Sending a quick, yet thoughtful follow up email can greatly distinguish you from other competing job candidates. Follow up emails can serve a a great way to gather more information and learn more about a company or a specific job position that you may be interested in. Additionally, sending a good follow up email can serve as a very effective way to continue the conversation or stay in contact with people you have met through networking events. Sending follow up emails are not difficult and can really show others that you are really interested by putting in the extra effort. By using these 5 steps as a guide to crafting follow up emails that are sure to make you stand out and develop long lasting relationships.
5 Steps to Crafting Your Follow Up:
- Determine the objective
- Open with Context
- Clearly State Purpose
- Craft Subject Line
- When to Follow Up
Step 1: Determine the Objective
There are generally four primary objectives for a follow up email. The first, is to gather information or situations in which you may want clarify a piece of information or get a status update. The second major objective of follow up is to request a meeting with some in which you may want to ask their opinion on something, give a pitch, ask for a favor, or request their feedback. The third major objective of follow up emails is to just catch up or touch base with someone that you have previously met or worked with in the past. This is a great way to also share milestones in your life while also celebrating any exciting news regarding the person you are contacting. Lastly, follow up emails are a great way to send a thank you note. In fact, many recruits typically suggest that candidates email interviewers within a 24 hour period to say thank you. Determining the objective of your follow up email will help you clearly understand how you frame your follow up in the most effective way possible.
Step 2: Open with Context
Often times people get caught up in the act of following up and forget to include a personal connection or a common interest that will help the the the contact remember them. This is especially important if a close relationship is not already established. Re-emphasizing your initial email or interaction is very helpful in jogging your contact’s memory which will make it easier for them to respond. Additionally, common follow up openers such as “We met last week at the [Insert Name of Event and location],” “I was inspired after you spoke at the [Insert Name of Event],” or “My friend, [Insert Name of Friend], suggested that I reach out” or “Just following up on the email I sent a few weeks ago about [insert topic]” can be helpful in drawing a personal connection and establishing context for for you follow up email.
Additionally is may be helpful to use tools like Google Alerts to keep up-to-date on events that can help you find opportunities to send a meaningful follow up.
Step 3: Clearly State Purpose:
It is important to be very clear with your follow-up intentions such that your contact is not confused as the reason for you reaching out. For example, “I’d like to grab coffee and chat about what you do” is far less effective in stating your purpose for contact than stating “I’d like to grab coffee to learn more about your day-to-day tasks and some of the challenges you have faced in management consulting.”
Furthermore, if possible, it is really help to try to add value to you contact. By demonstrating that you are a helpful person regardless of whether you’re following up on an application, a job interview, or a connection you just met, you are increasing the chances that your contact will actually want to stay in contact with you and be receptive to your needs. Some common ways to add value include sending a resource (i.e. article, blog post, ebook, case study) that s/he might find helpful or interesting, or sharing their company information, content, or product with others in your network.
Step 4: Craft Subject Line
69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line and 33% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone. That being said there is no point in sending a follow up email if your contact is automatically inclined to mark it as spam. Subject lines should be kept short and sweet, but intriguing enough to pique their curiosity. Below are some statistics regarding subject lines that may help you determine craft and effective subject line.
- 40% of emails are opened on mobiles first – where the average mobile screen can only fit 4 to 7 words maximum
- Emails with “Meeting” in the subject line were opened 7% less than those without
- Emails with “fw:” in the subject line were opened 17% less than those without
- Subject lines with 30 or fewer characters have an above average open rate
- Subject lines with 3 or more words are opened 15% less than those with 1-2
Step 5: Determine When to Follow Up:
When it comes to following up timing is everything. It is important to be timely in your follow-up with out being annoying by incessantly sending emails. Please see below for a suggested timeline to follow up for different cases.
| Time | 24 hours | 48 hours | 1 to 2 weeks | Every 3 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Case | A “thank you” follow up email after a meeting or a conference | An email after submitting important submission documentation or for urgent matters | An email after no response regarding a job offer or follow up on a meeting request | An email to catch up with a connection |
Source: (Hubspot)