By Lexie Brada
The internship interview process can be stressful, but it's important to remember the next steps after you've (hopefully) aced your interview. Following up after an internship interview is key to solidifying your chance at the internship and demonstrates that you're interested and enthusiastic about the opportunity.
So, how do you follow up?
Here are three notes that you might consider sending to be sure to stand out in the eyes of an employer, as well as some general tips to make sure that any email you send is set to the standards of professionalism.
- Send the Initial Thank-You Note
First, send a thank-you note to the interviewer or panelists via email within 24 hours of your interview. In the thank-you note, reiterate your interest in the internship and include any additional information that you didn't have a chance to mention during the interview. For example, if you forgot to mention an important skill or experience, be sure to include it in your thank-you note. It also is helpful to add something specific you took away from this interview as well.
It may look like this:
Dear [Name of interviewer],
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the [Name of internship] internship and am even more excited about the possibility of working with you all. {Here you should add a sentence or two about what you learned specifically from this interview so it feels less copy & paste!}
Thanks again for your time and consideration - I'll be eagerly awaiting your decision.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
- Send the Follow-Up
After you've sent your thank-you note, it's okay to follow up with a phone call or email a week later to inquire about the status of the internship search. However, don't overdo it - too much follow-up can come across as pushy. Once is enough. Remember that these jobs may be inundated with hundreds of applications that they are working their way through!
A format you might want to follow is this:
Hi [Employer Name],
I am reaching out to follow up on our interview on [date]. Is there any current news on the position that you’re able to share?
I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the [ internship position] and I am even more excited about the possibility of joining the team. I feel confident that I have the skills and qualifications that would make me a valuable asset to the company, and I am eager to put my skills to work.
Once again, thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
By following these simple steps, you'll make a great impression and increase your chances of being offered the internship. Good luck!
- Send the Aftermath ‘Thank You’
If you got the job, yay! You can send a quick ‘thank you’, especially if you have questions and need to move the conversation forward. It can look like this:
Thank you for offering me the opportunity to work at [company name] as [job title]. I sincerely appreciate your time and consideration. I'm happy to accept the [job title] position. Before my start date, I have a few questions. [List questions below].
But what happens if you don't get the job?
If you were looking forward to it, your first instinct may be to cry and print out that company’s logo to throw darts at. Don’t do that though!
An often overlooked final step that you may be tempted to ignore if you were not chosen is the aftermath ‘thank you’. While you might not have been the perfect fit for this particular role, you may be the candidate they need down the line, so no need to burn bridges. You want to leave a good, professional impression and open yourself up for further work, if that is something you’d be interested in. If not, it’s still good to be cordial and positive. If the interviewer also did not offer a reason as to why you were not chosen, you may want to turn this into an opportunity to receive some feedback. Your aftermath thank-you may look something like this:
Dear [Employer’s Name],
Thank you for getting back to me about the position. While I am disappointed to have not been chosen, thank you for taking the time to consider my application. I was thankful for the chance to learn more about your company.
If you have some time, I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have for me on what I can do to be offered a job for the next time.
Thank you again, and I wish you all the best moving forward.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Tips for Writing any Professional Correspondence
These tips will be useful for any of the above communications as well as other emails that don’t fall into the ‘follow-up’ category. They can be used in any scenario in which you may be contacting a potential or current employer.
- Stay positive
- Keep it short and sweet
- Don’t use any slang or abbreviations
- Proofread! Either use an advanced online proof-reader or have a friend look the message over for errors
- Be polite
- Don’t be afraid to throw in some specific variations or personalizations to the templates (Such as if an employee went out of their way to help you, if you had something in common, if you did more than the standard in the interview process)
- Avoid caps or excessive exclamation points
- Choose your words carefully and stick to neutral phrases and verbs, as text can easily be misinterpreted
- Watch your tone
- Make sure you are addressing the proper person in this correspondence and use any titles that they may have
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We at PathMatch hope this has helped you. We know you’ll ace your interview- before, during, and after!
Want loads more tips on how to ace your interviews, along with other great resources to help you find the perfect career? Download our PathMatch app today!
