Blog

How to Follow Up After an Interview

on October 10, 2022 in ABR Blog, Career and Job Search Tips, Interview Tips

Following Up After an Interview When You Don’t Hear Back

You did the interview, you sent the thank you message, and now you wait..and wait…and wait. Now what? Well, if you don’t get a reply after your follow-up email, don’t keep spamming the employer with more messages. It’s easy to lose hope and confidence when this happens. For many job seekers, the experience is so frustrating that they tend to make things worse by sending multiple emails. Below we share tips on how to follow up after an interview.

The best way to show professionalism is to start the email off with a positive tone.

If you begin with something like, “So it’s been a few days and I still haven’t heard back…,” you’ll come across as passive-aggressive or rude, regardless of whether or not you mean to.

In your follow-up email, do three things:

Congratulate them on finding the right candidate. This one is a mind game given the fact that you don’t know if they’ve already filled the position or not. However, expressing that you’re happy for them, even though they didn’t pick you, shows you have a good spirit. Plus, it’s likely you’ll get a response either correcting you (e.g., that they didn’t hire anyone yet) or explaining the actual reason as to why they didn’t get back to you yet.
Ask them what you can do to stay on their radar for future opportunities. While you may be disappointed that you didn’t get the job, you shouldn’t close the door completely with the company – especially if you were really interested in working with them. New positions will eventually come up, and one of them might be perfect for you. So, be clear that you’re still interested in working at the company.
Lastly, remind them of one thing you enjoyed talking with them about. Was there a part of the interview conversation where you feel like you really connected with the interviewer? Mention it! Again, this is your opportunity to stand out from other candidates.

Following Up After Interview Email Examples

Example #1 – Generic

Hi <Julie / Ms. Jones>,

Thank you for your time < yesterday/date of interview>. It was great to speak to you about the <job title> role and I’m convinced that the position is a perfect fit for this stage in my career. I was hoping to get an update on the recruitment process, so any information that you can give me about the next steps would be greatly appreciated. Also, feel free to ask me any follow-up questions that may have come up since we last spoke.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

John Smith

Example #2 – Specific

Hi Kim,

I hope your search for the <job title> position is going well. And congratulations if you already found the right candidate; anyone you select would be lucky to work at such a great company.

I wanted to briefly reconnect to tell you that, while I might not be a perfect fit for the role at this time, I loved meeting with everyone on the team. It only reaffirmed my desire to be part of your company’s mission.

I truly appreciate your time and the opportunity to interview. I especially enjoyed our conversation about humble beginnings. Your story about how you worked your way up from an internship to a managerial position in just three years really inspired me, and it’s something I’ll always remember to keep me motivated throughout my career.

Thank you so much,

Amy