A Reader Writers:
Right after graduation, I was aiming to have a job lined up with an offer in hand, but I ended up mistiming everything. I started a month before graduation by sending out resumes to my dream companies where I probably sent out a total of 50, but in the course of a month I only heard back from 10- the rest, NO RESPONSE! I work in tech so I am sure these companies get tons of applications, but why does it take so long? Should I try to call a recruiter and see why the long wait is, or just ‘wait’ it out? I got bills to pay so yeah. – Peter
Hey Peter,
According to Glassdoor, it can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks or 14 days to hear back from a company, however, based on personal experience, I have had times where recruiters reach out a few months after I submitted my application. Coincidentally enough, one was Amazon, a tech company, so your situation is not uncommon. I usually recommend people to start interviewing 6 months before graduation as the process usually takes a lot longer than you may think. As someone who also hires people, I can tell you that the time to get back to the applicant can range for several reasons:
- They may like your resume, but they want to interview other candidates first so they don’t get your hopes up on setting up an interview.
- They received so many resumes that they haven’t gotten to yours yet. I know we do this, as we receive resumes, we set up interviews and if we have too many interviews set up, we wait on the resumes.
- They aren’t ready to interview yet.
Hence, I suggest planning for the worst case scenario and expect the recruitment process to take a few months, especially if the position is more senior. As larger companies can have more applicants, the interview time can take longer. However, I also know that larger companies can also have more recruiters who can really expedite the process.
On another note, you hypothesized that tech companies get a lot of applicants…that is 100% correct. During an interview when I was a software engineer, I got ‘buddy buddy’ with the recruiter and asked them, ‘how many applicants did you get for this role?’ She mentioned, ‘500’ and the company only had 50 employees! A few threads on Quora even state that some companies can receive up to 75,000 applicants per job post so yes, your hunch about tech companies getting a lot of applicants is correct!
Now, back to your original question, should you call the recruiter? Most definitely, a no is better than a maybe. If you have their email or phone, sure, but I wouldn’t do that with a hiring manager. A recruiters’ sole job is to find the right candidates for a job. However, I wouldn’t try calling the company if you don’t know the person’s number. A simple email like:
‘Hey {recruiter name},
I was curious on how the hiring process was going for {x} position. I submitted a resume around {time ago} so I just wanted to touch base.
Best,
-Peter.
Something like that, neutral, friendly but not needy.
Keep up searching! Interviewing at companies can feel like a full time job. If you still need help, I suggest you check out the 2 Hour Job Search. The book covers some unique strategies on getting into larger companies. With its unique approach I was able to get some interviews at places like Under Armour and TaskRabbit so it may be worth a look!
I hope that helps, please write in when you land your dream job or need more help!
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