How to Write a Great Interview Follow up Email

Here's how to write a reply worthy interview follow up email 

So, you had the interview and you feel really good about it. The position is exactly what you’re looking for, the company seems like a great fit, and the manager is someone you could easily see yourself working with. Basically, you want the job. You really want the job.

While the interviewers will undoubtedly place more weight on your interview than anything else, writing a follow-up email that expresses your enthusiasm for the position and competence for the available role can help you stand out.

But, how do you show that in just a few sentences? We break it down for you.

Tips to Write an Efficient Interview Follow Up Email

If You Know the Person

If you applied for and got the interview through a reference or network connection, it’s important to personalize your interview follow up email a bit more, whether you interviewed with the person you know or not.

So, if you interviewed with someone in your network, a simple way to start the follow-up email is to bond over your shared history. If you’ve worked together before, mention how well that worked or how much you both learned, enjoyed it, etc. If you only know each other peripherally, discuss how you clicked and think it would be great to take your relationship a step further.

If you didn’t interview with your personal connection but with someone else in their company, reiterate your mutual connection. This could be stating how well you and the person you know work together so you’re confident the company or team would also be a great fit for you.

If You Don’t Know the Person

If you’re going into the company blind and don’t have any connection, don’t worry. It’s now an opportunity to mention how much you enjoyed meeting them and bring up any commonalities you discovered in the interview. Now, if you didn’t necessarily bond over anything in particular, a simple “It was so great to meet you on [day], I really enjoyed learning more about the company and role and would look forward to working with you more closely,” would definitely suffice.

What to Always Include

Regardless of whether you know your interviewer or anyone at the company, you should always include the following in your interview follow up email:

A “thank you”

This is the whole point of the email after all. Thank them for their time, for filling you in on how the company works, what they’re looking for in the position, etc.

Reiterate your skills

Then bring it back to how you can help them. So, based on the discussion, write one or two lines about how your background, experience, and skills can help solve the problem they are hiring for. Be straightforward and succinct to take out any guesswork on whether you can do the job or not.

            A timeline for follow-up

End the interview follow up email with a timeframe in which you will follow up again if you don’t hear anything. In an ideal world this is based on the hiring timeline they gave you, but if not, suggest 7-10 business days. The point is to let them know that you’re very interested and will be reaching out again if you don’t hear from them first.

But the most important thing to remember is: Always send a follow-up email within 24 hours of your interview. That way, you’re still top of mind and expressing your interest after learning even more about the role.