You just walked out of a job interview. You gave great answers to all the interview questions and really hit it off with the hiring manager. You nailed it!
That’s great—but you’re not done yet. In fact, fair or not, most hiring managers pay very close attention to whether you write a thank you email after the interview (and you want a catchy subject line to go with it).
Our advice? Follow up as soon as humanly possible by writing a terrific interview thank you note. Below, we list out tips for writing the perfect thank you email—and provide a template to get you started.
Olivia Johnson, a Muse career coach with more than 20 years of experience in the corporate world, said there’s no good reason why you shouldn’t send a thank you note after every interview—and plenty of reasons why you should. For one thing, it’s proper business etiquette: “It’s almost like if you invite someone in your home, and then they’re leaving your property and don’t say anything as they walk out the door,” Johnson said. “They selected you to move forward and have a conversation with, so it deserves a thank you.”
One major benefit of the effort, she told The Muse, is that it immediately makes you stand out from other candidates who don’t send a follow-up email. “I always ask my clients after interviews, ‘Did you remember to send a thank you note?’ And usually, 80 to 90% of the time, I hear, ‘Oh, right,’ because they forget to do it,” she said.
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It also helps you build on the rapport you established in the interview by reminding the hiring manager who you are, what you talked about, and how you’re a great fit for the job and company.
Finally, a thank you note can help alleviate any concerns you had about your conversation. Maybe you forgot to ask about a specific part of the role, or maybe you flubbed an answer and want to clarify your statement—here’s your second chance. “I actually had someone who did really well on the tech interview, but they missed a question. They went home, continued to figure it out, and then sent a note sharing what they came up with,” Johnson shared. “That’s impressive. That’s somebody that you want on your team.”
Even if the interview went swimmingly, Johnson still advised sending a thank you note. “Even if the interview went so awesomely that they offered you the job on the spot, you should be sending a thank you note,” she said. Plus, you won’t regret taking that extra effort to make your appreciation and excitement known.
Hi [Interviewer Name],
Thank you so much for meeting with me today. It was such a pleasure to learn more about the team and position, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to join [Company Name] and help [bring in new clients/develop world-class content/anything else awesome you would be doing] with your team.
I look forward to hearing from you about the next steps in the hiring process, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide additional information.
Beyond following the template above, here’s what to keep in mind when crafting your professional thank you email.
In all your wordsmithing, don’t forget to thank the person for taking the time to meet or speak with you.
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