21 Sep How to follow up after a job application

There are many job seekers who, understandably, become frustrated when they don’t hear anything back after a job application. You may spend time waiting for a phone call or email (especially if it’s a job you are particularly interested in), or you may just assume they are not interested in you. If you are anxious about what to do after you apply for a job, these are some tips.

Find the hiring manager

You may want to find out who the hiring manager is for the role you applied to and drop them an email just to confirm your interest and ask them what the next steps would be. You may find the email address on the job advert, or alternatively, you might need to do a bit of digging by looking on the company website for details. LinkedIn can also be a good resource if you want to find specific details for individuals.

Send a message

About LinkedIn, there is no harm in sending a message to the hiring manager to alert them to your application, and your interest in the company. Making that connection can feel a lot more personal, and they will probably be impressed you have gone to the extra effort to reach out to them.

Reach out to connections

If you know anyone who works at the company or who is connected in some way to the hiring manager or recruitment team, reach out to them and ask if they can alert them to your application. It often pays to know someone when you are looking for a new job, and connections can be extremely useful in this respect.

Phone the recruitment team

Most recruitment teams are bombarded with applications when they have a live vacancy, so give them a bit of time after the closing date to sift through the applications. If you still haven’t heard anything after a week or so, just give them a phone to reconfirm your interest and to get advice on when you are likely to hear back. If you show some initiative, you will be likely to stay in the mind of the recruiter. It shows you are enthusiastic about the role, and this is a great attribute.

Be patient

It is a good idea to follow up, but don’t go over the top and contact them every day for an update – this will just put them off. Following up once is enough, and bear in mind, there are lots of companies who don’t get back to candidates after they have applied for a role. Often this just comes down to being too busy and not having the time to respond. It can be frustrating, but if you don’t hear back after your first contact, it is best to move on and just assume they have found someone else. It can sometimes be the case that people end up being recruited from within the organisation, so don’t take it personally.

Keep applying

It can be easy to get caught up on one job you have applied to, especially if you believe it is the perfect fit, but it is important to keep job hunting. You can’t guarantee that you’ll be given an interview, let alone a job offer, so it is worth it to keep looking. The less you obsess over a job, the more likely you are to hear back about it anyway.

Sample email for Following Up

If you are looking to follow up with an email, but you are not quite sure how to do it, this is a sample email/message you may want to consider using:

Hello (Hiring Manager Name) or (Recruitment Team)

I applied for the role of (job title) with your company on the (date) and I just wanted to find out if you have any feedback.

I am keen to work in your company, and I feel I have the relevant skills and expertise for this job.

I appreciate you’re probably really busy, but if you could get back to me when you have some spare time, that would be great.

Thanks
(name)

Keep it short and sweet, and don’t make it sound like you are being demanding or that you are annoyed you haven’t heard back from them. Any contact with them should come across like you are just excited about the job.