Did you know 57% of job seekers don’t send a follow-up email after a job interview?

The fact that you’re reading this article to learn how to write the perfect interview thank you email means you already have an advantage over most of your job search competitors — great job!

Keep reading for examples of how you can use follow-up messages to stand out as the right person for the position and secure your next job offer.

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• • Why should you send an interview thank you email?
  • When should you send an interview thank you email?
  • Who should receive an interview thank you email?
  • What should you include in an interview thank you email?
  • 20 examples of interview thank you emails
    • Hiring Manager
    • Managers’ Manager
    • Coworkers
    • Leadership
    • Employees

Why should you send a thank note after a job interview?

Sending a follow-up email after a job interview is a great way to not only make a good impression, but also learn more about the company you’re considering joining.

Personally, I always followed up with an email note after job interviews. Not because it’s good manners to thank a potential employer for their time, but because it was a great way to:

1. Develop rapport with a prospective employer

2. Share your understanding of the role and needs of the business

3. Reinforce your interest in the job opportunity and joining the team

Plus, if you don’t get a response from a post-interview follow up email, it can tell you a lot about the person who interviewed you. Even if you had a great interview, do you really want to work for someone who doesn’t acknowledge your note of thanks?

When should you send a thank you note after a job interview?

You should aim to send a thank you note within a day of your job interview. Ideally, follow up with an email message within hours of your interview, but no later than the day after your interview. 

This shows your interviewee two things: you’re highly responsive and you’re interested in joining the team.

While it can be a nice personal touch to send a handwritten note via snail mail, I don’t recommend taking this approach (but it can be a great option for your goodbye message to coworkers).Your note won’t arrive fast enough.

Back when I was a hiring manager, I received handwritten notes sent by postal mail a few times. And the problem was they always arrived after I had made my hiring decision and extended a job offer to a different candidate.

Who should you send a thank you note to after a job interview?

The hiring process and candidate selection often includes a committee of many individuals within an organization. You will likely interview with your prospective new boss, as well their boss and potential new coworkers.

This means you’ll be writing several email follow-up emails!

To make the best impression, you should send a thank you note to everyone who interviewed you, regardless of whether it was a phone interview, video interview, or an in-person interview.

But it’s not a good idea to just copy and paste the exact same message to each person who interviewed you. A best practice is to personalize each message based on your individual conversations.

What should you include in a thank you email? 

When writing your interview thank you email, you’ll want to keep it brief and cover 3 specific points:

• • Express your appreciation for time spent meeting with you.
  • Comment on your positive impression of the team and company.
  • Affirm your great fit with the company culture and requirements of the position.

And, if possible, try to make a personal connection with each of your interviewers.

If they mentioned something about their family, hobbies, weather or weekend plans during your interview, try to weave that into your message too, even if it’s in the form of a P.S. at the end of your note. For example: P.S. hope your daughter wins her big game this weekend!

Last, you’ll want to change up your messages to each person who interviews you. For example, you could:

• • Write more about culture fit in your message to human resources.
  • Reinforce your understanding of the requirements to the hiring manager.
  • And when it comes to senior leadership, it can be a good idea to convey your enthusiasm for the vision and strategic direction of the company.

20 Email Examples

Changing companies (or changing jobs within your current company) is a great way to advance your career and make more money! Of course, if you want to make a job change, you need to start interviewing for new opportunities.

And an essential part of the job search process is following up with your prospective new employer — but figuring out how to put your thoughts into writing is no easy task.

But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! To help get your creative writing going, here are 20 sample emails I personally sent during the job interview process (and eventually led to job offers).

While my background is in marketing, feel free to tailor the content to suit your functional area of expertise. These samples provide a solid email template foundation for crafting your own perfect messages.

1. Hiring Manager – First Interview / Phone Interview

Hi [Insert First Name],

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me yesterday about the marketing opportunity with [Insert Company Name].

I really appreciate the overview you shared on [Insert Company Name] vision for driving its next phase of growth to $XX, and how marketing fits into those plans. The prospect of building on marketing’s current success and reimagining the organization to meet the growth needs of the future sounds very exciting to me.

I walked away from our call seeing several areas of alignment between this opportunity and my own background, experiences, and career interests. I also got the sense that this could be a great culture match as well.

Thanks again for taking time for our exploratory discussion. I look forward to hearing more about next steps.

Best regards,

[Insert First Name]

2. Hiring Manager – First Interview / In-person Interview

Hi [Insert First Name],

It was a pleasure speaking with you today and learning more about the [Insert Company Name] Marketing position. The opportunity to lead a high-performing marketing team that generates demand for [Insert Company Products] and helps grow sales to $XX over the next 5 years is very exciting. 

You emphasized the importance of establishing a measurable marketing strategy that is supported by key internal stakeholders, including corporate and industry marketing teams. These are both areas in which I have significant experience, especially within large, complex companies. 

As we discussed, I am very proud of the marketing strategy I developed to increase sales demand for [Insert Current Company}industry-based [products and services]. This included:

• • The creation of a messaging and branding strategy that was supported and adopted globally.
  • A multi-year drumbeat of product launches and outbound marketing initiatives to differentiate [Company’s] value in the channel. 

As a result, [Company] increased our key message penetration in target media and analyst coverage, and enabled our sales organization to recruit over XX new customers, attain double-digit growth in key markets and establish a new strategic relationship with [Partner] 

I continue to be very interested in the [Company] marketing position and believe there is a strong match between the requirements of the role and my skills and experiences. 

I look forward to next steps!

3. Hiring Manager – Second Interview 

Hi [Insert First Name],

It was wonderful meeting you in-person yesterday and continuing our conversation on the marketing opportunity.

Thank you for bringing me out to spend such a valuable day with the [Company’s] team. I really enjoyed our discussion, as well as my time with [Interviewer’s Name], [Interviewer First Name 2], and [Interviewer First Name 3]. And, [Admin/HR Name] was a wonderful host and wealth of knowledge. 

I was very happy to hear from [HR Rep] on next steps and am working with her now to lock down dates for the visit. I’m looking forward to it! 

4. Hiring Manager – Second Interview

Hi [First Name],

Thanks again for the great discussion last week. 

It was good to see you and learn more about your vision for [Company]  and expectations for the marketing position. The opportunity to take the marketing function to the next level, strengthen alignment with sales, and be a part of a team that is transforming [Company] for the future is very exciting to me.

I’m someone who loves to push past the status quo and drive transformational change, so this opportunity certainly sounds like it could be a great fit. 

I welcome the opportunity to meet with a small group of your key leaders. [Interviewer Name 1], reached out and we are set to meet in person this Thursday afternoon.

I look forward to reconnecting with you shortly thereafter.  

5. Hiring Manager – Final Interview

Hi [XXX],

Thanks again for bringing me in to meet with the [Company] team yesterday.

I really enjoyed my meetings and learning even more about the business, products, culture and marketing priorities. I continue to be super impressed by the [Company] team and excited about the opportunity.

I look forward to next steps and continuing our conversations!

6. Hiring Manager’s Manager 

Hi [XXX], 

Thanks for taking the time to meet with me yesterday about the marketing opportunity. 

I really enjoyed our discussion and walked away with a much greater sense of [Company’s] expanding mission to not only enable, but also exemplify the [company vision/purpose]. 

The prospect of reimagining the role of marketing at [Company] to meet the growth needs of the future is very exciting to me.

I look forward to connecting with [Prospective New Boss] on next steps. 

7. Hiring Manager’s Manager 

Hi [XXX],

Thanks again for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. I really enjoyed our discussion and hearing your perspective on the business and need for marketing to up its game in terms of storytelling and messaging. 

The opportunity to reset the [Company] brand story as a fresh, innovative [Industry/Sector] partner with an exciting roadmap of new products on the horizon sounds very exciting to me.  

I continue to be super impressed by the [Company] team and look forward to next steps. 

8. Coworkers – Sales Team

Hi [First Name],

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me last week about the marketing position. I enjoyed our discussion, getting to know you and learning more about [Company]. 

The opportunity to re-establish marketing’s credibility and value with the sales organization and drive a more focused and impactful marketing strategy is very appealing to me. 

In my experience, a key ingredient for success behind any marketing team is having a strong partnership with sales – and I believe this is something I could help to establish with you at [Company]. 

I look forward to next steps!

9. Coworkers – Sales Team

Hi [First Name], 

Thanks again for taking the time to speak with me yesterday. 

I really enjoyed our conversation and hearing your thoughts on sales/marketing alignment. Your perspective in establishing shared definitions of success and common scorecards definitely resonated with me. 

I look forward to next steps. 

Enjoy your weekend!

10. Coworkers – Sales Team

Hi [First Name], 

It was great meeting you last night and learning about your experience with [Company] over the past several months. 

I enjoyed our discussion and continue to be very interested in the marketing role. The opportunity to establish a vision/strategy for the marketing function in tight alignment with sales, and drive through to execution is very appealing to me.

I look forward to next steps in discussions with Interviewer 1 and Interviewer 2. Have a great weekend – hopefully enjoying some quality riding time!

More Advice About Changing Jobs

11. Coworkers – Product Team

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for taking the time to meet with me yesterday about the marketing opportunity.

I really enjoyed our discussion and learning more about [Company’s] vision for driving continued growth with an expanding and evolving product portfolio. 

The opportunity to reimagine the role of marketing at [Company] to meet the growth needs of the future is very exciting to me. I look forward to connecting with [Prospective New Boss] on next steps. 

12. Coworkers – Product Team

Hi [First Name],

Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. 

I really enjoyed our conversation and hearing your perspective on [Company’s] products and need for marketing to up its game in terms of storytelling and messaging. 

The opportunity to partner with you to strengthen product positioning and impact with customers and prospects sounds very exciting. 

I hope we have the chance to chat again soon!

13. Coworkers – Operations Team

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me yesterday about the marketing role.

I really appreciate your openness in discussing not only the positives about the position and working for [Company], but also an honest assessment of the challenges. 

The prospect of joining [Company] to develop the strategic marketing function is very exciting and I look forward to the possibility of working with you.

Thanks again for your time and consideration.

14. Coworkers – Operations Team

Hi [First Name],

It was so great meeting you yesterday! 

I really enjoyed our conversation and learning more about how marketing can better align and support your organization, including creation of compelling content that helps engage and retain customers. Thanks again for taking the time to meet. 

I continue to be impressed by the [Company] team and hope we have the opportunity to chat again soon.

15. Leadership – Finance Team

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for taking the time to meet with me yesterday about the marketing opportunity. 

I really enjoyed our discussion and appreciated hearing your perspective on the business and culture as a relatively new executive at the company. 

The opportunity to reimagine the role of marketing at [Company]  to meet the growth needs of the future is very exciting to me. I look forward to connecting with [Prospective New Boss] on next steps. 

16. Leadership – Finance Team

Hi [First Name],

It was great speaking with you last week about the marketing position. Thank you for sharing your perspective on [Company’s]  business and transformation journey. 

The prospect of elevating marketing’s value and contributing to [Company’s] continued future success is very appealing to me. I enjoyed our discussion and continue to believe this role could be a great fit with my background, skills and experiences. 

Thanks again – I look forward to next steps!

17. Leadership – Strategy Team

Hi [First Name],

Thanks again for taking the time to chat with me yesterday. 

I really enjoyed our conversation and appreciated hearing your perspective on the business, as well as need for Marketing to reshape [Company’s] perception in the market as a fresh, innovative [Industry/Sector] partner. 

I continue to be impressed by the [Company]  team and hope we have an opportunity to chat again soon. 

18. Leadership – Human Resources

Hi [First Name],

It was great meeting you in person yesterday. 

I really enjoyed our discussion and appreciated hearing your thoughts on the marketing team, and opportunity to stabilize and develop a relatively new group of team members. 

Thanks again for taking the time to meet. I continue to be impressed by the [Company]  team and look forward to next steps! 

19. Leadership – BU General Manager

Hi [First Name],

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me yesterday about the marketing position.

I enjoyed our discussion and welcome the opportunity to drive go-to-market initiatives and messaging platforms in support of your team’s new business endeavors. The prospect of joining [Company] is very exciting and I hope we will be working together in the near future.

Thanks again for your time and consideration.

20. Employees / Direct Reports

Hi [First Name]

Thanks again for taking the time to chat with me earlier this week.

I really enjoyed our time together and appreciated all the great insights you shared about the marketing team and [Company] work environment. I hope we get a chance to connect again soon.

Best of luck managing through your events during this crazy time.

Final Thoughts

After you write your perfect interview thank you email and land your dream job, it’s now time to write the perfect email to say goodbye to your current coworkers.

You want to make sure you leave your company on high note. And if you do it right, your goodbye message can go a long way to strengthening your professional network and making sure you’ve got solid work references in place next time you decide to change jobs.