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When to follow up after submitting a resume
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I saw a job I was interested in and submitted my resume. That was 6 days ago and I haven't heard back from the company where I applied. Is it OK to call the company to find out if I'm a candidate?
This is a common frustration amongst job seekers.
In an ideal world, every company would be required to communicate to every applicant who submits a resume. Even something as simple as an email response that would say, "Thank you for your resume. We are expecting a large response to this job opening and will be sorting through and considering the qualifications of all applicants. If you don't hear from us by xxDATE, you can assume that you did not meet the criteria for this position."
At the very least this type of communication would be a common courteousy, but from a practical stand point, it would eliminate the hundreds of phone calls and follow up emails from applicants wondering where they stand in the hiring process.
For job seekers, there's a few things you should consider early on in the process.
Eighty percent of new hires are the result of references from someone else. When I was a Vice President and hiring for a position, a good 3-5 candidates came from references; associates and connections who understood what I was looking for and knew a job seeker that met the criteria for the position. In other cases, I might interview someone simply as a favor to someone else.
When you see a job you are interested in, research the company to find out if you have any connections that can get you a reference and introduction to the person hiring or other key executives. For example, go to the company's website. Is there anyone on the executive team that you recognize? What about the non profits the company supports? Are any of the executives on non profit boards that you have a connection with? Try to figure out some way - any way - that you can get a friend or associate to drop a good word about your qualifications!
Secondly, research the person hiring for the position. For example, LinkedIn is one of the most accessible ways to research the background of key executives at a particular company. In addition, simple Google searches provides a wealth of information. These executives may have worked at a company in the past where you have a connection such as a former colleague or a client that might put in a good word for you.
If none of this applies, make sure you are following the hiring guidelines before you make a phone call. There may be a resume submissioin deadline - wait for that deadline to pass. Other times, there's a clear instruction - No Phone Calls! Be smart and don't sabatoge your chances because you are impatient. In other cases, I would wait at least a week before you cold call or email the company to find out where you stand in the application process.
Also recognize that many times, particulary now, companies are simply understaffed and are getting slammed with a lot of resumes, so its simply a matter of time and resources to get through the resume process before they communicate with the applicants.
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