Have you applied for a company and haven’t heard anything after a week? Maybe you’re wondering how long does it take to get contacted for an interview? Here’s how long it takes, and what you should do in these cases.
How Long to Hear Back From Job Application? Typically, it takes about one to two weeks to hear back. It mostly depends on the industry, the type of job you’re applying for, and the hiring team of the company you’re applying to. Government companies will take up to a month to get back to you.
Usually, if you haven’t heard from a company in 2 weeks, they most likely aren’t interested. However, if the job posting is still up, you may still have a chance to get a call back soon.
Unless you want to work with only one company, then the best thing you can do is to keep applying to other jobs in the meantime, hoping that someone will eventually get back to you. For the jobs that you’re really interested in, you might want to send them a follow up email, or give them a call.
Let’s dive deep into the times to hear back after applying, and what you can do.
How Long to Wait After Submitting Job Application Online?
It takes up to two weeks to hear back after submitting a resume, which is enough time for a company to accumulate a certain number of applicant responses, and short enough that people aren’t waiting too long.
If you applied online, they may send you an email if they’re not interested, but typically you’ll be ghosted. This means the company won’t even get back to you.
Many companies try to hire internally before going for external hires. Internal job application is probably the best way to apply for a job, and a sure way to get a response. For most companies, after applying internally, it should take about 7 to 10 days to hear back. If you didn’t hear back, you should probably reach out to the recruiter and ask.
Why does it take so long to hear back from a job application?
It takes up to two weeks because this is long enough for a company to gather enough applicants they need, and not too long for applicants to wait to hear back from the hiring team.
It’s not unheard of the company answering back a month later to an applicant. This may be either because the job opening was of low priority, HR is overworked, or even because another favored candidate didn’t accept the job offer.
Companies have differing hiring processes, with different timelines. You can check the hiring process of many companies here at HowMonk: UPS, USPS, and FedEx hiring process.
Keep in mind that companies with a rigorous multi-stage interview process, like tech giants such as Microsoft or management consulting firms, might need additional time to sync up internally before reaching out.
Modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) filter applications before they even reach a human. Ensuring your resume is ATS-friendly by matching keywords from the job description can make a significant difference.
What do you do if you haven’t heard back from a job application?
In most cases, it’s up to the employer to reach out if they are interested, and you shouldn’t need to call them.
Should you call an employer after submitting an application? If you want to do everything you can to get that job, then you should follow up with a call or an email.
In the email (or during the call) you can simply ask them to make sure they received everything they need. You can also reiterate your interest in the position, and say a sentence or two about why you think you’re qualified for the position.
You may also ask for the status of your application, but this is a hard question and you may want to keep it soft by simply reiterating your interest instead, and showing eagerness.
Following up can sometimes give you answers on whether they are still interested. It will also show your enthusiasm, and this may increase your chances of getting that job. However, make sure not to be hard on them, or push them, unless you need an answer right then (for example, you got another offer).
If it’s a retail/customer service/restaurant type of job, then it may be even better to go there personally and meet them. Go and meet the HR manager, ask their names. Tell them you’d like to work there. Let them see how eager you are to start. They may remember you and treat you nicely in the future.
For those applying to startups or smaller firms, leveraging professional networks can be invaluable. Attend relevant industry events or webinars and engage in forums related to the company’s domain.
Keep in mind that you should never put all your hopes in one basket, and hope for that one job or company to come through. Quitting your job is difficult enough, and unless you have connections in the company or they expressed their interest to you, then keep on applying to other companies as well.
Your time is valuable and limited. So, call them back for nothing else than to have peace of mind, and save yourself some time. If you still don’t hear anything after 2 weeks, then you should probably move on.
When to call back for a job after applying?
A good time to call back is about a week after applying or the day after they said they’d contact you but hadn’t.
If they called you and you missed the call, then call them back as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss this opportunity. You need to show your interest to the employer, not your cool.
How Long to Hear Back From Amazon Job Application?
Since Amazon has several Online Assessments (OAs) that you need to pass before you get an interview, and every OA has a 5-day deadline, it should take about 15 to 18 days to finish 3 OAs and get an interview.
Amazon won’t look at your application until you have completed and submitted the online assessment. After you submit it, then they’ll start reviewing it and you might hear back.
A fast way to hear back is by contacting Amazon recruiters on LinkedIn. You can use the search to look for Amazon recruiters relating to the area you’re applying for.
Being contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn may speed up your interview process, but applying internallyis probably the fastest way to get hired.
A great way to increase your chances of getting selected at Amazon is to try to get a referral. Always try to get a referral before applying, because afterward, they won’t work.
How Long to Hear Back From Google Job Application?
It may take anywhere from one week up to 3 months before you hear anything from Google about your job application, or it may be never. Your best bet of landing a Google job is to have a buddy refer you.
Google is known to be extremely slow in the application process, but Google also receives over several million applicants per year. Even though they have a filtering process in place, they still receive more applications than HR can read through.
Apply for competition and try to show off your skills
Periodically updating your LinkedIn profile and making it clear you’re open to opportunities can attract recruiters. This not only increases visibility but often results in more tailored job offers.
Check out this video to learn more about Google hiring process:
How Long to Hear Back From Facebook Application?
Whether applying for an internship or a full-time position at Facebook, it will take about 2 to 4 weeks to hear back after your application.
However, it also depends on the position you’re applying for. You’ll likely get an earlier response if it’s an entry-level position, than a higher one, but this is true for any company.
Check out this video about a personal experience on landing a $500K job at Facebook:
How Long to Hear Back From Microsoft Application?
Similar to other giant tech companies, Microsoft can take anywhere from 1 week to 3 months to get back to you, regardless of whether you had a referral or not. It also depends on the role you’re applying for at Microsoft.
It takes this long due to the huge amounts of applicants they get constantly, but if you haven’t got a rejection from them, then your application is probably still in the process of being reviewed.
How Long to Hear Back From Deloitte After Application?
It takes about 1 to 3 weeks to hear back from Deloitte after an application. After that, you may be interviewed by several people.
Deloitte is known for its professionalism and its interview process is usually fast and timely.
How Long to Hear Back From Disney Job Application?
For Disney though, it will take anywhere from 1 to 3 months for your application to be reviewed.
Disney is a huge company, so it’s expected to wait this long to get any reply to your application. It will also depend on the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for an animator, expect several months to hear back.
But you can always reach out to a recruiter and ask. Regardless of the size of the company, unless they specifically tell you not to call or give you a specific timeline, then you may want to reach out to your recruiter after about two weeks.
How Long to Hear Back From Government Job Application?
If you didn’t hear from them, you should reach out to the agency that posted the job posting.
There is no timeline for the federal job application process. Any application to a government job, such as a Civil Service application, should take about a month to hear back.
How Long to Hear Back From Teaching Job Application?
This will depend on the school you’re applying to, but usually, it takes about one to two weeks to hear back after you apply for a teaching position.
For “title I” schools where many teachers don’t want to work they may reply immediately. On the other hand, affluent suburban schools may take their time to get all the candidates first.
Here are some of the reasons people don’t get an interview for a teacher position:
No cover letter, which allows for the interview team to get to know you. Let them know you’re excited to have this opportunity. Why this school? Why teaching?
Bad references. District may send out electronic reference checks on you, so if they are lower, then you might get rejected.
No experience. (an obvious one)
A lot of hiring happens before the start of the school year, so you may want to aim for that period.
For educators aiming to secure a position, attending teacher job fairs or networking events held by educational institutions can provide direct interactions with school representatives. This face-to-face interaction can often expedite the application review process.
In the end, you just need to keep applying to as many schools as possible to get the response and an interview. You may need to send out 5 to 10 applications before getting that first interview. Sometimes it just takes time. Don’t stop.
Hi, I'm the founder of HowMonk.com! Having been in finance and tech for 10+ years, I was surprised at how hard it can be to find answers to common questions in finance, tech and business in general. Because of this, I decided to create this website to help others!
