This is how long you should wait to follow up after applying for a job

But if there are a lot of candidates in the mix, it’s going to take some time. Others may have multiple rounds of interviews, like BetterUp. As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to send a thank-you email within hours of first meeting the interviewer. You’ve been in the job search for a little while now. Add your contact details – include your direct email address and phone number so that the hiring manager can easily get in touch with you.

It can be tricky to keep paranoia to a minimum—especially when you’ve interviewed and are waiting to hear back. Practice patience and consider what might be going on with your prospective new boss to how to follow up on a job application understand why employers don’t respond right away in some cases. Receive job search tactics to find the best opportunities for you and tips for crafting your resume for remote-friendly employers.

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Ultimately, the timeline you can expect depends entirely on the company you’re trying to work for. If you’ve applied via a job board and there’s no direct email address in the job posting, check the company’s website for your hiring manager’s email address. In an ideal situation, when hiring managers like your resume and cover letter, they will be in touch with you in a day or two to schedule an interview. However, the best idea is to finish your interview by asking the hiring manager or recruiter when you can expect to hear about the next steps. Whatever date or timeline they give you, allow them at least that much time to respond before following up. Like it or not, recruiters and hiring managers are busy people. Yes, filling the open role that you’re interested in is somewhere on their to-do lists—but, so are many other, far more time-pressing things.

Always avoid being pushy or coming across as over-confident. Politely inform the recruiter that you have been offered another opportunity and would like to hear a decision before you accept the other offer. You may receive an offer from the company, or you may be told that there is no decision yet if interviewing is still occurring. In this case, inform the company once you’ve accepted another job. Sending a strong email right after the interview is a crucial first step, says Indeed.

Why should you follow up on a job application?

A few strategies will help you maintain a good impression while you attempt to find out about a job. While you’re waiting after the interview, avoid beating yourself up about any perceived missteps or second-guessing your answers. Try not to read too much into how things went, especially if weeks have gone by and you haven’t heard back after a job interview. Submitting a job application can feel like a waiting game. You wait to hear back from the company, but days or even weeks can go by without a word.

But to justify your follow up, you might want to pose a question to the employer. If they’re still receiving applications, you can ask when they expect to start narrowing down their decisions and when interviews will begin. This can give you a guideline of when you can expect to hear back. How long should you wait to call after submitting a job application? While you might want to follow up on a job application just a few days after submitting it, you should probably wait a little longer. If you send your message and do not hear back after a week or so, you can try contacting the employer again. Rather than sending multiple email messages, if you can locate a contact person and phone number, you may want to try to follow up with a phone call.