Standing out from hundreds — sometimes thousands — of candidates, competitors, others conducting business in your industry can be tough.
If you want to get a job, close a deal, or foster a valuable business relationship, though, you have to find a way.
The question is, how?
Besides polishing your resume, doing well during an interview, and impressing potential customers in pitch meetings, there’s another factor you can work to perfect: follow-up emails.
Follow-up emails should be sent after interviews, application and resume submissions, business meetings, sales pitches, and more.
Now, you may be thinking, but I already send follow-up emails.
However, it's all about how your email is crafted — from your subject line to your signature. Your follow-up email needs to be professional and flawless. This message could be the final push your recipient needs to hire you, become a paying customer, or agree to another meeting.
To start, let's take a look at possible subject lines you can include to grab the attention of your recipients.
Follow-Up Email Subject Lines
Subject lines are the first thing your recipient sees — meaning, they impact your open rate.
To help you craft a subject line for your follow-up email that will make your recipients want to open and read your message, we've compiled a list of some of the most effective options for different scenarios.
1. Follow-Up Email Subject Lines After an Application
- Appreciate your time and consideration
- Excited about [ ___ ] opportunity
- Following up on my application for [Position Title]
2. Follow-Up Email Subject Lines After an Meeting With Recruiter
- Pleasure to learn more about [Company Name]
- Can't wait to explore [Position Title] further
- Some extra information about [Topic of Conversation]
2. Follow-Up Email Subject Lines for After a Phone Interview
- Thank you for your time today, [Name]!
- Update on [____]?
- Next steps?
3. Follow-Up Email Subject Lines After an In-Person Interview
- Any other information you need?
- Have time for another chat, [Name]?
- Thank you for your consideration
Next, we'll cover some tips regarding your post-interview follow-up email.
How to Write a Follow-Up Email After an Interview
Let's review how to write a follow-up email after you wrap up an interview — the email doesn't have to be long, but it should include the following items.
- Strong subject line
- Introduction using the recipient's name (e.g. "Hi [Name],")
- Specific discussion points and details from the interview or meeting
- Reasons why you're qualified and the right fit for the position
- Expression of even deeper interest in the opportunity now that you had the interview/ meeting
- Gratitude for the interviewers time and consideration
- A question to ask if the recipient needs anything else from you in the meantime
- Signature (e.g. Best, [Name])
Let's review some follow-up email templates applicable to a number of common scenarios that you can use.
10 Follow-Up Email Templates
Here are ten follow-up email templates for different use cases you can customize for your recipients.
1. Follow-Up Email To Recruiter
If you’ve ever been to a job fair, you’ve seen the swarms of people working towards the same thing: leaving a lasting, positive impression on recruiters.
However, with so many people, names, and resumes being shared with recruiters every day, it can be difficult to ensure they remember you.To help with this, send a follow-up email that conveys your interest and the value you'd bring to the team.
My name is Your Name, I am details about yourself or your current position, and we met today at the recruiting event. I just wanted to thank you again for sharing your experience at Company Name with me and for providing me with information about Job Title.
Hearing about your success with ______ and learning more about the fast-paced unique characteristic culture made me very excited to further explore opportunities with the team at Company Name. I really appreciate your time and advice.
I've attached my resume for reference and a few of the projects I mentioned to you as well. Please let me know if there’s anything else you need on my end. I look forward to talking again soon!
Signature
2. Follow-Up Email After Social Media Outreach
Contacting a potential employer via social media has become a popular and effective way to connect with businesses you're interested in working with and for.
Whether it's on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or another social platform, this can be great strategy for establishing first contact and general familiarity before or after submitting your job application.
My name is Your Name, I reached out to you earlier today on Twitter. I found the job listing for Company Name and had to get in touch with you.
I also went through Piece of Company’s Content and recently read Hiring Manager’s Name content about topic. It's great. I believe I would be a great addition to your team for the following reasons:
1. I'm always learning, whether it be through books or articles (currently reading [Book Title] by [Author]).
2. I focus on unique value.
3. The thought of helping Company Name accomplish its goals makes me excited.
Attached is my resume and cover letter explaining why I would be a great addition to your team. I've also included relevant work sample(s) for your review.
Looking forward to hearing from you, First Name!
Best,
Signature
3. Follow-Up Email After Application
To demonstrate how much you care about the position you applied for — as well what the company you're applying to does and stands for — send a thoughtful follow-up email after submitting your application.
It looks like things are going well for you guys at Company Name right now.
I saw the blog post from last month about the upcoming new features, and I can’t wait to try them out myself! I hold my breath a little every time I log into my account, hoping they’ve rolled out early.
I also liked the article Publication wrote about the news. I think some of the ideas they came up with for using some of the new features were unique. It definitely had me thinking about different ways I could set up my account.
I’m coming up on Graduation or End of Current Role in a few months, and would love the opportunity to be on a team that creates such great work.
Do you know what the Relevant Department’s hiring situation may look like around Month? I just submitted the application on the site, but wanted to reach out as well.
Thanks,
Signature
4. Follow-Up Email After Phone Interview
Phone interviews are just as important as in-person interviews.
Since they often handle multiple phone screens a day, following up with the recruiter or hiring manager you spoke with will help you stand out and keep you top of mind. So, in your post-phone interview follow-up email, mention some of the main talking points and specific details you covered.
Thank you again for talking with me today, I really appreciated learning more about your work as Job Title and your experience at Company Name.
Working with such an autonomous quality team within a company that I truly admire would be an incredible learning experience, and I would love the opportunity to prove that I'm a great fit for the role.
Attached is Project Title I created while working for previous company. I've also attached my resume as well as a cover letter to demonstrate why I want to work for Company Name and how I align with the culture.
Finally, here is a link to my website where you can see more of my publications and projects.
Let me know if you have any questions about anything or if you'd like me to send something else. I look forward to hearing back from you!
Signature
5. Follow-Up Email After Interview
Back to one of the most critical follow-up email instances we mentioned earlier: after an interview.
Your message should emphasize (again) why you believe you're the right candidate for the specific role at this company. Reinforce points you discussed and/or learned about during your interview that resonated with you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk yesterday.
It was a pleasure to learn even more about Company Name and how you approach industry with innovative strategy. I’m very excited about the opportunity to explore a potential career with the Department.
I couldn’t agree more with your philosophy on specific detail discussed during interview.
For me, Company Name, is about developing meaningful relationships company value. I think it’s rare to find a company whose asset truly reflect its values and mission so closely.
Again, I appreciate the opportunity to have shared my background and interest in position with you. I think my experience with skill, type of work, or product aligns perfectly with what your team is looking for, and I hope to prove that.
I thought I would share a few links to projects that I mentioned during our conversation, as well: insert hyperlinks or attachments.
Thank you, and I hope we’ll be in touch soon!
Best,
Signature
6. Follow-Up Email After Second Interview
Let's not forget how critical it is to continue the process of sending follow-up emails after your second interview as well. This email should be just as personal and thoughtful as the follow-up email you sent after your first interview.
Thank you for the opportunity to come and chat a second time. I didn’t think I could be any more enthusiastic about working with your team after the first interview - but I was wrong.
The whole package sounds incredible, from detail about position that excited you to the endless opportunities for growth.
In fact, we discussed Project Name and I had a quick idea about making it successful. Attached is a quick explanation of what I was thinking. Whether this is on-point or completely off-base, I hope to get the chance to discuss it.
Please let me know if there’s anything else you need moving forward, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks again.
Signature
7. Follow-Up Email After No Response
*Crickets.*
That's what you hear after sending a follow-up email and receiving no response. So, what should you in this case?
Try sending another follow-up email explaining your interest in the position, partnership, or deal all while gently expressing you can't and won't wait forever.
It has been two weeks since we last spoke about Job Title. At the time, you mentioned you were looking for a hard-working, organized salesperson and someone who can qualities required.
I’m still very interested in working with your team at Company Name, and I would love to prove to you that I not only meet those qualifications, but exceed them.
My specific characteristics are just a few of the qualities that define me. Perhaps we could meet again to chat more about how I can help Company Name or Team reach objective.
I understand if the position has already been filled, but I wanted to reiterate my enthusiasm about working with such an incredible group of people at Company Name.
If the role is no longer available, would you mind providing feedback on what I can improve upon in the future? And if you’re ever looking for help with opportunity, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Signature
8. Follow-Up Email to Ask For More Time On An Offer
You did it ... you got the job offer!
But wait a minute. You're also still interviewing with another company of great interest.
Now you must follow up in a way that expresses your gratitude and excitement while also asking for an extension on when you'll share your final decision.
Thank you so much for your time yesterday and for the opportunity to work for the team this summer!
I'm very excited about the position. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for: fast-paced web development for role details and the chance to make a real impact on the team's success.
I hate to delay my response to your offer, but I still need some time to respond to competitive offers. I want to reiterate, though, that I am honored to be qualified for the position, and I really appreciate the opportunity to learn from such an inspiring group of individuals. I just feel it would be imprudent of me to commit before considering all of my options.
With that said, I do recognize that you have time constraints as well, so I completely understand if you need a more immediate response. Can I touch base with you early next week?
Thank you again for your time and the consideration you put into reviewing my qualifications.
Again, I am honored to have been extended this opportunity!
Thank you,
Signature
9. Follow-Up Email After Declining An Offer
You may receive an offer that you need to decline.
Whether you've been offered another position you'd rather accept, you don't feel as passionate about the opportunity as you once did, or a different role has piqued your interest, you should still send a follow-up email.
This will ensure you leave things on a good note and you maintain the positive impression you made on the people you've been communication with — after all, your paths may cross again down the road.
I was ecstatic when I heard back from you yesterday about Job Title; it's an incredible opportunity and I'm honored to have been extended an offer. However, I have decided to accept a competing offer.
It was a very tough decision for me because I've had such a great experience talking with you and everyone else on the team. One of the main reasons I chose to accept the other offer is explain reason.
I greatly appreciate your time and I so enjoyed learning more about the team and culture at Company Name. I would still love to keep in touch and I hope you and the team understand my decision.
Thank you again for your time and consideration. I wish you all the best, and I hope to talk again soon.
Take care,
Signature
10. Follow-Up Email After Accepting An Offer
Lastly, what about a follow up for an offer you received and accepted?
Send a message expressing your gratitude and excitement. If applicable, include any questions you have about immediate actions you need to take.
I would love to accept the offer as Job Title for Company Name!
This is an amazing opportunity and I'm honored to have received the offer.
Please let me know about next steps. I'll be awaiting my start date in anticipation in the meantime. I look forward to working with you and the rest of team!
Signature
Next, let's review some tools to help you with your follow-up emails.
Follow-Up Email Tools
In addition to subject lines and templates, there are follow-up email tools with capabilities and features sure to keep your communication as efficient and professional as possible, no matter what type of follow up you're sending.
1. HubSpot Email Tracking
HubSpot's email tracking tool notifies you when any email you sent has been opened or clicked. Email tracking software places an invisible image pixel in your emails that can detect the exact time and date an email has been opened by a recipient. This tool helps inform your business decisions.
2. HubSpot Email Templates
You can also use HubSpot's other available email templates to help optimize your approach to follow-up emails. Then, you can track the performance of different templates, save the best options, and automate your future follow ups.
3. HubSpot Meeting and Appointment Software
Another way to efficiently manage follow ups is to allow your potential customers, interviewers, or interviewees to schedule a meeting on your calendar, on their time.
This free tool reduces the unnecessary back-and-forth that tends to occur when arranging meetings, appointments, and interviews.
4. LinkedIn
Check out LinkedIn for recent updates on specific companies and individuals. The platform is a great way to keep up with industry news, marketing campaigns, events, blog posts, and new products or services. You can then reference your findings in your follow-up email communication.
Use Templates to Write Remarkable Follow-Up Emails
Remarkable follow-up emails help you distinguish yourself among the rest, such as competitors or candidates you're up against.
By writing a strong, attention-grabbing subject line, articulating your message clearly, and conveying your value, your follow-up email will stand out and pique the interest of any recipient. Use the templates we reviewed above and incorporate tools as needed to streamline your processes.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
![How to Send a Follow-Up Email After No Response [+ 19 Examples]](https://www.hubspot.com/hubfs/how-to-send-a-follow-up-email-after-no-response.jpg)
