8 min read
You've written the note. The middle is fine. And then you hit the last two lines and everything you type sounds either cold or slightly pleading.
That's normal, and it isn't a writing problem. Knowing how to end a thank you note is really about deciding what you want the reader to do next, then saying it in one sentence without apologising for wanting it. You're not asking for a favour, and you don't need to soften it into nothing.
This covers the closing lines that work, the sign-offs that don't, and what to do when you badly want the job. While you wait to hear back, it's worth making sure the file that got you the interview still holds up — run it through the free ATS resume checker before the next round.
Quick Wins
- Cut every sentence in your closing that starts with "I hope" or "Sorry".
- Say you want the job once, in plain words, and only once.
- End on their next step, not on your availability.
What the ending of a thank you note is actually for
The body of the note does the persuading. It references something specific from the conversation and reminds them why you fit.
The ending does two much smaller jobs: it confirms you want the role, and it makes the next move obvious. That's it.
Most people overload it. They try to squeeze in a final argument, an apology for taking up time, a note about availability, and a hope that the reader has a lovely week. Four ideas in three sentences, and the one that mattered gets buried.
What this is not: a second chance to sell yourself. If you forgot to mention something important, it belongs one paragraph earlier, phrased as a point rather than as a regret.
How to end a thank you note in two sentences
One line of interest. One line handing over the next step. Then sign off.
{`[Interest line]
I'm very interested in the role, and the conversation about
[specific thing] made me more so.
[Next-step line]
I look forward to hearing what the next stage looks like.
Best regards,
[Your name]`}That's the whole pattern. It works for a phone screen, a panel, and a final round, with only the specific detail changing.
Why the specific detail matters
"I'm very interested in the role" on its own is a sentence anyone could send. Attaching it to something real from the conversation proves you were actually there and listening.
It can be small. The migration they mentioned, the team restructure, the customer problem they described. One clause is enough.
Before and after: the closing
Take a candidate closing after a second-round product interview:
"Thanks again so much for your time, I know how busy you must be! I really hope to hear from you soon and I'm happy to provide anything else you might need. Sorry for the long email. Have a great rest of your week!"
The same person, closing with intent:
"I'm very interested in this role — the onboarding rebuild you described is exactly the kind of problem I want to be working on. I look forward to hearing about next steps."
Same warmth, half the words, and no apology. The second version reads like someone who expects a reply, which is quietly persuasive on its own.
Sign-offs, ranked
| Sign-off | Use it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best regards | Yes | Safe in every US industry and never reads as cold. |
| Thank you again | Yes | Fits the purpose of the note and closes the loop naturally. |
| Best | Yes | Slightly more casual. Good for startups and less formal teams. |
| Sincerely | Fine | Formal but correct. Suits law, government, and finance. |
| Cheers | Careful | Reads oddly familiar with someone you have met once. |
| Warmly / Yours | No | Too intimate for a hiring conversation. |
Then your full name on the next line. Add a phone number underneath if the interview was early-stage and they may not have it to hand.
Two small conventions that trip people up. Put a comma after the sign-off, and capitalise only the first word — "Best regards," not "Best Regards,". Neither will cost you a job, but both are the kind of thing a hiring manager in a detail-heavy field registers.
And match their register. If the interviewer signed off with "Best" in the scheduling email, using "Sincerely" back reads as a step more distant than the relationship you already have. Mirroring is the safest guide you have.
Endings for specific situations
They already told you the timeline
Don't ask again — it signals you weren't listening. Reference it instead: "I know decisions are landing next week, so I'll look out for your note then."
The interview went badly
Resist the urge to apologise in the close. One brief correction in the body is fine; the ending stays the same as always. A closing full of regret confirms the impression you were hoping to fix.
You met several people
Send separate notes with different closings. If two people compare emails and find identical final lines, the personal touch evaporates. Vary the specific detail in the interest line for each.
It was a final-round interview
This is where you say the thing plainly. "If you offer me the role, I'll accept it" is a strong close when it's true, and hiring managers deciding between two finalists genuinely weigh it.
You have another offer pending
Mention it only if it's real and you want this job more. Keep it factual and pressure-free: "I do have another process wrapping up next Friday, so if it's helpful to know my timeline, that's it." No ultimatum, just information.
Handwritten card instead of email
Same structure, fewer words. A card has room for three sentences at most, so drop the next-step line and keep the specific detail. Send an email as well if the decision is close — post is slow, and the card should be a bonus rather than your only follow-up.
Handwriting also removes your edit button, so draft the closing on your phone first and copy it across. A crossed-out word in the final line quietly undoes the care the card was meant to show in the first place.
When to send it, and what that changes
Timing shapes the closing more than most people expect. The same two sentences read differently depending on when they land.
Within 24 hours is the standard, and it lets you close on next steps naturally because no decision has been made yet. This is where the plain "I look forward to hearing about next steps" belongs.
Two or three days later and the note needs a slightly different ending. Acknowledge the gap in one clause rather than apologising for it: "I wanted to send a proper note rather than a rushed one." Then close as normal.
After the stated decision date is no longer a thank you note. That is a follow-up, and the closing should ask a direct question about status instead of restating interest you have already expressed.
One practical note on send time. A note that arrives at 11pm gets read the next morning alongside everything else. Mid-morning on a working day is when hiring managers are actually in their inbox, and it is when a short email is most likely to get a same-day reply.
A quick test for whether your ending works
Read your last two sentences out loud, then ask one question: does this sound like someone who expects a reply, or someone hoping for one?
The difference is usually three or four words. "I look forward to hearing about next steps" expects. "I really hope I might hear something soon" hopes. Same meaning, completely different footing.
Then run three checks on what you have written.
- Count the hedges. Words like just, maybe, hopefully, possibly, and a little. More than one in a closing is one too many.
- Check who acts next. Your final line should point at them doing something, not at you waiting. "I look forward to hearing" passes. "I'll be waiting to hear" does not.
- Look for the specific detail. If your interest line could have been sent to any company, it isn't finished yet.
Take a candidate who wrote this after a nursing interview:
"Thanks again for meeting me. I'm just really hoping this works out and I'll be waiting to hear from you whenever you get the chance."
The same intent, on level footing:
"I'm very interested in this role — the way your team runs handover between shifts is exactly the kind of structure I've been looking for. I look forward to hearing what the next stage looks like."
Nothing in the second version is pushy. It just stops asking permission to be considered.
There is one more thing worth checking, and almost nobody does it: read the closing on a phone screen. Most hiring managers open these on a phone between meetings, and a note that looked balanced on a laptop can turn into a wall of grey text on a smaller screen.
If your last paragraph runs past three lines on a phone, break it. The interest line and the next-step line can sit as two separate paragraphs, and on a small screen that white space does real work.
And whatever you do, put your name on its own line. A sign-off that runs into the signature block is the kind of small sloppiness that a detail-oriented reader notices without quite knowing why.
Endings that hurt you
- Apologising for their time. They booked the meeting. "Sorry for taking up your day" puts you below the conversation.
- Stacked hedges. "I hope to maybe hear back if that's okay" contains three retreats in nine words.
- Pressure. "I'll call Monday if I haven't heard" reads as a threat, however it was meant.
- A new argument. Fresh claims after the sign-up line look like something you forgot, which is the impression you least want.
- Nothing at all. Ending on "Thanks again" with no interest line leaves the reader without the one thing they needed to know.
While you wait for a reply
The note is sent. The useful thing to do now isn't refreshing your inbox.
Keep the pipeline moving. Upload your resume to the free ATS resume checker and check it still parses cleanly, then add anything from this interview that revealed a gap — a tool they use that you have experience with and never listed, for instance. Those details surface in interviews all the time and rarely make it back into the file.
For the next application, the cover letter generator will draft the letter around the posting so you're not starting from a blank page while you wait.
The short version
- How to end a thank you note: one line of specific interest, one line on next steps, then sign off.
- Best regards, Best, and Thank you again are all safe. Skip Warmly and be careful with Cheers.
- Cut every apology and every hedge. They subtract from a note that was meant to add.
Do this now: open your draft and delete any sentence containing "sorry" or "I hope". Read what's left. It's almost always stronger.
Then get ready for the next round — check your resume for free while the conversation is still fresh.
Read more
- How to write a thank you email after an interview — the full note, not just the closing.
- How to respond to an interview email — the message before this one.
- How to write a counter offer for salary — for when the offer arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Close with one line that restates your interest and one that hands the next step back to them. Something like: I am very interested in the role, and I look forward to hearing about next steps. Then a simple sign-off and your name.
Best regards, Best, or Thank you again all work in US hiring. Sincerely reads slightly formal but is never wrong. Avoid Cheers with someone you have met once, and avoid Warmly unless the interview was genuinely warm.
Yes, if they did not already tell you the timeline. Phrase it as a question rather than a demand: Could you let me know what the next stage looks like? If they already gave you a date, reference that date instead of asking again.
No, as long as you say it once and say it plainly. Stating clear interest helps a hiring manager who is deciding between similar candidates. Repeating it three times in four sentences is what reads as anxious.
Two sentences plus a sign-off. The closing is not where you make new arguments. Anything you still need to prove belongs in the middle of the note, not after the summary.