in the meantime.

What to do next, based on what you hear back

Jordan replies with a new decision date+

Thank them in one line, note the new date in your calendar and wait until it passes before checking in again.

No reply two or three business days after the decision date+

Send one polite status check in the same email thread.

No reply about a week after the status check+

Send one closing note that asks for an answer either way.

Still no reply after the closing note+

Stop emailing about this role and keep applying elsewhere. If Jordan writes later, reply normally.

You receive a competing offer with a deadline+

Email now, give the deadline date and ask whether they can share their timing.

When LinkedIn or a phone call fits better

LinkedIn or phone call? If a recruiter has been calling you throughout the process, or you are trying to get an answer quickly because of a competing offer’s deadline, then phone call(s) are fine. And then write a short email afterwards to restate details that you promised on the phone. A short LinkedIn message fits when you only have Jordan’s profile, or when a recruiter first contacted you there. Keep it shorter than the email:

You might choose a phone call if a recruiter has already been calling you, or if you have other offers that expire in a few days and you need an answer sooner than email is likely to get you one. Keep this brief as well, and be sure to follow up with a brief email to ensure that all of your communication is captured.

Your next step

Open up a new email and start writing your thank-you note using 1 key point from the conversation and continue on to write the rest of the email. Set a reminder on your calendar 2 business days after the promised decision date for your status check. Practice your follow-up phone call with a scene partner in Quippy if you’d like to.

Sources and references

1. University of Chicago News (2018). People underestimate value of sending letters of appreciation (reporting Kumar and Epley, Undervaluing Gratitude, Psychological Science).Four experiments in which participants wrote gratitude letters to someone who had touched their life meaningfully and predicted the recipient's reaction; it did not study job candidates or hiring managers, so it says nothing direct about hiring outcomes.