You studied up on the company. You prepared for every possible job interview question. You delivered the perfect handful of anecdotes. Now, it’s all over. Or is it?
There’s no consensus in the business world over whether you should send a final “thank you” interview after your job interview, but that’s just what makes it stand out as the perfect touch for some interviewers.
Should you bother with a thank you email after the fact? Are you blowing up your shot at the perfect job if you skip it? And what details would you have to include if you did send one? Here’s everything to know about email followups to job interviews, along with a few templates to get you started on your own.
Should I Even Write a Thank You Email at All?
Thank you emails aren’t for everyone. For one thing, many managers won’t notice at all if you don’t send one, and a lack of a thank you email is unlikely to impact your standing as a job applicant.
In fact, some managers actively dislike getting a thank you email: They may perceive it as a sign that you’ll waste their time with performative niceties and perhaps swamp their inbox with even more emails if hired on.
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However, plenty of other managers will be thrilled to get a personalized thank you for their often-unappreciated work. Some will even be upset if they don’t receive a thank you, since they perceive as an unwritten rule that a truly ambitious job applicant will take the time to go the extra mile for them.
In the end, you should consider what impact you want to leave on the job interviewer. Are you a naturally thoughtful person or a bit of a perfectionist? If so, sending a thank you email will create an accurate impression of what type of worker you are. However, if you’re a dependable but terse worker, you might want to avoid sending a thank you email: You may not want to be hired by a manager who values that extra verbosity.
Finally, if you’re applying to a sales position, I’d recommend going ahead and sending that email: You might as well show your potential employees that you can schmooze with the best of them if that’s the job description.
What Elements Should a Thank You Email Include?
A good post-job interview thank you email just needs to do two different things: Make you look thoughtful, and remind the interviewer of why you’re the best fit for the job.
The thoughtful part’s pretty simple: Say thanks, and maybe throw in a tasteful compliment if it’s organic.
You can feel free to reiterate the most relevant skills and past job roles that make you an attractive candidate. I’d also suggest throwing in a reference to why you want the job, so that the whole email isn’t just about why they should want you.
Here’s a quick list of the points you’ll likely want to touch on with your email:
- Say thanks.
- Reference your best traits from the job interview. This might be skills, experience, or job history, but it must be specific.
- Explain what you like about the role. Does it offer you experience you need? The career path you want?
- Say you’re looking forward to the next step. This is a good sign-off, since it points towards the future step, and reinforces the idea that you’ll be moving on in the job interview process.
- Say thanks again! You always want to end with one last “thanks again.”
You can also to this chance to cover any nitty-gritty details that might have been questioned during the interview: If you said you’d get back to them about a salary question or confirm if you’ve used their brand of customer relationship software in the past, now’s the time to explain.
In fact, if you can remember a small detail from the job interview, it might be a great excuse to justify sending the entire thank you email itself. Maybe during the pre-interview conversation, you wanted to recommend a great sketch comedy show on Netflix, but you couldn’t remember the name. If so, you could open with the name itself: It’s personable, low-effort, and makes your interview stand out from the pack.
The Biggest Thank You Email Mistakes to Avoid
As if all this wasn’t hard enough, the wrong thank you email can ensure that you never land the job… even if the interview itself went well!
The most common problem is mispelling the name of the interviewer or the company. Not only if this insulting, but it’s a clear indication that you’ll confuse more details if hired. However, since so many job interviewees are applying to hundreds of positions, it’s easier than you might think to make this exact mistake: Job applicants will often copy and paste the name of the last person to interview them and forget to change it to the new person.
The other big issue to avoid is adding extra detail or making requests. If you need something clarified, you should ask during the interview itself. You don’t want to put extra pressure on a middle-manager to get back to your concerns after the fact. If hired, you’ll make their job easier, not harder.
Templates and Subject Line Suggestions
Here’s a generic template that can get you started with your own thank you email, as well as an even shorter version, if you want to keep it quick.
Just remember to spice up these templates with your own spin on these concepts, from the exact skills or experiences you already highlighted during the interview, to the exact wording you use for everything else.
Basic thank you email template
Dear [Interviewer’s name],
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today and for the opportunity to discuss the role of [Job title] at [Company name]. I’d love the chance to join your team and contribute to [Company name]’s success.
I particularly enjoyed learning about [specific project or aspect of the role] and how it aligns with my experience in [related skill or field]. With my background in [specific skill or experience], I am confident that I can bring valuable insights and contribute effectively to [specific team or project]. Learning [the skill] is a great opportunity for my personal career growth, so this looks like a fit to me.
Please feel free to reach out if you need any additional information or have further questions. I look forward to the next steps in the hiring process.
Thank you once again for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
[Your name]
Short thank you email template
Dear [Interviewer’s name],
Thank you for meeting with me today to discuss the [Job title] position at [Company name]. I enjoyed learning about the role and am excited about the opportunity to contribute to [specific project or aspect of the role].
Looking forward to the next steps.
Best regards,
[Your name]
Potential subject lines
For the subject line, consider one of these options:
- Thank You for the Interview
- Excited About the Opportunity
- Follow-Up on Our Interview
- Enjoyed Our Conversation
- Thank You, [Interviewer’s name]
That last one will definitely stand out in your interviewer’s mind, as an email subject line that is name-specific tends to jump out at someone.
In the end, you can’t control how someone will receive your email. They might love a thoughtful note, or they might be upset that you’re wasting their time. But as long as you authentically convey your personal work ethic and double-check your spelling, you’ll position yourself for the role that’s best for you.
