How do you follow up after an interview?

Send a thank-you email within about 24 hours, individually to each person you met if you have their addresses, and make it specific. A generic thanks for your time note does nothing; a short message that references something real from the conversation, adds a brief point you wish you had made, and restates your interest gives the interviewer a reason to remember you. Three or four sentences is plenty. Ask for business cards or the recruiter's help getting addresses at the end of the interview so you are not guessing.

After that, follow the timeline they gave you. If they said a decision in two weeks, wait the two weeks plus a couple of days before a single polite check-in with the recruiter or hiring manager, restating interest and asking about the process. Check in once, then once more after another week or two if you hear nothing, and then let it go, since repeated messages hurt more than they help. Silence is common and usually reflects internal chaos, competing priorities, or a slow approval chain rather than a verdict on you. Keep applying and interviewing elsewhere the entire time, because treating one promising process as decided is how candidates lose months. If you are rejected, a short gracious reply asking to be considered for future roles occasionally pays off later.