Applying for a new job can be nerve-wracking and once the interview is over, you may think you can relax and wait. Don’t do it. Take the time to send a thank you follow up email the same day that you had the interview.
Since human resource people or project managers may have several phone interviews every day, it is important for you to stand out from the rest. Sending a follow-up email on the same day that catches his or her attention is one of the best ways to help the interviewer remember you.
Today, the Internet is an important part of the job interview process. Candidates are asked to interview over the phone, with video conferencing and to provide social media pages to show their personal brand.
They may be asked to send examples of their previous work online. While a thank you note after an interview has been recommended for decades, today you can usually send it by email. In some situations, a hard copy may be necessary, but that is rare in this high-tech society.
Emails arrive the same day as the interview and may contain important links that were not given in the interview. If you spoke on the phone with more than one person, you should send a thank you email to each person.
One advantage of a follow-up email is that it demonstrates your willingness to keep communication channels open. Communicating effectively is one of the main qualifications needed in any workplace, so you can show that your communication skills are honed.
stand out with a follow-up email
It is very likely that most applicants will not send a follow-up email after a phone interview, so if you do, you will stand out from the rest as a serious contender.
A follow-up email after an interview over the phone is not simply a chance to say, “Remember me?” It is a chance to grab the interviewer’s attention and reinforce your qualifications and enthusiasm for the job.
Since recruiters may have many phone interviews every day, follow up becomes even more important to re-emphasize your qualities and suitability for the job. You can reinforce the points you brought up over the phone.
For a follow-up email, some of the best subject lines are:
• Thank you, Name of Interviewer
• Thank you from Your Full Name
• Thank you, job title, Your Full Name
• I appreciate your time and advice today
• Thank you for your time this morning, Your Full Name
Since emails are less formal than letters, you may have a casual greeting in the beginning, and use the interviewer’s first name, if that is appropriate, but it never hurts to show respect and humility especially to someone for whom you hope to be working.
The tone of the text may be friendly, while the greeting is a little more formal. The message should be brief, to respect their recruiter’s time. Make sure to keep a copy of every email you send.
Second Interview?
If by chance you are able to speak to the recruiter again in a second interview, your follow-up email should contain more details about how much you love the job or project and include examples of ways you have already thought about contributing.
If you discussed a particular project with the recruiter, you can give detailed suggestions for making the project a success. You can mention that you have enjoyed considering the issues and hope your suggestions are on point.
If all goes well, you will only need to send one follow-up email after a phone interview. However, if you don’t get a response within a reasonable amount of time, you may want to send a second follow up and even a third. The second email is just a reminder that you had an interview and you are checking to see if there are any results.
The third follow up email is to request to stay in touch in case there are any job openings in the future for which you may apply. You can write that you understand the position has been filled, but you are still enthusiastic about working with the amazing team at Name of Company and if it were looking for contributions to any projects, you would be happy to participate.
Other emails you may send after a phone interview are:
You have been offered the job and need to think about accepting it. This may be because you have applied to several companies and the offer you got was not your first choice. You may not get an offer from your first choice but you would like to wait a little longer to find out.
You may have been offered the job and you don’t want to accept it. In this case, you want to decline the offer while maintaining a good relationship with the recruiter. You may say it was not an easy decision, but you have accepted another job offer.
Here is a sample of the first follow-up email after a phone interview:
Sample Follow-Up Email After Phone Interview
To: interviewer@business.com
Subject line: Thank you for your time this morning
Dear Name of Interviewer:
This is a quick note to thank you for taking the time to interview me this morning about the Title of Position. I appreciate learning more about the job as well as about your experiences at Name of Company. Joining your team would be a great experience for me. It would allow me to work with and learn from a highly regarded team and company
I believe I would be an asset to the team and would love the opportunity to prove it. I have included a link to my website where you can see more examples of the projects on which I have worked in the past five years. Let me know if you have any questions about anything or if you would like me to send more information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Full Name of Applicant
Phone Number
Address
Email Address
Address of any social media accounts
Personal Website