3 Things You Can Do When You Don't Hear Back From Employers

The biggest pain jobseekers face during the Job Hunt is not hearing back from employers. Our recent National Job Seeker survey showed that over 80% of job seekers have experienced this problem and they absolutely HATE IT!

Putting it in perspective of dating; What’s worse than putting yourself out there, sharing your details in hope you’ll find a good match, and then never hearing back from the person? Nothing, I know.

It totally sucks to be on the ignored end, but are you really doing all that you can to stop employers from ignoring your application?

Here are 3 things that I would recommend doing to stop employers from ignoring your application:

1. Flick them a follow-up email

Send them a quick email to check-in on your application and thank them for considering your application a few days later. Give this a couple of days, employers are likely to be inundated with applications so don’t expect them to have read your application within minutes of sending it through.

This is also a good practice to ensure that your application didn’t go into their spam folder or accidentally deleted.

2. Connect with the Hiring Manager on socials

There’s a high chance that the Hiring Manager is currently active on LinkedIn, a networking platform for job candidates and industry professionals. Often, the hiring manager’s name is mentioned in the job ad but if not, a quick search of ‘HR’ or ‘Hiring Manager’ or ‘Recruitment’ on LinkedIn followed by the ‘Company Name’ of the organisation you applied for will help you find the right person. HR people love being connected with candidates. So don’t be shy, and send them an invite to connect and chat to them in a less formal environment. You can even talk about your application.

3. Stay in touch and be persistent

A friend of mine recently got a job at her dream company, Max Brenner. She was studying at the time and wasn’t urgently looking for work but she was keen on securing one ASAP. She connected with the recruitment head and while the HR manager was flattered and impressed, the company had no openings and the time and was forced to turn her away. She checked in with the HR manager every few months or so and luckily for her, once the position was free, she was first in line to snatch it!

Of course, there are never any guarantees that you’ll be the first to get hired just because you were the most persistent, but determination and resilience goes a long way. If you’ve applied for a role you like and weren’t successful, don’t lose heart. Ask the manager for feedback and how you can improve for next time, stay in touch with them and try again.

In summary, no one likes being ignored, period. While the nature of job hunting tends to swing this way for job seekers, it doesn’t always need to be. There are ways that you can demonstrate to employers that you are superstar and deserve to be acknowledged!

I hope this article helps — feel free to share any other tips you have below 🙂