Send a thank-you email within a day of the interview. Thank the interviewer for their time, mention one specific thing from the conversation, say in a sentence that you still want the job, and offer anything else they need. Four or five sentences is enough. It is a courtesy, and it is not the place to argue your case again.
The four parts
- Thanks. For their time, by name, with the job title so they can place you.
- One specific thing. Something they said, a problem they described, a part of the job you liked hearing about. This is what shows the email was written for them.
- That you want the job. One sentence. If the interview made you keener, say why.
- An offer and a close. "Let me know if you need anything else from me." Then your name.
When to send it, and to whom
When. The same day or the next morning. After a morning interview, that afternoon is fine. If the decision is being made that day, send it within a couple of hours.
To whom. Everyone who interviewed you, in separate emails. They may compare notes, so change the specific line in each. If you only have the recruiter's or coordinator's address, send one email to them and ask them to pass on your thanks.
Subject line. Keep it plain. Any of these works:
Thank you for today
Thank you: operations assistant interview
Good to meet you this morning
If the interview was arranged in an email thread, replying in that thread is simplest.
Examples
The people and details are invented. Swap in your own specific line; it is the only part that cannot be borrowed.
After a first interview
Subject: Thank you for today
Hi Ingrid,
Thank you for meeting me this morning about the support lead role. I enjoyed hearing how the team splits its week between the phones and writing help articles, and it is the mix I am looking for.
The conversation made me more sure that I would like the job. If it would help to see the help articles I mentioned, I can send them over.
Best wishes,
Halima Yusuf
After a phone screen with a recruiter
Short, because the call was short.
Hi Marcus, thanks for the call this afternoon and for explaining how the rest of the process works. I'm still very interested, and I'm free for the next stage any day next week except Wednesday.
Halima
To each person on a panel
One email each. Keep the thanks, change the middle.
Dear Dr Adeyemi,
Thank you for your time on the panel yesterday. Your question about how I would handle a parent who disagrees with a grade has stayed with me, and I was glad to hear how seriously the department takes those conversations.
I would very much like to join the school. Please let me know if there is anything further you need from me.
Kind regards,
Tamsin Hale
To the second panel member, the middle might be: "I enjoyed hearing how the year 9 timetable was rebuilt around longer lessons, and I would like to be part of that."
After a final interview
By now they know you. Be warm and brief, and show you have thought about the job itself.
Hi Ingrid,
Thank you for yesterday, and for letting me sit in on the team meeting. Seeing how the handover between shifts works answered my last questions about the role.
I would be very glad to join. You mentioned you hope to decide by the end of next week, so I will wait to hear from you.
Best wishes,
Halima
When you want to add something you forgot
A thank-you email is a fair place to fix one answer. One only, and keep it to two sentences.
Hi Ingrid,
Thank you again for yesterday. One thing I did not answer well: you asked whether I had handled a high volume of tickets. I should have said that at my last job I cleared around forty a day for two years, in the same ticketing system you use.
I hope that fills the gap. Thanks for a thoughtful interview.
Halima
When you have decided the job is not for you
Thank them anyway, and tell them now. It saves them time, and you may meet again.
Hi Ingrid, thank you for your time on Tuesday and for being so open about the role. Having thought it over, I am going to withdraw: the job is more phone-based than I am looking for. I enjoyed meeting you, and I wish you well with the hire.
What to avoid
- A second cover letter. Three paragraphs on your strengths reads as anxious. They have already heard them.
- A thank-you with nothing in it. "Thanks for your time, I look forward to hearing from you" could be sent after any interview. Add the one specific line.
- The same email to everyone. If it is forwarded round the panel, a copy is obvious.
- Asking for the decision. The thank-you is not the place. If their date passes, that is a separate, later email, covered in how to write a follow-up email.
- Apologising for the interview. "Sorry I was so nervous" is what they will remember. Correct one fact if you must, as in the example above.
- Gifts, or a message on their personal social accounts. Email is enough.
- Mistakes in their name or the company name. Check both against the invitation before you send.
Writing it with Hemmingway
The thank-you email after interview generator writes the email from your notes. Give it the interviewer's name, the role, and the one thing from the conversation you want to mention. It uses only what you tell it, so it will not make up a moment from an interview it was not in. If you give it nothing specific, the email will be polite and forgettable.
Read the draft, change anything that does not sound like you, and send it yourself. Hemmingway-1, the model behind it, came first on sounding like a person in our own blind test, Human-Likeness. There is a free trial with no card needed.
Try HemmingwayDownload the app
If the news turns out to be a no, how to respond to a rejection email has a short reply that keeps the door open. For the application before the next interview, see how to write a cover letter.
Common questions
How soon should you send a thank-you email after an interview?
Within a day. The same afternoon or the next morning is ideal. If you know the decision is being made that day, send it within a couple of hours of leaving.
What should the subject line of a thank-you email after an interview be?
Something plain, such as "Thank you for today" or "Thank you: operations assistant interview". If the interview was arranged by email, you can reply in that thread and leave the subject as it is.
Should I send a thank-you email to each interviewer?
Yes, if you have their addresses. Send separate emails and change the specific line in each, because they may compare them. If you only have the recruiter's address, send one email there and ask them to pass on your thanks.
How long should a thank-you email after an interview be?
Four or five sentences, or under about 100 words. It should take less than a minute to read. A longer one starts to look like a second application.
Is it too late to send a thank-you email two days after an interview?
No. A late thank-you is better than none, as long as a decision has not been announced. Send it without apologising for the delay and keep it as short as you would have the day after.
What if I don't have the interviewer's email address?
Reply to whoever arranged the interview, thank them, and ask them to pass your thanks on to the person you met. Do not guess at an address or send a message to a personal account.