Job hunting can be tedious, and waiting to hear back after submitting an application is perhaps the toughest part.
The hiring process takes time and you may not hear back right away, but there are ways to follow up to check the status of your application and make good use of your time while you wait.
On average, how long does it take to hear back after a job application?
Per a 2018 report by Jobvite, job seekers (im)patiently wait for an average of 38 days to hear back after submitting an application.
But that’s not a hard and fast rule—the average time between submitting and application and hearing back varies by industry, company size, number of applicants, whether they have a recruiter helping out in the search, how quickly they need to fill the role, and a myriad factors that don’t necessarily have to do with your qualifications for the role.
Read more: The 12 Questions You Should Be Asking Recruiters
When and how should you follow up on a job application?
One week after submitting your application is generally an appropriate amount of time to wait before contacting the hiring manager or recruiter. In terms of how often you can follow up after that, read the room. Pinging the hiring manager daily or even every few days won’t help your case. Give them time to work through the hiring process.
“If you’re submitting to a person via email, I would suggest emailing a week later to confirm that they received your application—unless they already responded with a timeline for their search process or with instructions to not follow up until contacted for an interview,” career coach Cynthia Pong tells InHerSight.
“Emailing to reiterate your interest in the position or organization after another two weeks would be fine. Beyond that, use your judgment and your sense/read of the situation to determine whether it’s worth following up further.”
How not to follow up on an application
Don’t indiscriminately reach out to any contacts you can find. Your follow-ups should be directed at a specific person who can answer your question.
“If you’re applying through a portal, it will likely be difficult to identify who to follow up with,” Pong says. “So unless you have a connection to someone at the organization (via LinkedIn or through your friends or network), then you might not be able to follow up.”
If you get the feeling that you’re pressing too hard, listen to that. “In general, if you’re getting the sense that you are annoying the person and that following up will decrease your chances of getting an interview, then don’t!”
Read more: How to Make a Great First Impression, in 5 Parts
If you’re applying for a lot of positions, it can help to keep a spreadsheet that tracks all of your applications with the company, job description, date you submitted the application, and notes about follow-up instructions (or a request to not follow up).
Keep your follow-up short and sweet: I’m writing to follow up on my application for the market researcher position. I’m very interested in the position and would love the opportunity to discuss.
Don’t go trolling LinkedIn for a contact that’s not listed in the job description. Going over a recruiter directly to the hiring manager can come off as irritating—and you might not get the right contact.
Read more: What to Do When You Haven't Heard Back: 6 Dos and Don'ts of Interview Follow-Ups
How to make the most of your time while you wait
While you wait: Keep applying. Keep cultivating your network.
“Keep yourself busy with other applications and leveraging your network. Time will feel like it’s moving faster that way,” Pong says. “Much of job searching is a numbers game, and it’s increasingly important to see if you have any connections to an organization so that people can put in a word for you.”
Pong emphasizes the importance of using your network to land a new job. “The sad truth is that most people are still more likely to trust and hire someone who’s been recommended by someone they know, which means greater barriers of access for women, women of color, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks. That being said, if we don’t leverage our networks, then we stand to lose out to white men, who definitely will.”
Read more: Your Inner Circle Is Your Ticket to the Top
Tips for a Successful Internship Interview. Don't be aggressive. According to Indeed, job applicants wait up to two weeks to hear back from a prospective employer. Having to wait makes most people impatient, but resist the temptation to get aggressive with the hiring manager.
Depending on what's happening within a company, the urgency to fill the role can vary. In fact, during a job search, people report a wide range of experiences: 44% hear from employers within a couple of weeks of applying. 37% hear back within one week.
But while any and all of the above can (and sometimes does) impact how long it takes for you to get a response after a job interview, Work says, “In most cases, you should hear back within one to two weeks max after a job interview, unless the recruiter or team lets you know it will take longer.”
The timeline for following up after submitting you application can be sensitive. You don't want to be annoying by following up too soon, yet you want to maximize your outreach by timing it perfectly. “Candidates should follow up within about 48-72 hours after submitting their cover letter and resume.
While you're waiting, you don't have to sit there twiddling your thumbs. It's appropriate to reach out to your contact at the company ten days to two weeks after an interview.
There can be any number of reasons but the most common answer is simply that employers can get hundreds or even thousands of applications and don't have the time to respond to every applicant individually.
The “application under review” status typically indicates that the hiring manager wants to make sure that they get to know you better before making a decision. However, it only sometimes means you have passed the initial screening process. Companies only accept applicants instantly if they match the criteria.
As a rule of thumb, following up within a week is perfectly acceptable. If you don't hear back after an additional week, you can reach out again. However, if you don't hear anything after a second week, it's better to stay radio silent. Some companies have a long hiring process.
The company's hiring process: If the hiring process is formal, the recruiters evaluate every applicant's qualifications, which may mean the company will take longer to get back to the candidates. The size and structure of the company: The decision-making process is usually longer for large companies.
I wanted to check in on the status of the [job title] position, as I've received an offer from another company. I'm still very much interested in joining the team at [company name], and wanted to get an update on my candidacy and the timeline before making a decision. Please let me know when you have a moment. Thanks!
How to follow up on a job application. Unless the job posting specifically instructs you not to contact the recruiter or hiring manager, you should follow up with a phone call or an email one to two weeks after you apply. In your message, reiterate your excitement for the position and ask about next steps.
Why does it take so long to hear back from the company? Companies take many factors into account before they send a job offer or rejection notice to you, including: Interviewing other candidates for the same position. Reviewing other candidates' qualifications and interview responses.
In the middle of the hiring process, a hiring manager or recruiter may take a vacation, depart on business travel, become ill, or be at a conference. Those are short-term delays. Other delays may come from a hiring manager taking a leave of absence or departing the company.
However, in most cases you can expect to hear back with a formal offer within 1-3 weeks after being notified you are the selected candidate. Some companies may expedite the offer process and make an offer within days, while others may take longer than 3 weeks if there are extra approval steps or paperwork involved.
A follow-up email is perfectly fine. But a phone call can sometimes have a bigger impact. If you know the name of the employer and title of the administrative job you applied for, call the company and speak to the receptionist.
The amount of time needed for internal hiring will vary by company depending on the internal hiring policy and process in place but could take as little as a few days. You may ask internal candidates a few short behavioral interview questions to get an understanding of their past work at the company.
Let's look at the numbers on how many applications it takes to get a job: It takes 21 to 80 job applications to get one job offer, on average. The average corporate job opening receives roughly 250 applications. 61.7% of job seekers get at least one interview by sending between 1-10 job applications.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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