How to Write a Post-Interview Follow-Up Email That Will Get a Quick Response
Craft an email any recipient will take the time to read AND respond to.
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Whether it’s with a sense of excitement or dread, sending out the occasional follow-up email is an aspect of adulting most of us simply can’t avoid. And what we’re looking to get out of these messages most of the time is—at the very least—a response.
It seems straightforward, right? But the art of sending a follow-up that actually inspires the recipient to take the time to read AND respond? Now that can be tricky.
Let’s ensure your next follow-up is a success. Keep reading for everything you need to know to craft a follow-up email that warrants a response.
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When to Send a Follow-Up Email
When you send a follow-up email will be unique to your individual situation. However, there are a couple of general guidelines to consider when sending your message so that it remains relevant and has the best chance of being opened.
HubSpot recommends the following timeframes for sending follow-up emails:
Within 24 hours: Sending a “thank you” after a meeting, sale, interview, event, or occasion that justifies an immediate sentiment of gratitude or those follow-up messages that contain time-sensitive info or requests.
Within 48 hours: After submitting important info (for instance, follow-up emails for job applications or other formal document submissions) or, if your follow-up still contains fairly urgent info or requests (those that can’t wait 1-2 weeks).
Within 1-2 weeks: Messages following up on a meeting request or those that go unresponded and require a confirmation from the recipient (maybe a job offer or an email requesting feedback).
Every 3 months: Emails sent as a way to catch up with a past connection or those requesting updates (can be for both business and personal life).
How to Write a Follow-Up Email
1. Identify Your Primary Objective
Before putting your fingers to the keyboard, the first step of writing a follow-up email is to determine the objective of your message.
What’s the end goal you’re looking to achieve from sending this email?
Take a second to ask yourself, are you trying to…
Obtain more info?
Schedule a call or meeting?
Remind someone to do something?
Close a sale?
Say thank you?
Or, something else?
Regardless of what your goal ends up being, this step is necessary to allow you to craft a strong follow-up and include a specific call-to-action (CTA).
2. Provide Context
Discounts and deals, order confirmations, bill payment reminders, and those random messages from Grandma checking in—we are constantly bombarded with emails.
And if your inbox is anything like mine, it’s not hard to find one of many of those messages that make you stop and think—“wait, who is this sender??”
If you’re nodding along, you probably already know that step #2 to writing a follow-up email is critical: provide context around who you are and how they know you. This is especially important if it’s been a while since your most recent interaction or if you don’t have a very close relationship with this person.
Don’t leave any room for confusion that will deter your recipient from responding. Provide context early on in your email by emphasizing your initial conversations or interactions to jog their memory.
Here are a few solid openers you can test out in your follow-up emails:
I wanted to follow up on the message I sent on [date or day if it’s still the same week] about [subject of the first email].
I just wanted to follow up to get your thoughts on [subject of the first email]. Have you had a chance to check out my last email?
Just checking in to see if you’ve had a chance to read my email from [date or day if it’s still the same week].
Just following up to see if you have any questions about my email from [date or day if it’s still the same week] about [subject of the first email].
Quick Tip: Include the subject line of your initial email in your opener to make it easy for your recipient to go back and locate that first message.
3. Make the Purpose Clear
After providing context to refresh your recipient’s memory, move straight into making the purpose of this communication clear.
This portion of the email should be direct and straightforward. Remind the recipient of what you mentioned wanting/needing from the last email or letting them know if that want/need has since changed.
Quick Tip: If this is a follow-up email aiming to make a sale, keep the focus on the recipient here and reframe any statements using “I” to address the benefit or relevancy to them. You might be tempted to throw in an “I think” or “I believe” statement here, but I promise, it’ll be much more effective to keep the reader believing this is all about them.
Here’s an example:
Rather than including: “I think my/our [product or service] could really help you accomplish [benefit]. I would love to hop on a quick call to chat about [opportunity].”
Try something like: “Your [aspect of their business or life] would really benefit from [purpose of product or service]. Would you like to hop on a quick call to chat about this opportunity?”
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This story was originally published on April 20, 2020, and has since been updated.
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3 Strategies to Help You Answer One of the Hardest (and Most Common) Interview Questions
"What’s your biggest weakness?"
Photo: Smith House Photo
Let’s be honest, even if you practice and come in prepared, job interviews are stressful. Don’t worry, you’re not alone in feeling this way—92% of employed Americans feel stressed out about job interviews. With that in mind, some questions can be more difficult to answer than others. By far, one of the hardest and most common interview questions people stress over is how to talk about their weaknesses in a job interview. This is such a difficult question to answer because there’s an art to it.
You don’t want to say the wrong thing to make yourself look bad, but you also don’t want to come off as though you think you’re perfect and have no weak points. It’s all about balance and showing how a weakness can work in your favor or educate you going forward. It sounds a little weird to think of weaknesses working in your favor, but believe it or not, when you phrase weak points correctly, this is often the case.
Here are three strategies to help you answer one of the most common interview questions: “What’s your biggest weakness?”
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses ahead of time.
First and foremost it’s important to be prepared. If you don’t, you’ll likely stumble and just say the first answer that comes to mind. This answer might not be as eloquent as you’d like. To ensure this doesn’t happen, prepare in advance and come up with a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Strengths tend to be easier to come up with, but weaknesses can be more difficult because it’s common to want to hide a weakness in an interview. No one likes to acknowledge weak points.
Some examples of weaknesses might include:
A desire to please, which results in taking on too many projects at once.
Looking at achievements objectively to gain the required confidence in a new role.
Software proficiency. You can always talk about wanting to learn more about specific software.
Area of the job. It’s perfectly acceptable to note that you’re very interested in a particular area of a job, however, you don’t have as much experience with it so you’ll need to learn more through hands-on experience.
Don’t be ashamed about having a weakness.
Everyone has at least one area where they can improve so it’s important that you don’t get down on yourself when you’re exploring your weaknesses. Exploring your weak spots can be a great opportunity for growth. By taking note of areas of improvement, you can use this to your advantage, take on some continuing education, and learn what you need in order to develop a well-rounded understanding of your industry and/or role.
Additionally, self-awareness is a huge asset and is considered to be a big strength. While you may be weak in one area, acknowledging this and showing your own self-awareness will help highlight your strength and value as a candidate.
Share what you’ve learned from it or how you’re working to improve a weak point.
Wondering how to answer “what’s your biggest weaknesses?” in a job interview? It’s all about framing your weakness in the right way and spinning it into something positive. Everyone is human, so recruiters and hiring managers expect that each and every person will have at least one weak area. It’s just about acknowledging yours and showing how you can actually use your weakness to your benefit. It might sound crazy, but your weakness could really be a blessing in disguise.
Perhaps your weakness is self-confidence. If this is the case, try phrasing it like this:
“In the past, one of my weak points has been self-confidence, however upon writing my résumé and looking at my achievements on paper, I’ve been able to build that confidence to help me move forward in my career in a more confident manner.”
This shows that you’ve put in the effort to work on yourself, put effort into your résumé, and analyzed what you’ve accomplished at work to evaluate progress and hold yourself accountable. These are all very beneficial traits in a candidate.
If one of your weaknesses is taking on too much at once, try acknowledging it like this:
“One of my biggest weaknesses is the desire to please people. I don’t like saying no to a project or responsibility, however, I’ve noticed that when I take on too much, I’m not able to reach my full potential on every project. Realizing this has helped me prioritize and only take on projects within my bandwidth so that I can be sure to put the best quality forward in every project I execute.”
Ultimately, showing how something helped you grow or change for the better will always work in your favor.
People always ask me how to answer “What’s your biggest weakness?” in a job interview—it’s one of the most common interview questions, after all—and the truth is that the answer will differ from person to person. As long as you prepare and show what you’ve learned or how you’re working to improve your weak area(s), you’ll answer the question well and show potential employers how your self-awareness adds to your value as a candidate.
About the Author: Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer, personal branding expert, and founder of Write Styles. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles provides resources to enhance your résumé, professional appearance, and boost your confidence. Michele strives to help others gain the confidence to put their best foot forward in a personal and professional light.
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This story was originally published on July 24, 2019, and has since been updated.
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The Answers to These Two Questions Might Make or Break Your Interview
No pressure.
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Transition time in between jobs is common and isn’t necessarily bad, however, it is important to figure out how to handle time in between jobs so it benefits you and doesn’t reflect negatively on your career.
Whatever the reason is for your temporary unemployment, you’re not alone; there’s at least one person out there in the same or a similar position as you. People will often be understanding about temporary employment gaps as long as you explain yourself.
Having a break in employment is okay.
But be prepared for hiring managers and/or recruiters to ask you two questions…
Why do you have a break in employment?
What have you been doing/what did you do during this time?
The answers you provide to these two simple questions could make or break you in an interview. A recruiter for a nationally recognized company recently told me a story about a candidate the company interviewed. They initially thought she would be a great fit for the position because she had the qualifications, but she had a six-month gap in employment. The employment gap wasn’t the deal-breaker, however, her answer to the question about what she did during those six months was. She gave a very vague answer that she hung out and relaxed with friends. That doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend six months, but it also isn’t a good answer to give in an interview. The company ended up going with another candidate who seemed to be more motivated and goal-oriented.
If she had said something about how she wasn’t happy at her old position so she decided to take time to figure out what she really wanted from her career, things might have gone differently for her.
Perfect your elevator pitch.
Elevator pitches are often used for companies and brands, but having a personal elevator pitch is also important. If you do have a gap in employment, come up with an elevator pitch to explain your situation.
A good example of an elevator pitch is something like this:
“I always thought I wanted to be in [industry], but when I got the position I wanted it wasn’t the right fit for me. I did learn a lot about myself and decided to take some time off to figure out what I really want from my career. I did a lot of research, and I’m ready to take on new challenges with this role.”
An answer like this shows that you made a conscious decision to leave your job for your long-term benefit and have since taken steps to ensure you’re moving towards the right career path. This answer shows thought, confidence and ambition to reach your goal.
When you’re thinking about how to handle time in between jobs, answer the following questions…
Is there something you could do during this time that would benefit your career in any way?
Could you volunteer somewhere?
Could you take a class?
Could you learn a new skill?
Is this downtime worth it to you?
The point of answering these questions is to put a value on your time and make it useful. Volunteering, taking classes, or taking up a hobby will not only help you make use of your time, but it will also help you give a good answer about your time off when asked in an interview.
Stay active.
While you may not be working for profit, one of the most important things to do when you’re in between jobs is to stay active. Start volunteering for a local charity or at local businesses/community centers.
When you have a large employment gap and you’re looking for a job, the worst thing you could do is sit around. Staying active in your community will give you something to put on your résumé and it will help you network. You never know who you’ll meet and who will notice your work ethic. A recent government study found that volunteering is associated with 27% higher odds of employment.
Volunteering isn’t only about networking, but it gives you something current to put on your résumé. If the first thing someone sees is a large employment gap, your résumé may get overlooked simply because of the fact that there is nothing current on it. However, if you start volunteering, you can use that to fill in the time where you weren’t working.
If you haven’t done anything in your transition time, come up with a good reason why.
If you have just been sitting around, you better come up with a good explanation for it, or you can kiss your chances of landing that great job goodbye.
An example of a good answer as to why you didn't do much during your transition time is this:
“While I learned a lot at my last job, it wasn’t the right fit for me, and it became draining. I made the decision to leave that position, take time for myself, recharge, and figure out my next career move. Over the last few months, I have really focused in on what I’m looking for in a job, and that is x, y, and z. Now that I’ve had the time to recharge, I’m ready to get back into the swing of things and follow my passion of ___.”
If you’re going to take time off, make it worth it and clearly explain your reasoning in an interview.
About the author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish individuals' application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.
This story was originally published on March 7, 2018, and has since been updated.
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10 Things You Should Never Do in an Interview (and How to Avoid Them)
Be prepared.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Did you know that it takes the human brain less than one second to pass judgment on someone’s character? This means that within a tenth of a second of you walking into your interview, the hiring manager has already conducted an evaluation of your initial character based on your presence and appearance alone.
Your interviewer has been trained to identify key signals to help them determine if you have the skill set and appropriate temperament to fit in with the organization and execute your job. The company will most likely have several other applicants interviewing for the role, and limited time to fill the position, so it’s essential for them to take all things into consideration during the interview process.
That’s why, if it comes down to you and another candidate, one thing as minuscule as a buzzing phone can hurt your chances of securing the role. While you are prepping with mock interviews and researching the company, Career Group Companies’ president and founder, Susan Levine recommends these top 10 things you should avoid during the interview.
1. Never Fail to Prepare
Reading the “about us” section on the company website while you’re on the way to the interview will not give you the full scope of what the company does. Now, almost every company has multiple social media pages, an official website, and a LinkedIn profile. Check them out.
How to avoid it: Insta-stalking isn’t just for snooping on exes. Do your research on the company, its founders, and your department.
2. Never Be Late
Showing up late to your interview sets a bad precedent before your potential new job even starts. If you can’t make it on time to your first meeting with your prospective employer, how can they be confident that you’ll show up on time once you get the job? More importantly, being late shows a lack of respect and consideration for other’s time regardless of the reason.
How to avoid it: Take a trip to the interview location if you can to calculate traffic and timing. If you can’t make the trip, type the address into Waze or Google Maps at the approximate time you’ll be traveling over the course of a few days to get a sense of traffic and how long it will take you to arrive. Always give yourself a 15-minute cushion in case of any unusual traffic.
3. Never Forget Your Resume (Bring Extra Copies!)
Your interviewer may already have a printed version of your resume on hand when you arrive, but you still need to be prepared in the event they ask you for a copy. Often, employers will ask you for a copy as a test.
If they don’t have a resume printed before your arrival, rather than have them comb through a sea of digital applications or stacks of resumes on their desk, you can easily hand over a copy to them. You’ll also be prepared if you have to meet with any other department team members.
How to avoid it: Place your resumes neatly in a folder and pack it the night before your interview.
4. Never Interrupt Your Interviewer
Interviews can be nerve-wracking causing some people to appear and become overly enthusiastic. Regardless of how excited you are to list off your accomplishments and ideas for the company—which you should do at some point—it’s important to listen intently and pay close attention to what your interviewer is saying.
How to avoid it: The best kinds of interviews flow naturally. In order for this to occur, it’s critical for you to listen carefully. Take a moment to process his or her words before answering so you can craft a meaningful response. When it’s your turn, feel free to share any ideas, or revisit any of the points the interviewer brought up that will help position you as the perfect candidate.
5. Never Dress Casually
Never judge a book by its cover? Your book cover is most likely always being judged as you walk into an interview. That’s why dressing professional no matter the organization’s dress code ensures a better “safe than sorry” approach. Yes, even dressing casually for an interview at a company with an informal dress code can still be frowned upon. Your interviewer may be wearing sneakers and leggings, but he or she already has the job—you do not!
How to avoid it: For companies with a strict dress code, you can’t go wrong with slacks/skirt, a button-down, and a blazer. If the companies a bit more on the casual side, opt for business casual. Utilize Who What Wear and Refinery29 for appropriate outfit ideas ahead of the big day.
6. Never Wear Sunglasses on Top of Your Head
Now that summer is in full effect, you might be sporting shades every day. Out of natural habit, most people subconsciously push their glasses on top of their heads when they come out of the sun. Don’t make this mistake. Similar to dressing casually it will give off the impression that you’re not well-polished or taking this interview seriously.
How to avoid it: Keep your sunglasses at home or leave them in your car.
7. Never Forget to Turn Off Your Phone and Smart Watch (Because It’s 2020)
Putting your phone or smart watch on vibrate will not suffice because a buzzing device can be distracting. You’ll have to excuse yourself while you dig in your bag to silence your phone, or constantly look down at your watch as the notifications roll in. Any type of unnecessary interruption is distracting and can make you come across as unprofessional and unprepared. When choosing between two nearly perfect candidates, this type of incident could be the reason you don’t make the cut.
How to avoid: Turn your phone or watch completely off before you enter the office and leave it in your bag.
8. Never Lose Eye Contact
Maintaining consistent eye contact during an interview makes you appear confident, in-tuned and trustworthy. It is widely believed that avoiding eye contact during a conversation can be an indication that you are disconnected or uninterested in the conversation, or could potentially be lying. You may have the usual interview jitters, but your actions could be perceived otherwise if you’re staring up at the ceiling, out the window, or down at the floor.
How to avoid it: Practice mock interviews with friends or family members. Ask them to take notice of how often your eyes drift during the conversation. Record yourself with a camera so you can find and correct any bad interviewing habits.
9. Never Walk in With a Beverage
Unless your interview is in a coffee shop, don’t walk into it with a beverage. It shows a lack of business etiquette, it can be a distraction, and it may give off the wrong impression.
How to avoid it: Hydrate beforehand.
10. Never Project Negativity
Whether you’re having a bad day due to something out of your control or you’re suffering from imposter syndrome, leave it at the door. Everyone has occasional bouts of negative self-talk but don’t sabotage your own success. A negative attitude can be easily detected and everyone from the receptionist to the CEO will be evaluating your performance during the pre-hiring phase.
How to avoid: You landed the interview, right? So, you’ve clearly already impressed them. Use that confidence and take a few minutes to meditate and clear your head before you go in, if needed. Replace the negative thoughts with positive affirmations. You got this—be your true, confident self.
Now that you are well-prepared on what to avoid, remember that you received an interview request for a reason. Your prospective employer is confident that you’re just as impressive in person as you are on paper, but you’ll need to prove them right. It’s easy for an eager candidate to overlook the aforementioned gaffes but no amount of experience or education can make up for these critical mistakes. Be sure to double-check our list before your interview and remain positive. Good luck!
About the Author: Susan Levine is the president and founder of Career Group Companies—a leading recruiting firm based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Orange County, and Greenwich. Their divisions, comprised of Career Group, Syndicatebleu, Fourth Floor, Avenue Pacific, and events span a variety of industries. They specialize in executive and administrative support, marketing and design, fashion, events, and C-Level placements. As a widely recognized industry name, they pride themselves on placing top-tier direct hire and freelance talent in their dream jobs. They use their expertise to impact the lives of their candidates and improve the company culture of their clients, one exceptional match at a time.
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This story was originally published on July 5, 2019, and has since been updated.
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Here's How to Master the Interview Follow-Up
How strong is your follow-up game?
“Follow-up” and “follow through” are two very similar concepts that are key to your success in the business world. And you can bank on potential employers paying attention to your post-interview follow-up skills as an indicator of your follow-through when it comes to the job.
See, landing the interview and then nailing it, that’s just half the battle. You need to follow up with finesse to inch ahead of other candidates. One way to do so is to send a personal thank-you note. The art of the thank you is not lost. We worked with Papyrus, the social expressions company that knows all about a professional thank you, to create the ultimate list of follow-up to-dos.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Before you leave the interview, ask the interviewer about the timeline for making a hiring decision to know when to follow-up.
The way you follow up with your interviewer will indicate how you will follow up with your potential clients. For instance, sending a quick “Thanks for the meeting today” email is great. Most hiring recruiters say the faster you get this out, the better. It shows that you’re on top of things, you have tenacity and you want to stay top-of-mind. Sending more than one email in a week is a bother.
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, DUST YOURSELF OFF
And try again.
If they said they will make a hiring decision within a week, sending one more polite inquiry after that week has passed is more than OK. In fact, it’s smart due diligence. You never know why or when something might have slipped through the cracks.
"Landing the interview and then nailing it, that’s just half the battle. You need to follow up with finesse."
Tweet this.
In the second follow-up, mention recent company news, whether it’s a blog post you enjoyed or a news article that included the brand.
Asking, “Did I get the job?” is not what this follow-up is about. Instead, direct your efforts so that the person hiring thinks, “This candidate should get the job.” People don’t like a teacher’s pet, but they do like someone who pays attention. And if you weren’t on the list of potential hires, this might put you on it.
BE BOLD, BUT NOT BRASH
Hiring managers and founders are inundated with emails. Get out of their inbox and into their head with a handwritten note on beautiful stationery.
It should be a bold and to-the-point thank you follow-up in which you reference a specific point of the conversation that you’d like to expand on. It’s not enough to thank them for their time— you need to tell them WHY you deserved it. There is always a tidbit of information that will show how closely you were paying attention.
A good outline of what to write is as follows:
Dear Jackie,
What a great meeting this afternoon! When you mentioned your company is really focused on growing your social media presence among Gen Z, the ideas started flowing. As someone who has doubled their own social media following over the last year and reports a 4% engagement rate, I feel confident that I can help you achieve that goal. I would love to talk over more ideas and strategies with you. Thanks again for your time and the opportunity to meet.
Best,
Arianna
Use all those 140-character skills you developed with Twitter to nail the art of the quick note that will make them want to click through — aka call you back. And what are those “ideas” you mention? That’s for you to share in interview number two. Make sure you drop the note in the mail as soon as you can so that it lands on their desk 2–3 days post-interview.
THE STATIONERY YOU CHOOSE SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
When you’re picking the card, consider the audience and your reasoning.
Is the company a start-up and you suspect the founder would consider a more playful approach? Was the interview in a more corporate environment where something classic would be appreciated?
After considering your audience, consider yourself. Cards can reveal as much about you as the words you write in them. Here is a chance for you to show your interviewer that you understand the culture of the company, but also feel comfortable injecting your personal brand and approach into their world.
TO SEND OR NOT TO SEND…A GIFT
For some, this is an overeager act. For others, it shows that you’re really serious about the position because sending a gift after every interview would not be good for your bank account.
Choose something that’s fun and won’t take up space on their desk. À la compliment pencils. What’s not to love? Send them with a note that says, “Pencil me in as your new hire.” Or super cute bow tie paper clips for that stack of paper you noticed on their desk.
KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON
Even if you think you lit that interview on fire, it’s possible another candidate came in and burned the building down.
There are going to be plenty of jobs you want and don’t get. The most important thing is to keep building professional bridges, which is why you should also always ask if it’s OK to connect with them via LinkedIn before you leave the initial interview. Make the connection, that way even if you don’t get the job, they are still in your network and they can see your updates.
You never know when that job, or another that’s more suited to your skills, will open up.