You spend weeks preparing for a job interview and give 110% once you're in the hot seat. You walk out feeling confident and relieved that your work is finally done.
But it isn't.
In fact, there's still one more crucial step to take if you really want to land the gig: sending the interview thank-you email. Some hiring managers, like Insider Inc. Managing Editor Jess Liebman, will not even consider candidates who haven't taken the extra effort to thank them for their time.
"The best time frame to send a thank you email is within 24 hours after your interview," says Whitney Purcell, former associate director of Career Development at Susquehanna University. "It should be sent during business hours — no 3 a.m. emails that make your schedule seem a little out of whack with the company's traditional hours."
While the interview thank-you email doesn't require too much heavy lifting, a simple "Thanks for your time!" won't do. You need to really "wow" the hiring manager and make a great final impression before they make a decision about you.
Your follow-up thank-you email (hand-written notes are almost never a better option than email) needs to stand out from the crowd. It should highlight the best parts of the conversation you had with the interviewer, and a final reminder as to why you'd be perfect for the job.
Deborah Good, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business, says the following email template is an ideal way to follow up because it possesses six important traits:
This is an update of an article originally written by Hope Restle.
