Five business days have passed and you still haven't heard back. Here's what to send, what subject line to use, and what to leave out — plus a reminder so the email goes out on the right day, not the wrong one.
Use this 5 to 7 business days after the interview if you haven't heard back. It works in roughly any context — recruiter or hiring manager, junior or senior role, in-person or video interview.
Hi [Interviewer Name],
I wanted to check in on the [Role Title] role we discussed last [day of week]. I really enjoyed the conversation, especially [one specific topic from the interview], and I remain very interested in joining the team.
If there's any update on the timeline or next steps, I'd appreciate it. Happy to provide anything else that would be helpful.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
That's the whole email. Three short paragraphs, under 80 words, no apology, no resume attached, no listing of your qualifications. The job of this email is to surface your name in their inbox and signal "I'm still interested." Anything more crowds the message.
The hiring manager scans subject lines before deciding what to read. Direct beats clever every time.
If you're replying to an existing thread, keep the original subject and let "Re:" do its job. A new thread needs its own clear subject — don't make the recipient guess what's inside.
Strip any well-crafted post-interview follow-up to its bones and you find the same four parts in the same order.
One short clause: "the [Role Title] interview last Thursday." Anchors the email in time and topic.
A single concrete detail you discussed. Proves the email isn't a copy-paste blast.
"I'm very interested in joining the team." No qualifiers, no hedging, no over-explaining.
"Any update on the timeline or next steps?" Direct, polite, easy to answer with one line.
The mistakes that turn a normal follow-up into a red flag are mostly about over-doing it. The hiring manager isn't testing your enthusiasm — they're scanning for professionalism.
If a recruiter coordinated the interview, they're often the right person to follow up with — they have visibility into the hiring team's timeline and can chase down an answer for you. The tone is slightly more transactional than with the hiring manager.
Hi [Recruiter Name],
I wanted to check in on the [Role Title] role at [Company]. I interviewed with [Hiring Manager Name] on [day of week] and haven't heard back yet — wanted to see if you have any update on timeline or next steps.
Still very interested in the role. Let me know if there's anything else you need from me.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
Note the difference. With the recruiter, you can be direct about the gap ("haven't heard back yet") and ask them to chase it down. With the hiring manager, you frame it as your own check-in, not a complaint about silence.
The hard part of post-interview follow-up isn't the writing. It's remembering to send the email on the right day — 5 to 7 business days after the interview, not 3 and not 14. Set a reminder for the right day and the template above does the rest.
For the full sequence with the second follow-up, see the job interview follow-up reminder guide. For exactly when to send each touch, see how long to wait to follow up. For the case where you've heard nothing for a week or two, see what to send when there's no response.
Set a reminder for the day you should send this.
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Open with a short reference to the interview, restate your interest in the role, ask politely about the timeline or next steps, and close. Keep it under 120 words. Don't apologize for following up, don't list your qualifications again, and don't attach your resume a second time.
A simple "I wanted to check in on the timeline for the [Role Title] role" works. You don't need to over-soften it — hiring managers expect follow-ups and respect candidates who send them. Avoid phrases like "sorry to bother you" or "I know you're busy" — they make the email feel apologetic.
Short and direct works best. "Following up — [Role Title]" or "Checking in on the [Role Title] role" tells the recipient exactly what the email is. Avoid "Re:" prefixes if you're starting a new thread, and skip clever subject lines.
Send it to whoever you communicated with most directly during scheduling. If a recruiter set up the interview, they're the right contact. If the hiring manager emailed you directly, send it to them. Sending to both can come across as escalating prematurely.
Three to five short sentences. Anything longer reads as anxious or over-explaining. The hiring manager will skim it on a phone — make it scannable, polite, and easy to reply to with a single line.
No, not unless they specifically ask for it. They already have your resume from the application. Attaching it again signals that you don't trust the process, and clutters the email.
Free reminder, no account. Schedule it for 5 business days from your interview and the email will be ready when the moment is.
Set Follow-Up ReminderLast modified: