How long should it generally be for a reply?

carzony

I have applied for many jobs this week and last week. I applied through email with a cover letter and CV. I have not even got any confirmation that the organisations received my information,

How long should a reply take?

OU812

Some reply, some don't. It's ****ty because they don't even have to mail anything out to you & pay for a stamp, but they still don't acknowledge receipt or progress.

wally1990

Totally depends on the company

Some are automatic responses
Some don't respond
Some can take 1-2 weeks

Is recommend apply to recruitment agencies. Give them your cv and they will look for multiple jobs for you and it's in their interest you get the interviews and jobs because they get commission a lot of the time

Hit up recruitment agencies and best of luck

GalwayGrrrrrl

If there was a closing date on the Job advert you would not normally get a reply until that date has passed (and sometimes not at all). Good on you for putting in lots of applications- keep at it and join some agencies too. Linked in can also be helpful in some industries.

carzony

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

If there was a closing date on the Job advert you would not normally get a reply until that date has passed (and sometimes not at all). Good on you for putting in lots of applications- keep at it and join some agencies too. Linked in can also be helpful in some industries.

I applied for a job I know i'm over qualified for and still nothing from them. I'll start chasing the firms up with phone calls come Monday..

carzony

Mr.S wrote: »

If you are over qualified then they probably won't progress with the application?

Every organisation is different.

Some will post a job, wait until the closing day, which is usually 3-4 weeks and then go through all CVs.

Some will post a job, and go through CVs as they come in, and progress applicants on a rolling basis.

Depending on how they are set up, chances are they will not send out a confirmation of receipt. Unless you apply through a site (either theirs or external) where you would then get a automatic reply.

IMO a week is nothing, I would wait at least 2 weeks before contacting HR / the employer with a general email asking if they have received the application etc.

I'd be cautious about cold calling them and asking them on the spot, if they aren't contacting you, it's for a reason.

Best thing to do is install a email tracker extension (if you use gmail) which will tell you when an email has been opened. Then you know for sure they received it

In my experience, if you aren't applying through Linkedin or a website, then you won't get a reply (or confirmation) unless your being called for an interview or further info. But really, no reply = you aren't being progressed.

One particular organisation is always looking for staff, even says so on the website.

I'll be patient and see what happens. I'm a little desperate atm which is not a good thing either

CruelCoin

carzony wrote: »

I applied for a job I know i'm over qualified for and still nothing from them. I'll start chasing the firms up with phone calls come Monday..

This comes across as pushy, and most managers would look down on that.

I wouldn't do that. Just keep applying.

BreadnBuddha

CruelCoin wrote: »

This comes across as pushy, and most managers would look down on that.

I wouldn't do that. Just keep applying.

It comes across as pushy? I don't know where you get that idea from but you are quite mistaken.

If the OP is polite and professional then there is no reason not to follow up with a phonecall to confirm receipt of the correspondence and to enquire as to when a reply could be expected, unless specifically instructed not to do so in the advertisement/submission.

There are a wide range of positions where making a call to check things are progressing, politely and professionally, will actually help the applicant. Examples would include sales, customer care, administration roles etc. Basically any position where follow-up is part of the role. I've shortlisted people in the past for that exact reason.

Guy:Incognito

OU812 wrote: »

Some reply, some don't. It's ****ty because they don't even have to mail anything out to you & pay for a stamp, but they still don't acknowledge receipt or progress.

OT but whatever about when you just apply for jobs and hear nothing, places not contacting you after interviews is fairly ignorant imo. I took time off work for 2 interviews about 3 weeks ago (one only rang me the day before so had to make an excuse to be late for work) and heard nothing from either. One re advertised the job last week and the other I heard nothing from (it's a job that was to be filled fairly quickly so I'd be 99% sure its not just a delay in deciding).

carzony

Still hard to get a job it seems. No reply from even 1 of the places I emailed. I even attached a very personal cover letter and tailored it to the different places I was contacting..

Tipperary Fairy

OU812 wrote: »

Some reply, some don't. It's ****ty because they don't even have to mail anything out to you & pay for a stamp, but they still don't acknowledge receipt or progress.

It might feel ****ty but have you any idea how long it takes to email like 100 people to say thanks? Things are getting better, but during the recession you would have 100's of applications for every job going, it's just not feasible, unless you have a dedicated application email address and an automated email set up, which many companies just wouldn't have.

OU812

Tipperary Fairy wrote: »

It might feel ****ty but have you any idea how long it takes to email like 100 people to say thanks? Things are getting better, but during the recession you would have 100's of applications for every job going, it's just not feasible, unless you have a dedicated application email address and an automated email set up, which many companies just wouldn't have.

Extremely easy to do. I used to make a point of doing it myself when I was hiring people.

As applications come in, their details (first name, last name, email address) go into a spreadsheet. From this create a mail merge to acknowledge receipt of application.

As you progress, divide the immediate No crowd from the yes crowd & do another mail merge to inform them.

Mail merge the yes crowd & start arranging interviews & when you decide & the candidate accepts your offer, mail merge the rest to let them know.

Very simple, very quick. Absolutely no reason not to do it.

Large companies would use a candidate manager & that's even easier to do it with, there's no manual input.

Tipperary Fairy

OU812 wrote: »

Extremely easy to do. I used to make a point of doing it myself when I was hiring people.

As applications come in, their details (first name, last name, email address) go into a spreadsheet. From this create a mail merge to acknowledge receipt of application.

As you progress, divide the immediate No crowd from the yes crowd & do another mail merge to inform them.

Mail merge the yes crowd & start arranging interviews & when you decide & the candidate accepts your offer, mail merge the rest to let them know.

Very simple, very quick. Absolutely no reason not to do it.

Large companies would use a candidate manager & that's even easier to do it with, there's no manual input.

It may just be seconds per person but that a few hundred times, or whatever, adds up. Doing it as manually as you described would take valuable time out of the day.
There's a reason people don't do it.

OU812

Not at all, a simple script can do it

Every couple minutes/hour/day whatever it would pull the senders details from mail received. Requires a couple of minutes configuration at the start and then runs automatically.

It's so simple, it's just bad practice for companies not doing it.

LollipopJimmy

Unfortunately it can be quite difficult to reply to every applicant. I work in HR/Recruitment and if I was to reply to every single applicant it would take up my entire day.
This comes from people applying to every single job they see which happens a lot. Make sure your cover letter and CV are perfect, no errors and laid out correctly and keep your head up, remember it only takes one reply!

Mrs OBumble

OU812 wrote: »

Mail merge the yes crowd & start arranging interviews & when you decide & the candidate accepts your offer, mail merge the rest to let them know.

Very simple, very quick. Absolutely no reason not to do it.

Mail merge? As in with paper and letters and stamps? Even if you have a letter folding machine and linked to automatic franking (many companies don't), it would still be a considerable time-sink, as well as cost in letterhead and postage.

Tipperary Fairy

OU812 wrote: »

Not at all, a simple script can do it

Every couple minutes/hour/day whatever it would pull the senders details from mail received. Requires a couple of minutes configuration at the start and then runs automatically.

It's so simple, it's just bad practice for companies not doing it.

I know it's quite easy to set up if you know what you're doing but companies mostly don't and so it would rely on the caveman like spreadsheet method to send responses out.

And what do companies care if they slightly irk a load of non employees? They don't, hence most don't bother

Peter the Recruiter

A couple of points....

1) Firstly make sure you are in some way qualified for the job you are applying for, if you need more information pick up the phone and call the employer to get more information.

2) If you are applying to jobs you are over qualified for and only using an email application you won't be successful. If you think you may be over qualified reach out to the employer and talk to them about what you can bring to the company. Most companies won't hire someone who is over qualified as they will expect them to leave in the near future for a better job

3) Tailor your cv to match the job spec's you are applying for & use the cover letter to explain why you are applying for the role and what you can bring to the table.

4) Follow up is key!! Absolutely pick up the phone and engage with the recruiter/hiring manager. At the very least make sure they received the application and ask questions about the hiring process. If there is a closing date (rarely adhered to) wait until after the closing date to see if you will b bought to the next stage. Finding good people is incredibly difficult at the moment so no one will discount you just for making a follow up call.

5) If you are told that you have been unsuccessful ask for feedback and use what you are being told for future applications.

Hope that helps, best of look with the job hunting!

thesimpsons

even if applying for an advertised post, there are many things that can delay or postpone the filling of the position in the company. While its top of your agenda to get the job, filling the job might have been a priority at the stage they advertised, but things happen and priorities change. If you are applying for non advertised jobs, remember too the company might be inundated with cvs and many companies are so streamlined now in terms of staff, they just don't have someone assigned to handling cv mails/emails. I've been in companies where say the Engineering Mgr might be the person holding up filling the job as its just one of a number of projects they have on their plate and as always, the project shouting the loudest and closest to the deadline, gets the most attention. Lastly, its surprising the amount of cvs that come in with vital details missing - addresses, phone numbers or email details. get your cv perfect - have someone check it.

carzony

Just to follow up,

I got a call back from the one company I really wanted to work for Took a few weeks, My phone was off today but the recruiter even left me a message to get back to him when I can.

Must be interview time so

I was just about to give up.........