Thank You Email After an Interview: 15 Amazing Tips (with Samples) ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ♡

Written by Yuri Khlystov
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I. Introduction
Yes, yes — and yes.
No matter what anyone tells you, sending a thank you email after meeting with recruiters or a hiring manager will always be the courteous thing to do — whether you end up landing that job or not.
Why?
Because good manners never go out of style and can tell a lot about you as a person. And guess what? Everyone wants to hire people who are easy to get along with and have good social skills.
So, the question is not, Is a thank you email necessary? but rather, How do I write a great thank you email after an interview?
The good news is that drafting a good thank you email is more of an art than a science and leaves plenty of room for customization and creativity. The rules are not as strict as with resumes or motivation letters, for example.
However, there are still a few things you want to keep in mind to make sure you get it done right and make the most of it.
To help you out, I have gathered my top 15 expert tips on writing a thank you email after an interview.
The best part?
If you stick it out to the end of this post, you will also get:
1. A step-by-step how-to writing guide
And
2. Ready-to-use thank you email templates
Ready? Let’s do this!
II. Top 15 Tips on Writing a Thank You Email After a Job Interview
Do These Before Writing Your Thank You Email
- Get the Contact Details of the Recipients
- Consider How Many Emails to Send
- Get the Timing Right
- Think of Ways to Add Value to Your Thank You Email
- Sell Yourself
- Check Your Bin and Spam Folder
- If You Get a Reply Respond ASAP
- Adjust Your Tone Accordingly
- Use the Right Type of English
- Proofread!
- Always Personalize Your Email
- Do Not Send a Hard Copy Letter or Thank You Note
- Install an Email Tracking App
- Read Thank You Email Examples
- Send Thank You Email After Phone and Online Interviews
1. Get the Contact Details of the Recipients
So, for starters, you should get the full names and email addresses of all the recipients of your thank you email.
One way to do that is by looking them up on the company’s website and/or LinkedIn.
However, bear in mind that the information on there may be out of date. People change emails, job titles, and surnames all the time — and their online profiles don’t always reflect that.
So, to make sure you don’t miss something or someone, it’s best to ask for the business cards of the people interviewing you at the end of the interview itself. That will ensure you have their up-to-date contact details.
But if you forget to do that in the heat of the moment (it happens more often than you’d think!), don’t panic. You can always phone up reception and ask for people’s details after the interview.
Important:
2. Consider How Many Emails to Send
And don’t just change the salutation and copy-paste the rest!
When sending an interview thank you email to multiple interviewers, you should personalize each message to reflect the conversation you had with its recipient.
The only exception is when you’ve been interviewed jointly by a panel, in which case you can write just one email and copy everyone in.
Important:
3. Get the Timing Right
However, do NOT send the email:
- After working hours
- In the evening
- Very early in the morning
- Over the weekend
- On national or major religious holidays
If you were interviewed on a Friday morning, send the email that same afternoon or first thing on Monday.
Note that this rule applies even when you know your interviewer has a flexible working schedule. Even freelancers, part-time workers, and the self-employed like to have their evenings to themselves. If you do get the job in the end, your manager will let you know if it’s okay to contact them outside of standard working hours.
Important:
Pro Tip:
4. Think of Ways to Add Value to Your Thank You Email
A good thank you email is about expressing gratitude.
An excellent thank you email, however, is about expressing gratitude AND providing the recipient with added value.
In practical terms, that means spicing up your message with informational and useful content. You can link out to a helpful resource, include interesting industry stats, or briefly describe an example or a case study from your work.
There are three things to keep in mind here.
First, don’t go overboard: two to three sentences should suffice. A thank you email after an interview must be brief and to the point.
Second, your “added value” content should be relevant to the interview. Don’t just stuff your email with random information. Instead, use the discussion you had with the recruiters as an inspiration and a starting point.
Did the interviewers share a problem or a pain point? If so, you could research potential solutions and suggest a few.
Or did they talk about the company goals? Then think of ways you could help achieve them.
Third, get the recipients hooked. Suggest a solution to a problem or a useful piece of information, but don’t give away everything you’ve got. Simply hint at the fact that you have more valuable tips and ideas — and would be more than happy to share these at a later date.
Important:
Add value to your email by citing industry stats, case studies, or links to helpful resources.
5. Sell Yourself
Unless the recruiters reach out to you with follow-up questions or to request further information after the interview — which is rarely the case — the thank you email is your last chance to sell yourself and make a good impression.
You want to use this chance wisely.
In other words, sell yourself. However, be smart about it. Don’t just tell the recruiters how great you are; show them.
The best way to do that is by using facts and figures as evidence. For instance, if you helped the last company you worked for to increase its annual sales by 10%, make sure to mention that. Or did you attract 10 new high-net-worth clients? That’s great — put it in your email.
If you can’t think of any stats or numbers, feel free to use an example from your past work that shows you in your best light.
In any case, though, you should use figures or examples that are relevant to the position at hand. Ideally, they should be relevant to what was discussed in the interview too.
Important:
When selling yourself, you want to show, not tell. Also, keep it brief and understated: the facts should speak for themselves.
What to Do After Sending Your Thank You Email
6. Check Your Bin and Spam Folder
7. If You Get a Reply, Respond ASAP
The recruiter may ask for further details on the “added value” section of your email, or they may invite you for a follow-up interview. Or they might give you the job there and then!
In any case, you don’t want to leave them hanging. Making a good first impression at the recruitment stage is crucial.
And that applies even if you get a rejection. You never know; you may find yourself applying for that same position or for a different job with that employer at a future date. Make no mistake: the recruiters will remember the impression you make now — and they may have even put it on file.
Important:
More Expert Tips on Writing a Great Thank You Email
8. Adjust Your Tone Accordingly
If you are applying for a position with a law firm, for example, you want to keep the tone strictly professional. But if you are applying to work as a DJ, you can spice up your message with a few colloquialisms or the odd exclamation point — but use them sparingly. Less is more here.
In any case, though, you should stay away from emojis at this stage. You’ll have ample opportunities to use them once you land the job and get to know your colleagues better.
Pro Tip:
9. Use the Right Type of English
Using the local standard is especially important when applying for positions that involve writing. Think journalism, copywriting, editing, law, and the likes. In that case, you want to demonstrate that you are fully familiar with the regional standard.
Pro Tip:
10. Proofread!
What’s more, you should proofread the text a few times — and then have other people look at it too. For best results, you might want to sleep on it and proofread again the next morning.
It’s also a good idea to run your draft through Grammarly or another online proofreading tool. This type of email is too important to rely solely on your Word spell checker.
Important:
11. Always Personalize Your Email
- Referring to the interviewer(s) by their name(s) or surname(s)
- Including real-life examples and/or figures from your past work
- Revisit a point, a question, or a problem that was raised in the interview
- Highlighting how you could help your prospective employer achieve their goals or how you would make a great fit for the company
Tiny tweaks like these show you have done your research and are genuinely interested in joining this particular company. That also shows you paid attention to what was said during the interview and weren’t just going through the motions.
Important:
12. Do Not Send a Hard Copy Letter or Thank You Note
Pro Tip:
13. Install an Email Tracking App
If the recruiters opened your email but didn’t respond, that could be an early indication that the interview didn’t go as well as you had hoped. So, you might want to regroup and start applying for other jobs. However, not getting a prompt response could simply mean that the recruiters are incredibly busy, so don’t panic and take everything with a grain of salt.
14. Read Thank You Email Examples
However, do not follow any template blindly. Use your common sense and always personalize your email and make it relevant to your situation, the industry, and the position you are applying for.
15. Send Thank You Emails After Phone and Online Interviews
Pro Tip:
III. How to Write a Thank You Email After an Interview: A Step-By-Step Guide
If that’s a yes, make yourself comfortable, close that YouTube window, crack your knuckles, and let’s get right into it!
Here is how to write a thank you email after an interview:
- Write the subject line
- Add the recipients
- Write the salutation
- Express your gratitude
- Restate your interest in the job
- Bring up something that was said during the interview
- Provide added value
- Sell yourself
- Say that you are available for follow-up questions
- Remind the recipients of the deadline
- Sign off
1. Write the Subject Line
The most important thing to keep in mind here is to adjust the formality of the subject line so that it matches the rest of the email.
Here are some great thank you email subject line examples:
- Thank You: Marketing Director Interview
- Thank You — Project Assistant Interview
- Thank You for Your Time
- Great to Meet You Today
- Thank You, Karen!
Important:
2. Add the Recipients
Also, don’t forget to proofread the recipients’ email addresses — a single typo will result in your email bouncing back. You would then have to resend or forward the message to that person, which is not ideal and doesn’t exactly make you come across as someone with a keen eye for detail.
If you were interviewed by a panel, it’s best not to CC people. Instead, copy and paste everyone’s email addresses in the “To:” field. This way, you don’t risk having anyone feel “less than.” It might sound silly (and it probably is), but such things happen in the world of recruitment.
Important:
3. Write the Salutation
Here are some good examples of salutations that you can use, in order from most to least formal:
- Dear Mr. Mullins
- Dear Amanda
- Hi Anand
- Hey Brianne
If you are sending one email to multiple recipients, the good old Dear All works best. And don’t forget that the All should be capitalized.
4. Express Your Gratitude
However, don’t go overboard. A sentence or two should suffice — and try not to get overly emotional.
5. Restate Your Interest in the Job
So, if you liked what you saw on the day of the interview, let the interviewers know that. And if you didn’t — let them know as well. No one wants to hire people who don’t actually want to work with them, and the recruiters will definitely appreciate your being honest and not wasting their time.
Important:
6. Bring Up Something That Was Said During the Interview
7. Provide Added Value
- Brief
- Relevant
- Factual
- Informational
- Useful
Use stats and figures, link out to studies and other helpful resources, and always tie these back to a specific point that came up during the interview.
Important:
8. Sell Yourself
Important:
9. Say That You Are Available for Follow-Up Questions
10. Remind the Recipients of the Deadline
11. Sign off
- Sincerely
- Kind regards
- Thank you
- Many thanks
Sign-offs to avoid at all costs include:
- Cheers (too casual)
- Respectfully yours (way too formal)
- God bless (it’s best to keep religion out of your professional correspondence)
- Sent from my iPhone (comes across as unprofessional — and yet, you’d be surprised how often people don’t delete it)
- No sign-off at all (makes your email seems rushed and as if you didn’t put in a lot of thought)
Important:
IV. Thank You Email Samples and Templates
We’ve covered pretty much everything there is to say on the subject. However, if you think you could do with some more thank you email ideas, have a look at the examples below. You can use them as templates, rough drafts, or inspiration for your own thank you messages.
Formal Thank You Email
To: jwright@company.com
Dear Mr. Wright,
Thank you for taking the time to interview me this morning. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
After our discussion today, I am even more convinced that the Director of Sales position would make a great fit for my skills and interests.
I have also been thinking about the point you made about your sales goals for next year.
Embedding videos and other visual content on landing pages can increase conversions by 86% [insert link to source]. As part of my work at XYZ Ltd., I managed the company’s 2019 landing page strategy, which ended up boosting conversions by 90%.
If revamping your landing page strategy is something you would be interested in, I would be happy to discuss my experience in the area in a follow-up chat.
I also remain available if you have further questions or need more information.
In any case, I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Patricia Gray
Informal Thank You Email
Subject Line: Thank You, Tom!
To: tling@company.com
Hi Tom!
Just wanted to thank you again for taking the time to interview me today. I really enjoyed our chat and am so happy Jen put us in touch!
After talking to you, I am now 100% convinced that I would love working at the dog shelter. You and everyone on the team seem lovely and have so much passion for what you are doing.
I’ve been thinking about what you said about people leaving their dogs because of “problematic behavior.” The shelter I work at currently partners with a non-profit that offers free dog-training sessions to people with financial difficulties. They are looking to partner up with more shelters, and you guys seem like the perfect candidate.
If that’s something you’d be interested in, let me know — I’d be happy to have a chat.
Looking forward to hearing from you after you get back from your trip!
Thanks again,
Matt
Thank You Email Panel Interview
To: dgray@law.com, aalamuddin@law.com, rkohler@law.com
Dear All,
Thank you again for taking the time to interview me today. It was a pleasure to finally meet you all in person.
I thoroughly enjoyed our talk and am now even more convinced that joining ABC Legal would be the next best step in my career.
I found your insights on family law particularly interesting, so I did some further research on the topic. It looks like the Family Commission is working on a proposal to amend Article 40 and make the children of non-national parents eligible for financial support too.
I worked on a couple of such cases last year and would be happy to share my perspective on this.
I also remain available in case you need more information or have for further questions.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Racheal Cabrelli
Thank You Email After Phone Interview
To: m.lerous@mail.com
Hi Martin,
Thank you again for taking the time to have a chat over the phone today — I really enjoyed talking to you!
I found your insights on room pricing strategies particularly interesting. I’ve personally used similar models to optimize the room rates in the hotel where I currently work. As a result, we saw a 68% growth in week-day bookings over the last quarter, and we are expecting an increase by a further 15% for this one.
Based on what you said about your goals for next year, I believe you could use a similar model to boost your bookings by 30% or more.
If that’s something you might be interested in, I’d be happy to have a chat — over the phone or in person.
In any case, feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
I look forward to hearing back from you!
Many thanks,
Elena
Thank You Email After Zoom Interview
To: a.sokolov@mail.com
Dear Alex,
Thank you for taking the time to chat over Zoom today. I’m sorry we could not meet in person, but I hope to be able to see you once you get back from your work trip.
It looks like the company is heading in a really exciting direction. I would love to help it grow and branch out to new markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
As discussed, I looked into the latest stats for the Russian market, and they seem promising. I believe you can expect a tenfold return on investment — or even more if you consider implementing the model I was telling you about. If that’s something you’d be interested in exploring, I’d love to have a follow-up chat.
In any case, let me know what your thoughts are when you get the chance.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks,
Maria
V. Thank You Emails: Final Thoughts
As always, feel free to let me know what you thought of the article in the comments section down below. Do you find it useful? Did you learn something new? Did you use my tips in a real-life situation — and how did that work out for you?
And just to recap, here are some of the key takeaways when it comes to writing a thank you email after a job interview:
Writing a Thank You Email: Key Takeaways
- Send the email no later than 24 hours after the interview
- Proofread religiously and double-check that you have up-to-date contact details
- Use the right tone and regional English register
- Refer to specific points that were discussed during the interview
- Bring added value to the email by providing useful information, facts, or stats
- Sell yourself using real examples from your work or your credentials
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