With the New Year quickly approaching and new opportunities becoming available, many will be taking this time to seek new employment and will likely be taking interviews. And while the interview is, of course, extremely important to get right, sending a thoughtful thank-you-email can often push you to the top of the consideration list. That’s why we’ve come up with a few key elements and tips to include in every post-interview thank you letter.

What to Include: A few things you’ll want to include in your email are a subject, personalized introduction, note of appreciation for their time, a recap of your qualifications and ways you could be of benefit, information for next steps, and additional ways to contact you. Let’s look at each of these items in a bit more detail.

Subject Line: In your subject line, you want to include a short message to say thank you, and maybe even remind them of who you are. Employers are often quite busy interviewing many candidates and receiving dozens of emails in a day, that by the end of the day they might not exactly remember how you met, that’s why you want to include this in your Subject Line. This way they are more inclined, not only to read the email but to remember before even opening, for example: “Thank You For the Interview” or “I Appreciate Your Time Today.”

Introduction: Since you’ve met you want to introduce the email using the name the interviewer gave you, for example: “Good Afternoon/Good Morning (Insert Name Here)” or “Hello (Insert Name Here).” This just lets the interviewer know that you remember what they said and makes the email a more personalized experience for them.

Note of Appreciation: You’ll want to start the email by thanking the recruiter for their time. You could include the position title or something specific from the interview as a way of thanking them, for example: “It was a pleasure speaking with you today regarding the management position, I enjoyed discussing the needs of this role and how we can help the company excel…etc.” This allows for the interviewer to recall specific moments of the interview and lets them know you are truly interested in the position.

Recap: Next you want to recap your qualification and let them know why you would be a great fit for the position. Be sure to again mention something specific that you discussed in the interview and expand on it in the email, but in a concise manner. You want to be sure that this section is brief as they should have some notes on you already.

Information for Next Steps: If you had not discussed it already, you’ll want to follow up with the recruiter to find out the next steps and potential timeline so that you know what to expect next. If you have already discussed this at the end of the interview, you can let the employer know that you look forward to speaking with them in the next coming days or weeks, depending on what they mentioned for their timeline. This shows interest in the position and encourages the employer to reach back out to you, for better or worse.

Additional Ways to Contact: Finally, you want to give the recruiter a few additional ways to contact you if needed, for example, your phone number, in case they don’t already have it, or so that they can easily find it to follow up or make an offer. Let the recruiter know that you are available for any additional information or questions that they may have and that you look forward to speaking again.

Following these steps can help you create a thank you email that makes a good impression and hopefully lasting impact on an employer. Often these follow-up emails are overlooked, but they are an essential part of the interviewing process and should be treated as such, so be sure to include the above points and make it personal to the hiring manager so that you stay on their mind during the selection process.