Thank You
Make sure that you get contact information for your interview team so that you can follow up with a thank you note within 24 hours of the interview. If you can’t get contact info for each individual, send your thank you to the recruiter or interview coordinator(s). This thank you note doesn’t need to be long. Key elements include:
- Thanking the interviewer for their time
- Noting something specific you enjoyed discussing
- Reiterating enthusiasm to be considered and confidence that this is a fit
- Offering availability to answer any follow-up questions as needed
Check out our job search letters guide for more information on thank you notes!
Reflect
After your interview, take some time to intentionally reflect on the experience. This is a chance to evaluate what you did well and how you could improve in future interviews. In particular, consider these elements:
- Overall feeling of satisfaction with this interview.
- Did you arrive on time?
- How was your introduction — good greeting / handshake / posture?
- Did you appear confident and professional at all times, speaking calmly and clearly?
- Did you show interest by smiling and asking questions, when appropriate?
- Did you provide the examples that you prepared for the behavioral questions?
- Did you discuss relevant experiences, academic projects, and/or skill sets?
- How was your nonverbal communication (body language)?
- Did you handle the difficult questions with ease, or did they fluster you?
- Did you establish a good rapport with the interviewer?
- Did you effectively “close” the interview by expressing interest and inquiring about next steps?
- What would you do differently the next time?
Additionally, reflect on how you felt about the organization to determine if you think the opportunity would be a fit. Some questions to consider include:
- Now that you know more about the role, is it work that you want to do?
- Are you interested in the overall work the organization does?
- How would you get along with the team members you met?
- How did team members and managers communicate with one another?
- Did the organization’s culture meet your expectations?
Follow Up
Hearing back after an interview can take a while. Don’t panic!
If you have an interview and do not hear from the employer in a timely manner, it is appropriate to reach out a few days after the timeline they provided. It is likely that the company is interviewing several people for the role, so they may not have an answer for you right away. After the interviews, recruiters and hiring managers must find time to meet and discuss candidates, HR must review the offer, and they are all people with things going on in their schedules as well.
If you were given a timeline of two weeks, you should contact your recruiter or interviewer once that timeline has expired, but not before. You want to appear eager but understanding and patient. You can email your contact and express that you are still very interested in the role and you are wondering if they have an updated timeline on their decision process. As always, make sure your email is polite and professional, even if you are frustrated with a potential delay.
Receiving an Offer
If the company contacts you with an offer, ask for time to consider it. Review the full offer – including salary and benefits – in detail before accepting and consider negotiating. We have a whole web page dedicated to offers and negotiations.
Be sure to respond and to sign and return your offer in a timely fashion. From there, your new job begins!