No Response After an Interview? A Guide To Follow Up By Email

July 26, 2022

Most companies know that they need to respond to all candidates after an interview, but there are some instances when this might not happen. For the candidate, this can be very confusing. You spend all that time preparing for the interview, so when you get nothing but silence, it can be disheartening and demotivating.

Before you let a lack of response knock your confidence, you should always follow up with the company to confirm what is happening. It could be that there is a simple explanation, so don’t give up on the role just yet. Here’s our guide to following up after an interview if you’ve had no response.

How can you reduce the chance of no response?

The simplest way to make sure you know the next steps in the interview process is to ask. When you are given the chance to ask questions in an interview, always ask what you can expect in the next stages. This will help you to plan accordingly. 

So, if the panel says that the next stage will be to inform the candidates after the weekend and you haven’t heard anything by Tuesday evening, you know it’s time to take action.

What does no response mean?

No response doesn’t always indicate bad news, so it’s important to remain professional and courteous. Sending a rude email after not getting a response about the outcome of your interview could quickly backfire. If the panel needed a little more time to consider, your rude email could help them to rule you out as a potential candidate. These are some of the most common reasons hiring managers don’t respond after an interview:

• They have hit the brakes on hiring. Sometimes they have to hit the brakes on hiring for a new role. This can be annoying, particularly if you spent a lot of time preparing for the interview, but it does happen. It’s important to remain polite in this situation as the hiring process could start up again in the future.
• They have offered the role to another candidate. It’s not uncommon for hiring managers to wait until the role has been accepted and they have finalised the contracts before letting other candidates know they are unsuccessful. There is always the chance that something could fall through – such as the successful candidate receiving a negative reference – so keep things polite and courteous, as you might be their second choice.
• They simply need more time to decide. Hiring new people takes time, and sometimes hiring managers are also doing other jobs, so they don’t have time to devote to finding the right candidates. Again, it’s important to remain polite so that you don’t rule yourself out.
• They simply don’t respond to unsuccessful candidates. It’s not ideal, but some hiring managers focus on the successful candidates and ignore the rest. While this might feel incredibly rude, it’s important not to have a similarly rude response. Stay courteous and polite so that you don’t ruin your chances with the company in the future.
• They forgot. If you interviewed with a small company, there is always the chance that this task slipped through the cracks. While it isn’t ideal, it can happen, so try not to be too perturbed by this fact. 

How to follow up by email

If you haven’t received any response and you have waited a reasonable amount of time, it would be perfectly acceptable to follow up by email. Remember to keep it polite and simply ask for an update on the status of your application. These are a few things you should include in your email to make sure you remain professional but also prompt a response.

• Start by reiterating your interest in the role.
• Ask for an update on the status of your application.
• Consider asking for feedback on your interview performance.
• Thank them for their time.

You don’t need to second-guess their reasons for not responding or speculate on what has happened. You can simply request an update and then wait for their response. Your email might look like this:

“Dear Sir or Madam, 

Thank you for your time on Wednesday 15th June, it was great to hear more about your company and the role available. I am just writing to check if there has been any update on the status of my application? I am very interested in the role and would love to hear more. If you have any feedback on my interview performance, that would also be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Your Name”

If you still don’t receive a response after sending this email, it might be best to assume that they won’t be responding and move on. It can be difficult to do this, but it is important to remember that there are other companies out there who would love to have you as their employee.