April 25, 2022 |
In a perfect world, you’d receive a response to your job application the day after you submitted it. Unfortunately, it often takes a while for employers to review your resume. After all, if they’ve publicly posted a job opening, odds are they’ve received quite a number of resumes.
Keeping this in mind, there’s no set timeline. As such, most employers will take a week or two to get back to applicants; however, there are a lot of factors that contribute to their response time.
The following are a few of the common factors that can affect how long it takes for an employer to get back to you about your job application:
The company’s timeline for finding a new employee will play a significant role in how quickly they get back to applicants. For example, if the company is looking to fill the position as soon as possible, they may review resumes and conduct interviews right away.
On the other hand, if they’re not in a rush to find someone, they may take their time reviewing the candidates and setting up interviews.
The size of the company can also affect how long it takes to hear back from a job application. A small, family-owned business is going to operate much differently than a large corporation.
For instance, a small business may only have one person responsible for reviewing resumes and conducting interviews, while a large corporation may have a team of people assigned to different tasks in the hiring process. This difference can affect how quickly you hear back from an employer.
Even if the company is efficient and has a set timeline to fill the position, you may not hear back from them right away. If the person responsible for reviewing resumes has a busy work schedule or is out of the office, they may not review resumes until things settle or they return to work.
Additionally, if the recruiter is working for the employer part-time, they won’t get through as many resumes per week as a full-time recruiter might.
The number of applications the employer receives can also affect how long it takes to hear back. If the company received a hundred resumes for one position, it will take them longer to review all of the applications than if they only received a few.
Sometimes, the hiring process can be put on hold due to internal changes within the company. For example, if the person who is responsible for hiring new employees resigns, the process may be delayed until a new person is hired.
Or if management decides to promote an employee internally to fill the position, they may put a pause on hiring new employees.
Waiting and wishing to hear back from a job isn’t the best use of your time, especially if you are stressing about securing the job or getting frustrated. The following are a few things you should do instead while you wait to hear back from companies you’ve applied to:
The best way to increase your chances of getting a job is to apply for multiple jobs. You shouldn’t stop applying just because you’re waiting to hear back from one company. In fact, the more resumes you send out, the better your odds are of finding and securing a job.
So, continue to look for open positions that interest you and that you are suitable for. Just be sure to keep track of your job searches. Use a spreadsheet to track which positions you’ve applied to and when you applied to them.
Doing so will help you keep track of when it’s time to follow up on certain submissions.
If you know someone who works for the company you applied to, reach out to them and see if they can give you any insight into the hiring process. It’s also a good idea to attend industry events and meetups.
Doing so will help you expand your network and potentially meet people who work for the companies you’re interested in. Not to mention that networking can help you connect with people who may know of other open positions and who can offer a reference on your behalf.
When you apply for a position, you should save a copy of the original job posting. If it’s been a while since you’ve looked at it, now is a good time to review it.
Doing so will help refresh your memory on what the company is looking for and may give you some ideas on how to follow up with them.
Many employers will post an estimated waiting time. If they say it will take them at least two weeks to get back to applicants, then you won’t want to follow up after just one week. Doing so will show that you didn’t pay attention to their job posting, which won’t bode well for your odds of getting the job.
While reviewing the job posting, be sure to double-check the job’s closing date as well.
If it’s been more than two weeks since you submitted your application and you haven’t heard anything back, it’s a good idea to reach out to the employer. Although they may not have had the time to get to it, other issues may have occurred as well.
For example, your resume may have been lost. Send them a follow-up email and politely inquire about the status of your application.
When sending a follow-up email, include your name, the position you applied for, and when you applied so they can easily find your application. It’s also a good idea to attach your resume to the email again so they have it on hand in case they misplaced it.
When following up, avoid being pushy or desperate. The goal is to express your interest in the position and inquire about the status of your application. Don’t forget to include all of your contact details so that they can get back to you immediately, whether by email or phone.
If you still haven’t heard back from the employer after sending a follow-up email, your next step should be to give them a call.
When making the call, introduce yourself and explain that you’re following up on your job application. Be sure to ask if there’s anything else you can provide or if there’s any additional information they need from you.
If the employer or recruiter is unavailable, leave a voicemail expressing your interest in the position and ask them to return your call. Just like with your follow-up email, be sure to include all of your contact details.
It’s essential to be persistent when job hunting, but don’t go overboard. If you’ve contacted the employer or recruiter multiple times and still haven’t received a response, it might be time to move on. There are plenty of other jobs out there and you don’t want to waste your time (or theirs) by harassing them.
If it comes to the point where you have to move on because you never heard back from them, don’t feel down on yourself. There’s a lot of competition for every job, so stay patient and keep applying for other jobs.
If you begin feeling stressed, frustrated, or even sad because you can’t find a job, be sure to seek mental health care – whether it’s with a professional or simply talking things over with a friend or family member.
While it’s important to be patient when job hunting, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of hearing back from employers. These include:
One of the best ways to make sure your resume stands out is to fine-tune and customize it for each job you apply to. Make sure you’re using keywords from the job posting in your resume and cover letter, and that your skills and experience match what they are looking for.
You can also highlight any volunteer work or side projects you’ve done that are relevant to the job.
Tailoring your resume and cover letter will take a bit more time upfront, but it will be worth it when you start hearing back from employers. If you’re not sure how to get started, there are plenty of resume and cover letter templates available online.
Another way to speed up the response process is to follow the 80% rule. This rule recommends that you only apply for jobs where you meet at least 80% of the requirements listed in the job post. The more requirements that you match, the more likely you are to hear back from the employer.
Job hunting can be a long and difficult process, but it’s important to never give up. If you’re feeling discouraged, take a break for a day or two and then get back to it. The most important thing is to keep going until you find the job you want.
There are plenty of resources available to help you in your job search, so be sure to take advantage of them. There are websites and books with advice on everything from writing resumes to interviewing, helping to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to land the job you want.
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