You applied for a job ten days ago. The portal says "Application received" and nothing else. You'd like to know if anyone has looked at it, and you don't want to be the candidate who pesters.
The short answer: wait one to two weeks, send one short email to a named person, and if you still hear nothing, send one more about a week later. Then stop and put your energy into the next application.
Should You Follow Up at All?
Yes, in most cases. The best data on this is a 2017 Accountemps survey of more than 300 HR managers at US companies. Asked how long a candidate should wait to follow up after submitting a resume, 0% said candidates shouldn't follow up at all. The answers on timing were:
How long to wait after applying
Share of HR managers
Less than one week
29%
One to two weeks
36%
Two to three weeks
25%
Three weeks or more
10%
The same survey asked about the best way to follow up. Email won clearly at 64%, then a phone call at 21%, in person at 14%, and social media at 1%. Nobody picked a text message.
Two caveats. It's a survey sponsored by a staffing firm, and it's US-only, so treat it as a sensible default rather than a law. And there are times when following up does more harm than good:
The ad says not to. "No calls or emails, please" means exactly that. Respect it and move on.
It's a high-volume role with a fixed process. Graduate schemes, retail and warehouse hiring, and large public-sector campaigns usually run on set dates. The posting or the portal will say when you'll hear. A follow-up won't change the schedule.
There's no person to send it to. Emailing a generic careers inbox rarely reaches a human with any say in the decision.
Why You're Hearing Nothing
Silence after two weeks feels like a rejection. Mostly, it's just slow hiring.
Employ's 2025 Hiring Benchmarks report found an average of 63.5 days between a job being posted and an offer being accepted, and 257.6 applicants per job. At smaller companies the average was 83.5 days. If a recruiter is working through 250 applications for one role, while also running interviews for other roles, ten days of silence is the expected outcome.
That's the case for a follow-up. You're putting your name in front of a busy person a second time, with one specific reason to look.
When to Follow Up: A Simple Timeline
When
What to do
Day 0
Apply. Note the date, the job title, any reference number and the closing date.
Day 7 to 14
First follow-up email, if you've heard nothing.
About a week after the first
Second and final follow-up.
After that
Stop. Keep the job on your list in case they come back to you.
Adjust it for two situations:
The ad has a closing date. Many employers wait until the closing date to review applications, so count your week from that date.
You were told a timeline. If the confirmation email says "we'll be in touch within three weeks", wait three weeks plus two working days before you send anything.
Send it in the morning, in the recipient's time zone, in the middle of their working week. The first morning of the week is usually full of meetings and the last afternoon is when people leave early.
Who to Send It To
A follow-up only works if it reaches someone who has a say. In order of preference:
The person who referred you, if someone did. Follow up through them, never around them. They know who to nudge and how.
The person named in the ad. Some postings name the recruiter or hiring manager. Use them.
The recruiter for the role. Search LinkedIn for "[Company] recruiter" or "[Company] talent acquisition" and look for someone who hires for your function or region. Many recruiters post the jobs they're working on.
The hiring manager. If the role reports to "the Head of Data", that person is often findable on LinkedIn. Contacting them is fine, but keep it shorter than you would with a recruiter, because hiring managers didn't sign up to field candidate emails.
To find an email address, check the company's site and the person's LinkedIn profile. If you can't find one, a LinkedIn message is a reasonable substitute (there's a template below). Don't guess at addresses and send to five variations.
What a Good Follow-Up Email Contains
Keep it under 120 words. It needs four parts:
A subject line they can file. The job title, any reference number, and your name.
One line of context. Which role, and when you applied.
One specific reason to look at your application. A result or skill that matches the top requirement in the ad. This is the line that earns the email its place in their inbox.
One easy question. Usually about the timeline. Make it something they can answer in one sentence.
Then sign off with your name, phone number and a link to your LinkedIn or portfolio. Attach your resume only if you're emailing someone who hasn't seen it, such as a hiring manager when you applied through a portal.
Subject lines that work
Application for Senior Accountant (Ref 4471): Maya Chen
Following up: Product Designer application, Daniel Okafor
Customer Success Manager role: application from Priyanka Rao
Referred by Tom Alvarez: Data Analyst application
6 Follow-Up Email Templates
Fill in the brackets and cut anything that doesn't apply.
Template 1: The first follow-up (one to two weeks after applying)
Subject: Following up: [Job Title] application ([Ref number if any]), [Your name]
Hi [Name],
I applied for the [Job Title] role on [date] and wanted to follow up directly. The ad mentions [top requirement]. In my current role at [Company], I [specific result that matches it, with a number].
I'd be glad to talk whenever suits you. Could you tell me roughly when you expect to start interviews?
Thanks for your time,
[Your name]
[Phone] | [LinkedIn URL]
Template 2: After the closing date has passed
Subject: [Job Title] application, following up after the closing date: [Your name]
Hi [Name],
I applied for the [Job Title] position, which closed on [date]. I'm still very interested and wanted to check where things stand.
One thing worth flagging: [one fact that matches the role, e.g. "I've run the same Workday migration your ad describes, for a 1,200-person company"].
Is there a date you're aiming to contact shortlisted candidates?
Best,
[Your name]
[Phone] | [LinkedIn URL]
Template 3: The second and final follow-up
Send this about a week after the first one, as a reply in the same thread so they have the context.
Subject: Re: Following up: [Job Title] application ([Ref number if any]), [Your name]
Hi [Name],
I'm following up once more on my application for [Job Title]. I know you'll have a lot of applications to get through, so I'll keep it brief. I'm still keen, and since I last wrote I've [one new, specific fact: a result, a finished course, a relevant project]. I'm happy to send anything else that would help, such as [work samples / references / a portfolio link].
If the role has been filled or you've gone in another direction, I'd be grateful for a quick note so I can update my records.
Thanks again,
[Your name]
That last line gives them an easy way to close the loop. Plenty of recruiters will answer a direct, polite question even when they've stopped sending updates.
Hi [Name], I applied for [Job Title] on [date]. [X] years in [field], most recently [short result]. Happy to share more. Thanks, [first name]
If you're already connected, you can use Template 1 as a message instead.
Template 5: Following up through your referrer
If someone referred you, check in with them first. A word from them carries more weight than a cold email from you.
Subject: Thanks again for the referral, quick update
Hi [Name],
Thanks again for passing my name along for the [Job Title] role. I submitted my application on [date] and haven't heard anything yet, which I'm sure is just the timing.
If it's easy for you, would you be able to check whether it reached the hiring team? No problem at all if not.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Template 6: Following up with something new
The strongest reason to follow up is new information: a certification you've just finished, a project that shipped, a portfolio piece that matches the role.
Subject: [Job Title] application, an update: [Your name]
Hi [Name],
I applied for the [Job Title] role on [date] and have an update that seemed worth sharing. I've just [completed the X certification / published Y / launched Z], which ties directly to the [requirement] in your ad.
[Link to it]
I'm still very interested in the role and happy to talk whenever suits you.
Best,
[Your name]
If you'd rather call
Email is the preferred channel for most hiring teams, but if the ad lists a phone number for questions, a short call is fine:
"Hi, this is [Name]. I applied for the [Job Title] role on [date] and wanted to check it reached you and ask when you expect to start interviews. Is now a good time for a quick question?"
Have your one-line pitch ready in case they ask why you're a fit. If you reach voicemail, leave your name, the role and your number once, then follow up by email rather than calling again.
Keep Track of Every Follow-Up
The timeline above sounds simple until you're managing fifteen applications at once. Then the hard part is remembering which ones were sent eight days ago, which closed last Friday, and which recruiter you already emailed twice.
A spreadsheet works if you keep it up to date, but it can't email you on the day a follow-up is due. JobSprout's free job application tracker can. Each job is a card you move from Saved to Applied to Interviewing, and you can set a follow-up date on any of them. On that morning you get an email reminder, and the card shows the follow-up as due. Move the job to Offer or Closed and the reminder is canceled, so a job that's already decided won't prompt you to chase it.
Mistakes That Make a Follow-Up Backfire
Following up within a day or two. The application hasn't been opened yet. You're just adding a second email to the pile.
"Just checking in." An email with no reason to look at you again adds nothing. Always include one specific, relevant fact.
Asking "did you receive my application?" If the portal sent a confirmation, they did. Ask about timing instead.
Sending the same email to five people at the company. They talk to each other, and it reads as spam.
Using personal channels. A personal Instagram account or a personal phone number found online is off limits. Stick to work email and LinkedIn.
A third, fourth and fifth email. Two is the limit for an application. After that you're hurting your chances with this company for future roles, too.
Sounding annoyed. "I applied three weeks ago and have heard nothing" is true, and it will make no one want to reply. Keep the tone warm.
When to Stop and Move On
If two follow-ups go unanswered, close the loop in your own head. The role may be on hold, filled internally, or never have been a real opening to begin with. None of that is about you.
Keep the job on your list as closed rather than deleting it. Companies do sometimes come back months later when a role reopens, and it helps to know exactly what you sent.
If you've already interviewed and the silence comes after that, the rules change. Use our follow-up email after an interview template instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I wait to follow up on a job application?
One to two weeks after applying, or one week after the closing date if the ad lists one. In the Accountemps survey, 65% of HR managers said to follow up within two weeks.
Is it okay to follow up on a job application by email?
Yes, and it's what most hiring teams prefer. In the same survey, 64% of HR managers picked email as the best way to follow up, ahead of a phone call at 21%.
How many times should I follow up on a job application?
Twice at most: one email after a week or two, and one more about a week later. After two unanswered follow-ups, move on.
What if I applied through a job board and don't know who's hiring?
Find the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn and send them a short message. If you can't find a named person, a follow-up probably won't reach anyone useful, so focus on your next application instead.
Should I attach my resume again?
Only if the recipient hasn't seen it, such as a hiring manager when you applied through a portal. For the recruiter who manages the portal, a link to your LinkedIn profile is enough.
Can following up hurt my chances?
A single polite, specific email won't. Repeated emails, repeated calls or an irritated tone can, and they can follow you to the company's future openings too.
