What to Write in a Thank-You Email After an Interview

You’ve aced your interview. Great job! But there’s one last step to getting hired, and it’s tiny but mighty. If you really want to leave a lasting impression on your hiring manager, you’ll need to write a thank-you email after your interview. Following up with your hiring manager by sending a quick note of appreciation is the final touch to create a positive impact and sell your talents and enthusiasm.

By sending a thank-you note after your interview, you’ll show your excitement for this new career opportunity and highlight your professionalism all at once. This simple gesture can help you add value to the interview process and prove why you’re the man or woman for the position. If you’re looking for a new job, you can’t afford not to send this brief (but powerful) email to your interviewer.

Why Write a Thank-You Email After an Interview?

Sending a thank-you note after your interview is a simple but important step to set yourself apart from other job applicants and help you in your job hunt. Not only does this quick message show off your communication and people skills, but it gives you another chance to share your professional talents. Taking just five minutes to communicate your gratitude and enthusiasm with your hiring manager can make the difference between landing your dream job or getting lost in the shuffle.

Samples of Thank-You Emails After an Interview

Your thank-you email doesn’t have to be a long and complicated message. Depending on the job you’re interviewing for, just a few sentences can be enough to make a good impression and show an extra level of attention. Don’t worry about becoming the next Shakespeare—keeping your email short, sweet and to the point is enough to get the job done.

What to Include in a Thank-You Email:

Thank-you notes give you the opportunity to restate why you would be perfect for the role. They’re also a snapshot of how you communicate, and they give your interviewer a preview of how quickly and professionally you can follow-up. Here’s what you’ll want to include in a thank-you email after your interview:

1. Styling: Make sure you have a subject line, greeting and signature, and that you’re sending the message to the correct person. You want to cover these email basics before anything else!
2. Gratitude: Be sure to thank your interviewer for their time and the opportunity to meet. Tell them how excited you are for the chance to help serve their company.
3. Qualifications: Reshare your best skills and talents. Pick out the best two or three that are most relevant to the job based on your interview.
4. Opportunity: Point out the projects or goals you’re excited to work on if you join the company.
5. Next steps: Follow up on whatever next steps you agreed to during your interview, like sending a portfolio or waiting to hear back for a phone call.
6. Contact information: The hiring manager should have your contact info but go ahead and list it again for reference. Include your phone number and note the best email to contact you—especially if it’s different from the one you’re using to send the thank-you email.

One last thing: You’ll want to send your thank-you email sooner rather than later. Ideally, you’ll want to send it within 24 hours of your interview, but it’s even better if you can send it the same day.

Examples of Interview Thank-You Emails

There are a few kinds of emails you can send to follow up after your interview. They’ll have the same basic structure but change depending on the detail you want to share. Here are some common examples:

Short and simple

This is a great example to use if you’re in the early stages of the interview process—especially if your interview was remote or over the phone.

You deserve to win at work. Our new book and assessment will show you how.

Hi Daphne,

Thank you so much for our conversation today. I enjoyed learning more about the business manager role, and I’m excited for the opportunity to join the team. I’m looking forward to learning more about managing staff travel calendars and budgets in a future conversation.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at (555) 555-1234 if you need more information.

Best,

Cameron Smith

cameronsmith@email.com

More Detailed

Once you’ve met the hiring manager in person, it’s appropriate to send a longer and more detailed thank-you email.

Hi Daphne,

Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the business manager role at X Company. I’m excited to hear about X Company’s goals to expand sales territories across the United States. I look forward to the opportunity to help support the growing team by managing travel calendars and coordinating with various staff in each of our U.S. offices.

X Company sounds like a forward-thinking organization. I could see my project management skills being a great fit for the culture and responsibilities of the business manager role. I also appreciate you sharing your own growth path from assistant to HR manager. It’s clear that X Company values professional development.

Please let me know if you would like any more information to move this process forward.

Sincerely,

Cameron Smith

(555) 555-1234

cameronsmith@email.com

Formal

After a series of interviews, and if you’re confident that you have a pretty good shot at getting the job, you can be more detailed with your thank-you email. This is also a good time to share any extra work or references that your interviewer may have asked for.

Hi Daphne,

Thank you so much for meeting me today to discuss the business manager position at X Company. I enjoyed learning more about your professional growth and was impressed to learn you grew from assistant to HR manager in just three years. This really shows X Company’s passion for leadership and professional development.

To follow up on the business manager position, I’m looking forward to offering my skills to this growing team. I believe my experience in project management and live events support will be a great match for the needs of the team. I’m confident my ability to manage multiple complex staff travel schedules while keeping event budgets in mind will be an asset to X Company.

As we discussed during my interview, I’ve attached my project management portfolio with my past project successes for your review. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need more references or information. I look forward to hearing more from you about next steps in the interview process.

Sincerely,

Cameron Smith

(555) 555-1234

cameronsmith@email.com

What Not to Include in Your Thank-You Email

Just like there are a few must-haves to include in your thank-you email, there are also some things you’ll want to avoid. Watch out for these common email mistakes, including:

• Typos and grammatical errors: Folks, punctuation matters. Capital letters and proper spelling matter. To avoid making these simple mistakes, have a friend or family member read your email before you send it—just to be safe.
• A casual tone: Remember, even though you don’t work with this person (yet), you’re sending a professional email. Don’t write a thank-you email to your interviewer the same way you’d send a DM to your friend. Be polite, be professional, and remember this still counts toward part of your interview process.
• Too much follow-up: If you don’t leave your interview with next steps in the process, sending one email to the hiring manager should be enough to learn more. Taking the initiative to send a thank-you email is a great move—just don’t go overboard with multiple messages or phone calls after your interview. (You’ll go from proactive to pesky real fast.)
• The wrong “from” address: Here’s a shocking statistic: The average recruiter spends 7.4 seconds scanning your resume before deciding to keep or toss your job application.¹ So you’ve got to make this first impression count! Pay careful attention to the email address you’re using for work communications. If you don’t have a standard email with your first or last name, get one. It’s time to graduate from your high school Hotmail address and use an email that communicates “I mean business.”
• Links to your social media: Be aware of any social media accounts containing pictures or posts that aren’t professional. You don’t want to accidentally include a link or handle to your private accounts by mistake.

These tips are a great starting point for sending a thank-you email after your interview. And if you’re looking for more email templates and timelines for following up with a hiring manager, check out my free Interview Follow-Up Guide. It’ll give you information on exactly how—and when—to send personal and professional emails after your interview. This simple step could help you seal the deal and land your dream job!