How long does it take to hear back from a job you applied for?
Often than not you’re left with wandering to yourself how long it takes to get feedback from employers after you’ve sent in your polished resume, cover letter, and application materials, most times this seems like a daunting process.
It’s been a few days or even a week after submitting all necessary documents and you haven’t had any feedback from them. Now you’re already asking yourself three questions: How long should I wait?, What should I do while I’m waiting? or Should I contact them?
Unfortunately, as hard as it might be to swallow the answer to the first question is “It depends”. You’re not alone in facing this dilemma. A poll carried out recently found out that 48% of respondents said that waiting to hear back from employers is “highly frustrating.”
According to research conducted by Glassdoor, hiring processes in the United States took an average of 23.8 days in 2017.
This duration also varies considerably from country to country and city to city even within the U.S. Clocking in a 33.2 days average is Washington D.C. who are the sixth-highest on the list, with Sao Paulo, Brazil, leading the pack at a whopping 40.2 days.
This is aimed at helping you understand how long you should expect to wait to get feedback and how to follow up with an employer when necessary.
The hiring process usually seems to take a long time, but keep in mind that the timing for applicants and employers are not the same. In contrast to the average days been 10-14, certain jobs like those for government positions could take 4-6 weeks longer to get feedback.
However, the amount of time it takes to get feedback from a job application depends on the company’s urgency to fill the position, size, or the volume of candidates an employer has to review. While some companies fill certain positions very quickly, others tend to move slowly, depending on what’s happening within a company.
In fact, during job searches, people report wide ranges of experiences like:
- Approximately 44% of applicants hear from employers within a couple of weeks of applying
- While only about 37% hear back within one week
- Only 4% hear back within one day.
What to do while waiting to hear back
Though nerve-wracking, waiting is part of the process so you should remain patient when the hiring process takes longer than you expected. Focusing on the second question “What should I do while I’m waiting?” would help to ease your frustration. Also, keep sending out applications if you can.
Write a follow-up email if you can
If you can have the contact information of the recruiter or hiring manager for the role, reach out to them directly letting them know you applied, and would appreciate the feedback. I advice you to keep your email short, polite and only do this after one week or the specified waiting time as stipulated by the employer.
Your follow up email should contain the following components:
- A Subject
- A salutation and name of the recipient
- A personable statement
- The position you applied for and the reasons you’re the best fit for the role
- An enquiry about your application status
- A closing statement with forward
- A closing salutation
- Your full name
- Your contact details
SEE ALSO: 5 networking follow up email for various persons at work in 2021
After you’ve sent the follow-up email to an employer, you may also decide to send a second follow-up email after a period of time, or preferably place a phone call across. Ensure you call during business hours to increase your chance of speaking with a company employee.
If you gain audience with the employer, be confident and ensure to incorporate the following into your conversation:
- Greet them by name
- Introduce yourself
- Ask how they are
- State your reasoning for your call
- Maintain a professional, friendly tone of voice
- Thank them for their time
Conclusion
Now I’m confident you know on average how long it takes to get feedback or a response after submitting a resume, and while it will sometimes take a bit longer for employers to look through your application and respond, you can always get responses more often and quickly by tailoring your resume to the job role and getting introduced to employers through networking.
