Follow up call or email for a job

Uncle_moe

Hi,

just wondering if you send in a job application do you follow this up with a call or email to the company if you haven't heard anything in a few days?
Just wondering which is more acceptable and also how long do you wait to do it?
I've worked retail for a couple of years but looking to get back into proper career area of digital marketing/digital media and not sure what the protocol is? Most jobs I've been applying to are internships by the way.

Thanks.

Sarz91

I'd kinda like to know this as well. Just finished an internship and have been applying for full time jobs where I meet all the requirements but no word back yet. As the OP asked, how long do you wait and if you are supposed to contact is calling the company the best option?

seamus

It depends really.

In general if you have sent in an cold application on foot of a job posting (or even just a cold application), and heard zero back, then chances are they've just rejected you outright without even telling you.

If someone has responded and said, "You will hear back in a few days/by X date/next week", then you wait until that date has passed before getting in touch.

If the job posting has a closing date for applications, then chances are they will only respond to you after that date. This is strictly true of public sector jobs, so don't waste your time asking for feedback before the closing date. Give them two weeks from that date.

The method of application is important too. If you use the apply function on a jobs website (or the company's site), you can be sure they've received it. In the absence of any closing date, wait two weeks from your application before asking for feedback.

If you just send it in an email and get no response at all, not even an automated response, then email them a week later under the pretence that you're concerned they didn't receive your CV. If you get any kind of automated response, then you know they've received your CV, so give them two weeks.

Although email is instant, a lot of places don't go through CVs as soon as they receive them. They may let them fall into an inbox and only go through them once a day or once a week. If you send a CV some evening and then follow it up with a call or email the next day, you've instantly shown that you're an impatient pain in the ass and talked yourself out of the running.
IMO, of course. I'm sure some people will say that following up a CV with a call less than 24 hours later is seen as proactive and confident.

Barcafan11

seamus wrote: »

It depends really.

In general if you have sent in an cold application on foot of a job posting (or even just a cold application), and heard zero back, then chances are they've just rejected you outright without even telling you.

If someone has responded and said, "You will hear back in a few days/by X date/next week", then you wait until that date has passed before getting in touch.

If the job posting has a closing date for applications, then chances are they will only respond to you after that date. This is strictly true of public sector jobs, so don't waste your time asking for feedback before the closing date. Give them two weeks from that date.

The method of application is important too. If you use the apply function on a jobs website (or the company's site), you can be sure they've received it. In the absence of any closing date, wait two weeks from your application before asking for feedback.

If you just send it in an email and get no response at all, not even an automated response, then email them a week later under the pretence that you're concerned they didn't receive your CV. If you get any kind of automated response, then you know they've received your CV, so give them two weeks.

Although email is instant, a lot of places don't go through CVs as soon as they receive them. They may let them fall into an inbox and only go through them once a day or once a week. If you send a CV some evening and then follow it up with a call or email the next day, you've instantly shown that you're an impatient pain in the ass and talked yourself out of the running.
IMO, of course. I'm sure some people will say that following up a CV with a call less than 24 hours later is seen as proactive and confident.

I wouldn't expect anything more from employers these days than a "don't call us, we'll call you" response. Only the jobs where I went for an interview actually called me back to let me know. One company even sent me a hand written, yes hand written letter to let me know that I didn't get the job. I never called to follow up on an application though, as a lot of companies don't like to tie up staff for long periods dealing with stuff like this

seamus

FWIW, there was a discussion on this topic on Matt Cooper on Today FM yesterday (25th), you should be able to get it on podcast. It's about an hour from the end.
Little bit of outdated advice in it, but mostly sound. E.g. "Always wear a suit". Good advice if you're ever unsure, but I got my current job doing the interviews in a pair of jeans and a hoodie

JustAThought

seamus wrote: »

FWIW, there was a discussion on this topic on Matt Cooper on Today FM yesterday (25th), you should be able to get it on podcast. It's about an hour from the end.
Little bit of outdated advice in it, but mostly sound. E.g. "Always wear a suit". Good advice if you're ever unsure, but I got my current job doing the interviews in a pair of jeans and a hoodie

Congrats but I seriously wouldn't recommend that as best practise . The sad state is that the majority of companies simply don't have the manners to respond and it's one in twenty that will even have an automated RSVP email set up to adknowledge your application. By all means email after a week or 10 days but what do you do when they ignore that too - its hard to follow up on two or three request emails - you have become a stalker. Paid or unpaid .

seamus

JustAThought wrote: »

Congrats but I seriously wouldn't recommend that as best practise.

God no. The company told me not to bother wearing a suit. So I didnt.

The sad state is that the majority of companies simply don't have the manners to respond and it's one in twenty that will even have an automated RSVP email set up to adknowledge your application. By all means email after a week or 10 days but what do you do when they ignore that too - its hard to follow up on two or three request emails - you have become a stalker. Paid or unpaid .

Agreed, you do need to know when to quit. If a company twice refuses to acknowledge you even contacted them, then you're better off not working for them. Once is an oversight, twice is deliberate.
That can be hard to see when you're job hunting though.

Uncle_moe

sorry for the late reply but thanks a mil for the responses. I think I'll leave it about a week before making a follow up call, depending on the company of course. You can sometimes judge from the ad how serious the company is about hiring and whether or not they have strict policies about call backs and interviews etc.
I'll play it by ear I guess. Just really annoying lately that i'm not hearing anything.