How To Write Followup Email 2 Weeks After Interview?

Two weeks have gone by since that interview for your dream job, and you now have butterflies in your stomach. You have been left hanging, without any response from the hiring manager regarding their decision.

Has your resume been discarded? Have they gone with a different candidate? Or, are they still going through the hiring and interviewing process, and they haven’t yet settled on a candidate?

If you don’t know whether to give up hope and apply to another job or continue waiting for a response, sending a followup email is a good idea. It can give you peace of mind and clarity regarding whether you can expect to get the role or not.

For more in-depth advice, and to see examples of what you can write in your followup email, continue reading! We’ve laid it all out for you.

Why You Should Follow Up at the Two-Week Mark?

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Why should you follow up after your interview? And, more importantly, why is two weeks a good time to follow up?

Two weeks is the ideal time to follow up after an interview. One week is a bit too early.

At the one-week mark, the hiring manager is probably still interviewing other candidates. At two weeks, they are likely wrapping up the hiring process, reviewing which candidates they are shortlisting, and taking into account considerations such as interview performance and professional background.

While the hiring process can, of course, stretch out longer than two weeks, there is a certain risk in waiting too long to follow up. If you wait too long, the hiring manager might have already interviewed many other candidates, and they may not completely remember you.

At two weeks, on the other hand, you are still somewhat fresh in the interviewer’s mind. At the same time, they had a chance to interview other candidates.

If you are truly qualified for the job, chances are that the hiring manager interviewed quite a few weaker candidates than you in the meantime. They get a chance to compare others to you and discover that you are a good choice.

A quick followup can help refresh the hiring manager’s memory and give them an opportunity to think about you again. They may realize that you were one of the better candidates and send you an offer.

Tips for Sending a Followup Email at Two Weeks

Use the Right Subject Line

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A good subject line will stand out and catch the recruiter’s attention. Remember, the recruiter likely has a swamped inbox.

If you don’t stand out, they may not even look at your email or open it. While you don’t want to use anything that sounds too flashy or clickbaity, you do want an interesting subject line that is relevant to the purpose of the email.

Some examples may include:

• Following up my interview ([Name])
• Post-interview clarification
• Thank you for your time
• Regarding our meeting
• Following up regarding [job position]

Start With a Professional Greeting

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Always start your emails with a professional greeting. A professional greeting is the right way to start any email you send to a hiring manager.

Some examples of greetings that are not appropriate include:

• Hey
• Yo
• What’s up?
• What’s good?
• Morning
• What’s popping?

You get the gist. Anything that involves slang or is a non-formal greeting should not be used.
“Morning” is also not a good choice since it’s not a complete greeting but rather a shortened greeting used in everyday speech, which isn’t really suitable for formal writing.

Examples of good greetings include:

• Dear [Hiring Manager Name]
• Good morning [Hiring Manager Name]
• Hello [Hiring Manager Name]

These are complete greetings. They also include the hiring manager’s name.

To keep it professional, it’s best not to use the hiring manager’s first name. Instead, use their last name with a professional salutation, such as:

• Mr. Jones
• Ms. Pinkman
• Mrs. Shieldman

That keeps things formal and professional. Using their first name can seem like a sign of disrespect, especially if you are applying for an entry-level or junior position and don’t have much or any experience to speak of just yet.

Introduce Yourself

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Once you’ve gotten the greeting out of the way, it’s time to start with a brief introduction. The interviewer might be going through their inbox very quickly.

If they’re just starting their day and perusing their emails while drinking their morning coffee, they might not be paying a lot of attention to every single email.

Instead, they might be quickly looking through their inbox, paying attention to the things that catch their eye and which they deem important, and trashing the rest.

Remember, too, that the interviewer has a lot of things on their mind and may have already interviewed another dozen or two candidates. They may have even interviewed candidates for other roles, if the company is hiring for several roles!

That’s why it’s important to introduce yourself with some background context. In the opening of your email, after the introduction, introduce yourself and remind the interviewer which role you were applying for.

You should also mention the date or day the interview took place to jog the hiring manager’s memory. Here is an example of what I am talking about:

“My name is Bob MacDonald, and I interviewed for the position of Junior QA Analyst approximately two weeks ago on Monday morning.”

And here is another example:

“This is Joe McJagger. You may recall our interview two weeks ago, during which we discussed my eligibility for the position of senior project manager.”

Mention Your Continued Interest

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Next, make sure to mention that you are still interested in the position. Reiterate your enthusiasm for the role and your interest in the company.

Mention any motivation or inspiration you might have that caused you to apply for this role or this company in particular. If there was something you left out during your interview, now is a good time to put it in your email, but don’t make it too lengthy!

Here are some examples:

“I’d like to confirm my sincere interest in the position. I continue to believe that this role fits my skills and goals perfectly, and I believe I would be a perfect match for the company culture.”

“I’m still very much interested in the position. I would love to become a part of your team.”

“I’d like to express my enthusiasm for this role. I am excited at the thought of working here.”

Ask the Question

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Once you have greeted the hiring manager, introduced yourself with some background, and reiterated your interest in the position, it’s time to ask the dreaded question. After all, that’s why you are really sending the email: You want to know if you are still being considered for the role.

Ask the question gently, without coming across as too pushy. Here are a few good examples of how you might phrase this question:

“Have you completed the hiring process?”

“Am I still being considered for this role?”

“What are the next steps in the hiring process?”

“Do you have an estimated time for your final decision?”

“Have you made a final hiring decision yet?”

Express Appreciation or Thanks

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Before you finish your email, it’s good practice to express your appreciation and thank the interviewer for the opportunity. Don’t overdo it, but show that you are appreciative of the hiring manager’s time.

Here are some examples of things you can write:

“I also want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to interview with you.”

“Regardless of your final decision, it was an honor to meet you and to be considered for the role.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you and being given this opportunity.”

“I highly appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to this email.”

“Thank you for the interview and for your time; it’s been a great honor and a pleasure.”

End With a Professional Signature

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Finally, end with a professional sign-off. You should close off with your name and email signature.

Ideally, your email signature should contain your contact details. That can include your email address, LinkedIn profile, or phone number.

It just makes it a bit easier for the hiring manager to get back to you.

For example, if your phone number is in the signature, the hiring manager can easily give you a quick call to update you regarding the process.

On the other hand, if the hiring manager needs to search through the company’s database to find your number, it might seem like too much work, and they may push it off and never get around to it.

Of course, they could always respond to your email directly, but in some cases, there might be things that are better off discussed over the phone.

So, how should you end your email? Here are some ideas:

• Sincerely, [Name]
• Yours truly, [Name]
• Kind regards, [Name]
• Regards, [Name]
• Warm regards, [Name]

These are all acceptable sign-offs. By the way, it’s good practice to include your full name and not just your first name or only your last name.

It’s very possible that the company interviewed two people with the same first name. Similarly, it’s possible that they interviewed two Mr. Smiths.

Including both your first and last name will also make it easier for the hiring manager to remember you.

Here are some unacceptable sign-offs:

• Goodbye
• Peace
• Over and out
• Bye
• See ya

Proofread Before Sending

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Always proofread your email twice before you send it! A small spelling mistake or grammatical error might not seem like a big deal to you, but it can influence the hiring manager’s perception of you.

So, take the time to proofread your email. If you want, you can give it to a friend to proofread as well.

Often, we don’t notice mistakes in our own writing. We know what we intended to write, so when we read it over, our brains register what we intended to write rather than the mistake that was actually written.

By speaking every word out loud, it will be easier to detect errors.

Another good idea is to run your email through Grammarly or LanguageTool before sending it. These two grammar checking tools also offer Chrome extensions that allow you to check your writing within Gmail or anywhere else in your browser.

Don’t Use ChatGPT

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I’d like to end with a caution about using ChatGPT to write your followup emails. Although many people do it, as it’s becoming increasingly common to use ChatGPT as a sort of virtual assistant, I don’t recommend it.

It’s always better to be original and to create original work. That will help you stand out.

The reason for that is that although you may not notice the difference, ChatGPT tends to output emails, lists, and content that often follows a very similar pattern or template. The hiring manager has probably seen dozens, if not hundreds, of emails.

The emails that were written by ChatGPT are very obvious as such. They generally follow the same structure and sometimes even look identical.

Trust me, you’re not doing yourself any favors by using ChatGPT. It might save you a few minutes, but it’s worth taking the time and putting in a little effort if you really value the job opportunity.

Using ChatGPT can cause the hiring manager to feel that you’re lazy and don’t want to put in the work. It shows that you prefer to take shortcuts rather than put in effort and use critical thinking to offer something unique.

That’s certainly not a quality that hiring managers are looking for.

That’s not to say that ChatGPT has no utility at all. There are ways to use ChatGPT, but mostly to help you brainstorm and generate ideas.

However, don’t use it to write your followup emails. It will be very obvious, and it will do you more harm than good.

Conclusion

It’s often a good idea to follow up with a hiring manager around two weeks after an interview. There are several benefits of doing so.

On the one hand, it will give you peace of mind and clarity. If you’re nervously awaiting a call, you can avoid the anxiety by getting a clear no.

It’s better to know that you weren’t selected than to not know and sit there wondering. It will allow you to redirect your mental focus and shift your energy to applying for other jobs.

At the same time, it can help keep you in the hiring manager’s mind if they have not yet decided on a candidate. Not every hiring manager is super organized, and a quick email often does a lot of good to jog their memory.