Common English Mistakes in Interview Follow-Up Emails by German Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native German speakers from Germany when writing a Interview Follow-Up Email in English.

Mistake Example #1

Incorrect word order in subordinate clauses

Dear [Interviewer's Name],I wanted to express my gratitude for the opportunity to interview with your company. It was a pleasure to learn more about the team and the projects you are working on. If tyouherearve any further questionsyou have, please let me know. I am very excited about the possibility to join your team and contribute to the success of the company. Thank you again for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"I tweaked the word order and made a few other minor corrections. Well done!"

Dear [Interviewer's Name], I wanted to express my gratitude for the opportunity to interview with your company. It was a pleasure to learn more about the team and the projects you are working on. If you have any further questions, please let me know. I am very excited about the possibility to join your team and contribute to the success of the company. Thank you again for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Dear [Interviewer's Name], I wanted to express my gratitude for the opportunity to interview with your company. It was a pleasure to learn more about the team and the projects you are working on. If there are any further questions you have, please let me know. I am very excited about the possibility to join your team and contribute to the success of the company. Thank you again for the opportunity, and I look forward to hear from you soon.

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of passive voice

Dear Mr. Smith, Thank you for your time (today/yesterday/this wasmorning)—I appreciated that the opportunity to interview for the marketing positionwas given to me. The insights about the company culture and team dynamics were found to bevery interesting. Iam looking forward to the possibility of contributing to your team and further discussions arehoped ftortalk to you again soon.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking to reduce the use of passive voice, among other fixes."

Dear Mr. Smith, Thank you for your time (today/yesterday/this morning)—I appreciate the opportunity to interview for the marketing position. The insights about the company culture and team dynamics were very interesting. I look forward to the possibility of contributing to your team and hope to talk to you again soon.

Dear Mr. Smith, it was appreciated that the opportunity to interview for the marketing position was given to me. The insights about the company culture and team dynamics were found to be very interesting. I am looking forward to the possibility of contributing to your team and further discussions are hoped for.

Mistake Example #3

Capitalizing all nouns (following German grammar rules)

Dear Hiring Manager, I want to express my Ggratitude for the Oopportunity to Iinterview for the Pposition at your Ccompany. I am very excited about the Ppossibility of joining your Tteam and contributing to the Ssuccess of your Oorganization. Please let me know if there are any further Ssteps in the Pprocess or if you need additional Iinformationfrom my Side.

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I decapitalized the first letter of the common nouns in the middle of these sentences. Otherwise, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

Dear Hiring Manager, I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to interview for the position at your company. I am very excited about the possibility of joining your team and contributing to the success of your organization. Please let me know if there are any further steps in the process or if you need additional information.

Dear Hiring Manager, I want to express my Gratitude for the Opportunity to Interview for the Position at your Company. I am very excited about the Possibility of joining your Team and contributing to the Success of your Organization. Please let me know if there are any further Steps in the Process or if you need additional Information from my Side.