Recruiter’s Guide to Follow-Up Emails After Interviews

Any job seeker familiar with the recruitment process understands the frustration of not hearing from employers after a job interview. The waiting period can be tense and filled with a mix of hope and anxiety.

While the hiring process might seem out of your control, sending a follow-up email after the interview can help you stay engaged. A follow-up email helps keep you on the hiring manager’s radar and demonstrates your continued interest in the position.

In this article, I cover everything you’ll need to know about how to follow up after an interview. We’ll outline a detailed, strategic approach to crafting follow-up emails. Plus provide some sample email templates.

Expert Strategies for Following Up After an Interview

To craft the perfect post-interview follow-up email, you don’t necessarily need to be overly elaborate. It’s more important to be sincere, appreciative, and clear about your continued interest in the position.

In most cases, the best way to follow up after your interview is to simply reply to the latest email thread, meaning you won’t need a subject line. Continuing with the existing email thread and leaving the subject line as-is will boost your email’s chances of getting opened faster.

However, if you don’t have a previous email to reply to, here are a few short and sweet follow-up email subject lines you can use:

• Job interview follow-up – [add your name here]
• Following up regarding job interview – [add your name here]
• Thanks for the interview, just wanted to follow up – [add your name here]

Always Send a Thank-you Follow-up Email after your Interview 

According to a CareerBuilder study, 22% of employers are less likely to hire a candidate who doesn’t make an effort to send them a thank-you note. A thank-you email is not the same as the follow-up email that has been discussed so far in this article. Candidates should ideally send a thank-you email within 24 to 48 hours after the interview. 

A thank-you email/note is a message sent to express your gratitude for the opportunity to interview. It’s also a chance to reiterate your interest in the position and highlight what you can add to the team.

Sending a thank-you email helps you stand out to the employer as a courteous and proactive candidate, strengthening your chances of being remembered positively. 

In a thank-you email, you should:

• Express gratitude for the interviewer’s time.
• Reference a specific topic or moment from the interview to personalize the note.
• State your continued interest in the position and eagerness for the next steps.
• Offer your availability for any further questions or additional information.

If you forgot to send a thank-you email after your interview, you can find the combined thank-you email and follow-up email template below. You can also check out this article on how to write a thank-you email.

Here’s an example thank-you email template you can tailor for yourself:

A well-timed thank-you email is also a great way to refresh your email thread and allows you to reengage with the interviewer without coming across as overly pushy.

If the employer has provided an expected date for feedback after the interview, it’s best to follow up for a status update one business day after that date has passed. 

Remember, the interviewer is likely managing a handful of candidates (on top of their regular work) so timing and grace are the best ways to ensure your follow-up emails are effective.

What Every Follow-Up Email Needs, According to a Recruiter

Most employers prefer to receive a short and sweet follow-up email after the job interview without any unnecessary info. So, be clear and direct about why you’re following up.

Don’t be timid. However, you should be polite and respectful, no matter how long you’ve been waiting. Follow these tips to keep your email short, sweet, and professional, and leave a lasting impression on the interviewer:

1. Start with a friendly greeting: Be sure to mention the interviewer’s first name.
2. Say thanks for the opportunity: Before asking about the status it’s always a good idea to express your gratitude for the interviewer’s time.
3. Reaffirm your interest in the position: Here’s where you can mention any notable takeaways from the interview or reinforce some reasons why you’re a great fit for the role.
4. Ask directly for an update: Say you look forward to hearing about the next steps.
5. Finish by thanking them once more before signing off with your first and last name.
6. Send and be patient.

That last point is critical. Even if you’re about to send a second or third interview follow-up email after two weeks, writing a rude message or showing frustration won’t make the employer’s decision-making process move any faster, and it could even cost you the job.

So use a positive tone, tell the employer you’re checking for status updates and you’re excited to hear feedback when they have a chance, and then conclude by saying something like, “Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to hearing back when you have a chance.”

You can also decide whether to write your first and last name or just your first name. Choose based on your previous interactions with the hiring manager or employer and what you feel fits with the industry and company culture.

How many follow-up emails to send

After sending an initial follow-up and thank-you email you may not always hear back immediately. This can feel like torture, especially if it’s your first pick when it comes to dream jobs.

While it can be tempting to send emails daily, avoid acting impulsively and try using this follow-up frequency and framework we’ve put together. Do keep in mind, if the interviewer has given you a response date, avoid sending more than a thank-you email before then.

Interview Follow-Up Email Etiquette

A common part of the hiring process is that candidates often forget that the recruiter is most likely interviewing several other candidates for the same job. You shouldn’t feel too disappointed if you don’t hear back in the first few days. The hiring manager hasn’t forgotten you; they’re dealing with other responsibilities. Keep your chin up and continue applying for jobs that interest you in case this one doesn’t work out.

Below are some basic etiquettes of post-interview follow-up emails:

1. Show Gratitude

After greeting the hiring manager or interviewer by their name, you should thank them for taking the time to interview you. I’d mention the specific date you spoke to remind them, too. You’re trying to make a positive impression on the recruiter, and gratitude is always a key element in making that positive impression. For example: “Dear Jeff, thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Thursday.”

2. Keep It Professional 

Like any work-related email, you should keep your follow-up email as formal as possible. Keeping it professional entails starting with an appropriate subject line and having a professional closing.

Also, there is always the option of matching a company’s brand tone, especially if it is a tad laid-back. However, you will be on the safer side by maintaining a professional and formal tone in follow-ups. According to Mollie Khine, VP of Learning and Community at Flatiron School, “It’s okay to tone match, but you also want to level up a little bit with professionalism.”

3. Make it Meaningful

Making the email meaningful could mean adding the key takeaways from the interview or even the most interesting aspects of the job. Referencing these specifics helps the recruiter remember you easily.

Jordan Campbell, technical recruiter at IBISKA, said, “We’ll meet a lot of people; so when following up with a recruiter after a job fair, it’s a good idea to try to bring up something specific about your meeting in your message to jog their memory.” This applies to follow-up emails sent after interviews, too. 

4. Proofread Before Sending

Although your follow-up email isn’t your first impression, you still shouldn’t send it out without checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. When proofreading, be sure to weed out overly casual punctuations like interrobangs. A well-written, error-free email reflects your professionalism and attention to detail.

How to Handle Silence

Your interview follow-up email is no guarantee that you’ll get a response. Sometimes, it will be total radio silence from the recruiter’s side. This is no fault of yours; it just wasn’t meant to be. In your job-seeking journey, silence is a part you must learn to handle. Here are some time-tested strategies for handling post-interview silence even after you’ve sent follow-up emails.

Practice Self Care and Stay Positive

There’s always that feeling of disappointment that comes with not getting any feedback from a recruiter. However, you need to take care of your mental and physical well-being. Engaging in activities that you enjoy and that help you relax can improve your overall mood and resilience during this period. The silence from the recruiter isn’t something you can control. Nonetheless, you can control your reaction and maintain a positive outlook.

Reflect on Your Interview

Reflect on your interview performance to identify areas for improvement and achievements you might have omitted. Take note of what went well and areas for improvement. Use this reflection not to dwell on past mistakes but to prepare for better communication and to identify skill gaps to address.

Mei Yu Lim, technical recruiter at Microsoft, emphasizes the value of reflection: “Being reflective helps. You can recheck the company and the role you have applied for and interviewed. Revisit the job description, identify the key competencies and traits for the role if you haven’t already done so and reflect if you have demonstrated the ideal competencies and traits the hiring manager or the interviewer is looking out for.“

Apply to Other Jobs

For the vast majority, job-hunting is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay resilient and keep up the momentum by seeking out new roles that match your skill set. While waiting for responses, diversifying your applications can reduce the emotional weight of any single application’s outcome. Check out this article on job-seeking tips and techniques that can improve your chances of getting hired. This article contains interview preparation and tips for various industries to help you ace your next interview.

Effectively Managing Multiple Interviews and Applications

Keep in mind that delays happen, and the hiring process takes time. So, the best thing for you to do while waiting for a status update is apply for more jobs and try to schedule more interviews. You shouldn’t stop doing this until you’ve signed a job offer! No matter how well you write your follow-up email, it isn’t going to get a company to move its process faster, bypass delays, or skip over other candidates. 

While applying to multiple jobs, you will inevitably have to manage multiple follow-ups. Here are strategies to help you stay on top of your game:

Use a Tracking System

Create a spreadsheet or use a job search management tool to track each job application, interview dates, follow-up actions, and any responses received. Include columns for the company name, position, date of application, interview date, notes from the interview, and follow-up dates. This system will help you quickly see which jobs you need to follow up on and when.

Prioritize Your Opportunities

Rank your job opportunities based on your level of interest, the likelihood of getting the job, and how well it matches your career goals. Focus your energy on the highest-priority follow-ups, but don’t neglect the others. This approach ensures you allocate your time and resources effectively.

Set Reminders

Use digital calendars, apps, or the reminder system within your tracking tool to set alerts for when it’s time to send a follow-up email. Timing is key in maintaining a professional image and showing your interest without being overbearing.

Don’t Hesitate to Move On

The average response time after an interview is 24 business days. This means you may sometimes need a second follow-up email if the first one goes unanswered. However, if you’ve followed up a couple of times with no response, it might be time to focus your energies elsewhere. It’s important to recognize when it’s time to let go and redirect your efforts to other opportunities.