Following Up
The interview process doesn’t stop after you hang up the phone or leave the company's office. It’s your job to send a follow-up/thank you note following every interview you have, regardless of whether it’s on the phone or in person, a networking coffee or a formal interview, and even if you’ve already met or spoken to that person before. This is expected behavior, so if you don’t do it you’re damaging your chances of moving forward in the process.
Follow up notes don’t just say thank you, they add value and continue to build the relationship with the contact/company.
Examples of when to send a follow up note:
After an initial conversation with an HR or recruiting professional
After a formal interview with HR, Recruiting, a hiring manager, or their colleagues
After an informational interview of any kind
After a networking coffee
After meeting someone at a meetup/ developer conference
And every other interview ;)
Here are key best practices for your follow-up:
Send your follow-up/thank you no later than 24 hours after every interview or communication exchange.
This shows you are timely and seriously interested. Plus, it helps the interviewer remember you more, as you are still fresh in their mind. Do this even if you’ve met the interviewer before, or on several occasions.
Email each interviewer individually.
Do not send one mass email to everyone you met with. Even if you are in a panel interview or meeting with multiple people at the same time, it is still best practice to follow up with each person you meet individually.
Have pen and paper handy during your interview.
As mentioned in previous lessons, this helps you remember the key points you discussed with each interviewer, enabling you to write a more personalized, impactful follow-up.
Ask for their business card.
If an interviewer doesn’t give you their business card (or says they don’t have any), don’t think that’s an excuse not to send a follow up note. It’s pretty common in the tech industry for people not to have business cards.
You could also ask your main point of contact at the company (likely someone in HR) for the emails of your other interviewers.You can explain that you’d like your interviewer’s email so that you can follow up with them, and politely ask to make sure that’s ok.
Your follow-up note must address the following points:
Thanks the interviewer for their time.
Mentions specific points that were addressed during the interview (this demonstrates you were listening and are invested in this role and company).
Emphasizes what you can contribute based on the conversation
Mentions the company specifically by name somewhere in the note (not “you” or “your company” or “the company”).
Indicates your interest and excitement for the job and your desire for future conversations
Contains your phone number in the closing of the note.
Optionally, your note may also address the following points:
Perhaps mention specific technologies you have studied/used that the company uses.
Contains a blog post you wrote that you think the employer would appreciate and is in some way tied to the conversation you had with them
If when answering a technical question the interviewer tells you you answered something wrong, this is your chance to redeem yourself. Explain what you would have done differently, clarify what you meant to say and/or write a blog post about that specific topic and include it in the note. This shows your commitment to excellence, your desire for the job and directly reflects how you would act in a real work setting.
Examples of Good Follow Up Notes
The example below uses appropriate language, enthusiasm and appreciation, while also clearly communicating the candidate’s interest in continuing the process. This example email is to an internal recruiter (James) who has brought the student in for a round of interviews with other employees at the company.
James,
Great to see you yesterday and thank you again for helping to coordinate my interviews.
It was fantastic to meet with Peter and Jane -- it was heartening to see that they're so engaged with team members on all >levels, all the more so because they're such smart, personable individuals.
I was thankful to get to hear their vision for the future of Company X and to work through a couple of sample problems with >them. If you have the chance, it would be appreciated if you could pass along my thanks!
The data-focused solutions that Company X is creating for its clients are truly exciting. Having met so many great team >members and learned so much about the company, I think Company X would be an amazing place to contribute my technical >skills and client experience. I hope we have the chance to discuss the opportunity further.
Looking forward,
Derek
The example below uses appropriate language, is enthusiastic about the role and seeks to build a personal relationship with the contact (a technical lead on the team at Company X).
Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to meet with me this afternoon. It was a pleasure speaking to you, >visiting the office, and learning about Insert here something that came up in conversation, could be non-tech related or >funny, building rapport.
I really enjoyed our conversation about Swift and, while I have focused the last few months on learning Objective-C, I am >interested in learning how to translate my knowledge into Swift and building apps in Swift. As you know, I am just >beginning my career as an iOS developer, but I believe I have the passion and drive to make a valuable contribution to your >team.
Thanks again for your time. I am excited about this opportunity to join Company X, and I look forward to seeing you at the >next Brooklyn Swift meetup!
Best,
Jessica
The example below is extremely enthusiastic and detailed about the interview process. Melina is telling Alyson (the tech recruiter) about her experiences in today’s interview and also indicated some specific details following the coffee meeting she had with alyson at the end of the day.
Hi Alyson,
I wanted to thank you for setting up my interviews today and also for taking the time to speak with me over coffee at the >end of the day. I really enjoyed learning more about the responsibilities of a Support Engineer, and hearing about the >inclusive culture at Company X.
The challenges that I worked on with Nate were fantastic and eye opening. I learned so much from working with him and >exploring new technologies during our debugging session.
Just to reiterate, I am very excited about the prospect of working at Company X. It is by far my first choice to start my >career as a developer, and I can't wait to continue this process.
Look forward to hearing from you soon!
Warmest regards,
Melina
Examples of Bad Follow Up Notes
The below example uses generic language and lacks enthusiasm, interest and effort in general.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure meeting you and learning more about what your company is looking for in this >role. As you see from my resume and interview, I possess the exact skills your company requires, as well as a strong work >ethic.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Darryl
The below example does not specifically mention anything about the interview nor the person who was doing the interview. Employees interview a lot of people; be specific so the employee remembers who you are. Also, don’t ask in your thank you note what the next steps are in the process?
Hi Amelia,
I am very excited about the prospect of working as a Fellow at Conde Nast! Is there any further information you require from me for this process to move forward?
Thanks, Kevin
In the below email there is a typo. (Always proofread). This email is also unnecessarily wordy and like the ones above, does not mention any specifics about the interview. In a thank you note, don’t mention or assume that you’ll be talking next steps with the interviewer or someone else at the company. Also this note should be broken up into smaller paragraphs.
Hey Veronica,
I would again like to thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening. I know with the way things are going over at Company X, and the way you guys are growing, things must be very busy so I really appreciate you allowing me a moment of your valuable time to speak with you about the possibility of filling the your open role. With that being said I look forward to speaking with you again about the possible next steps that shall be taking place within this interview process and also speaking with a manger/ engineer over at Company X. Thank you again and have a great day.
Pierre
Next Steps
Consider your previous follow-up notes. Think about what you did successfully. What did you do successfully? What was missing? Use this lesson to help you craft strong, impactful follow-up notes and habits going forward. Be sure to run the first few follow up notes by your coach before sending them.
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