Writing a Follow Up Email After Interview

Do you know one should always follow up after an interview, but how? We have certainly passed that era where we wrote handwritten notes, but what replaced those notes?

In this article, you will find the best ways to follow up after an interview.

If you had an interview on a phone or a phone interview, you should send an email like the one below:

Dear John,
Thanks for interviewing me the last Monday for the Software Engineer position at Microsoft Inc. I was highly obliged to have a chat with you, and the position is close to my interest and background. Looking forward to our next conversation and do let me know if you need more information about anything. Have a great week.


Best,
Gurjit Singh

For a face-to-face interview, you should follow these steps.

Firstly after getting back to your home, always make notes and queries about the interview, because you do not want them to be forgotten. A question like – Who was interviewing? Write their names and if you have forgotten their names write whatever little you remember even a half name (LinkedIn can help you search them at a later stage.) What was their questions and if you had multiple interviewers then remember to write each question for each interviewer. We will be sending personalized thanks, note.

Also, write how did you feel and what all you observed during the interview. You can also try having your interview post-mortem with a close friend of yours. Friends know you from deep within, and sometimes you need to be grounded and cynical. This happens that you are over confident when you hear about your positives.

Now you need to fill some blank note cards with the handwritten note to all the persons you met in the interview. If you don’t feel that it’s a real option to write a note, then you should probably know that I have came across HR managers that told me that the deciding factor between two candidates was the handwritten note they received. If you are brought by right people and want to make them proud, then send those thank-you notes, for your sake.
In that handwritten note, be quick and keep it simple. You do not want to overdo it and make it slightly different from one another if sending multiple thank-notes to multiple interviewers. Here’s a sample:

Dear John,
Thanks for a lovely conversation on last Monday about the Software Industry and Trade laws. I would like to tell you about the meet you again and looking forward to continuing the discussions about the job at XYZ company.
Enjoy your week,

Gurjit Singh

After this handwritten note, that needs to be sent within a day or two, don’t forget to send an email following up. However, make sure you have a good friend close to you, who can tell your mistakes freely.

The follow-up email can be like this:

Dear John,
Thanks for meeting me and having a chat with me about the Software industry. I am looking forward to talking more about the issues you mentioned. Also, I am curious to know more about the experience you want to achieve in that industry. I have particularly done much work in this field and am eager to do more and get results that can support the growth.
Enjoy your week,

Gurjit Singh



Remember not all jobs are meant to be taken, it might happen that you did not like the salary package they are offering or maybe they do not have that challenge in the job.