5 exercises — writing thank-you emails after interviews, following up on decisions, responding to rejections gracefully, and accepting or requesting time to review job offers.
Post-interview email checklist
Thank-you email: send within 24h · reference something specific from the interview · reaffirm interest · keep it under 150 words
Subject line: "Thank you — [Role] interview ([Date])" — specific, no fluff
Follow-up: after the stated timeline · polite · one follow-up is enough · request a timeline update, not a decision
Rejection reply: gracious · request feedback · signal openness to future roles · 3–4 sentences max
Offer response: thank warmly first · request time with a specific date · reason is optional but professional
0 / 10 completed
1 / 10
You interviewed yesterday for a Senior Frontend Engineer role at a fintech company. Which thank-you email subject line is most effective?
"Thank you — Senior Frontend Engineer interview (March 16)" works best because: ① It instantly signals the topic (no need to open the email to know what it's about); ② It references the specific role — interviewers often handle multiple positions simultaneously; ③ The date disambiguates if they interviewed multiple candidates. Option A is too vague. Option B signals a reply thread rather than a new, intentional message. Option D is informal and rambling — subject lines should be compact fragments, not sentences. Additional tip: Send within 24 hours of the interview. After 48 hours, the impact drops significantly.
2 / 10
What should the opening line of a post-interview thank-you email accomplish?
The opening line should: ① Thank the interviewer(s) warmly but concisely; ② Reference something specific from the conversation — a technical problem you discussed, an interesting question, or something you learned about the team. This proves you were genuinely engaged, not sending a template. Example: "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me yesterday about the distributed caching challenges your team is working through — it was a fascinating discussion." What NOT to open with: starting with "I" ("I wanted to thank you…" is less engaging than "Thank you…"), or immediately listing qualifications (save that for the body, if at all).
3 / 10
It has been 10 days since your interview. The company said decisions would be made "within one to two weeks." Which follow-up is most appropriate?
Option B is ideal: it's polite, specific (names the role and interview date), reaffirms interest, and asks for a timeline update without pressure. Key techniques: ① Refer to the original stated timeline to show you were paying attention; ② Use "when convenient" to reduce pressure; ③ Reaffirm interest briefly without over-explaining. Option A creates unnecessary urgency and mentions competing offers — this can work strategically but sounds aggressive here. Option C is vague and implies insecurity. Option D is wrong — one polite follow-up after the stated timeline is completely professional and expected.
4 / 10
You receive a rejection email. Which response best demonstrates professionalism and keeps the door open?
Option B is the gold standard rejection response: ① Acknowledges the news graciously; ② Expresses honest, professional disappointment without drama; ③ Requests feedback (genuinely useful, occasionally granted); ④ Signals continued interest in the company for future roles. Why this matters: companies re-post roles for good candidates who were close but not quite right; interviewers sometimes refer candidates to other companies; the hiring manager may move to a different company. Option D is pleasant but generic — no feedback request, no future interest signal. Option A is wrong — a brief, professional reply is almost always appropriate and appreciated.
5 / 10
You received a job offer but need 3 days to review the contract. Which response is most professionally worded?
Option C is the most professional: ① Expresses genuine positive reaction (reinforces their decision to offer you the role); ② Makes a specific, reasonable request with a clear end date (avoids open-ended delays); ③ States the reason ("review the contract carefully") — this is entirely normal and expected. Key phrases for offer situations: "I'm delighted to receive this offer" · "Would it be possible to have until [date] to review?" · "I look forward to formally accepting once I've had a chance to review the details." If you want to negotiate: acknowledge the offer warmly first, then in a separate message or a follow-up call raise the salary conversation — never the first thing, and never in writing without the warm acknowledgement first.
6 / 10
You've just submitted a pull request containing a refactoring of the user authentication module. During the code review, Alex comments: 'Can you add some unit tests for this new logic?'. Which Slack message is the MOST appropriate response to Alex's comment?
The best response acknowledges Alex's feedback and explains your current priorities without dismissing his suggestion. Option 1 is too informal; option 3 demonstrates professionalism by explaining the context of your work while maintaining focus on critical issues. Option 4 is polite but doesn't address the request directly, leaving it open to be forgotten.
7 / 10
Sarah, a Backend Engineer, needs to briefly update her team during the daily standup. She's been working on optimizing the API endpoint for retrieving customer order data. Which sentence is the MOST effective way to report this progress?
Providing specific details about your work – in this case, the endpoint name, the optimizations you made (latency/query performance), and the focus – demonstrates a clear understanding of your task. Options 2 & 3 are too vague. Option 4 implies completion without offering any context.
8 / 10
You've been asked to write a PR description for a new feature: implementing two-factor authentication. Which statement is the MOST effective opening sentence?
A good PR description should clearly state the purpose of the change. Option 1 is technically correct but lacks context and doesn't explain *why* this change was made. Option 2 provides a clear explanation of the benefit (enhanced security), while options 3 & 4 are too general.
9 / 10
You've received an API response indicating a temporary service outage: `{"status": "error", "code": 503, "message": "Service unavailable."}`. Which message should you send to the team lead to report this?
Providing the specific error code (503) and message from the response demonstrates technical awareness. Option 1 is too vague. Option 3 is still not detailed enough. Option 4 is insufficient – it doesn't convey the severity or provide any context.
10 / 10
You've been offered a job as a DevOps Engineer at StellarTech. The offer letter includes a clause requiring a 30-day notice period if you accept. You want to politely decline while maintaining a positive relationship. Which response is MOST professionally worded?
This response expresses gratitude for the offer while clearly stating your decision and providing a brief, professional reason (long-term career goals). It avoids negativity and maintains a courteous tone. Option 1 is too abrupt; option 3 is dismissive; option 4 leaves the door open unnecessarily.
What does "Post-Interview Emails — IT English Writing Exercise" cover?
Practice writing thank-you emails after interviews, follow-up messages, responding to rejections, and accepting offers professionally. 5 exercises with model answers for IT professionals.
How many questions are in this interview set?
This set has 10 exercises, each with a full explanation.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free to use with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
Do these exercises include model answers?
Yes. Each interview question gives you several possible responses and asks you to pick the one that communicates most clearly and completely — the explanation then breaks down exactly why that answer works, including the specific vocabulary a strong candidate would use.
What if I choose an answer that isn't the strongest one?
You'll see which option was correct and read a full explanation of why it's stronger than the alternatives, plus the key vocabulary and phrasing worth reusing in a real interview.
Can I retry the questions?
Yes — use the "Try again" button on the results screen to reset and go through the set again.
Is this the same as a real technical or behavioural interview?
No — it's focused practice for the language side of interviewing: recognising which phrasing sounds precise and confident versus vague, and knowing the vocabulary interviewers expect for this role. It won't replace mock interviews, but it builds the vocabulary you'll need in one.
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