How to Follow Up on a Job Application: 2 Proven Templates (Email and Phone)

You submitted your application. A week has passed. Nothing. The question most candidates have at this point is not whether to follow up; it is when, how, and what to say without looking desperate or annoying.

This post covers exactly that: how to follow up on a job application by email and by phone, with copy-ready templates for both, timing guidance by company type, and what to do when the application portal just says “under review” and nothing else.

This post covers how to follow up before you have spoken to anyone at the company. If you have already had an interview and are waiting to hear back, the guide to following up after an interview covers that stage specifically.

How to Follow Up on a Job Application: When to Send It

A practical rule of thumb is to wait 1-2 weeks before following up. That window gives the hiring team time to process applications before you check in. Following up before it closes risks reaching someone who has not yet reviewed your materials.

That said, the right timing depends on the company.

Large companies and enterprise organizations often have formal review cycles and multiple layers of approval before anyone reaches out to candidates. Two full weeks is a reasonable minimum. Some enterprise hiring processes run on monthly cycles, and a follow-up after one week will reach the recruiter before they have even opened the applicant pool.

Startups and smaller companies move faster and have fewer people involved in hiring decisions. One week is reasonable. If the job posting mentioned an urgent hire, the lower end of the range is appropriate.

If the job posting listed a deadline or timeline, respect it. A posting that says “we will contact candidates the week of May 20” means follow up the week of May 27 if you have not heard. Following up before the stated date reads as either impatient or inattentive.

One other check before you follow up: check the application portal, if there is one. Some ATS platforms send automated status updates. If yours shows “under review,” that means your application has been received and is in the queue. More on that below.

How to Follow Up on a Job Application Email: Template and What to Write

Email is the right default channel for following up on a job application. Unless the job posting specifically lists a phone number for inquiries, or unless you have an inside connection who told you calling is fine, email is less intrusive and easier to respond to on the hiring manager’s own schedule.

Finding who to contact

The best follow-up email addresses a specific person, not “Dear Hiring Manager.” A few places to look:

The job posting itself sometimes lists a recruiter’s name or a hiring contact. The company’s LinkedIn page will feature HR staff and members of the talent acquisition team. The company website sometimes lists an HR or people operations contact under the team or about page.

If you cannot find a specific name after a reasonable search, “Dear Hiring Manager” is acceptable. Do not address it to a random executive you found on LinkedIn who is not involved in the hiring process.

Subject line options

• Following up: [Job Title] application, [Your Name]
• [Job Title] application: following up
• Re: [Job Title] at [Company Name], [Your Name]

Avoid subject lines that are vague or that omit the job title. The hiring manager may be reviewing applications for multiple roles.

What to include in the follow-up email

Keep it short. Four sentences are enough: who you are and what you applied for, when you applied, a brief note on why you are genuinely interested, and a request for a status update. Do not resend your resume unless the email explicitly invites you to do so. Do not restate your full qualifications. The application already did that.

Template 1: Job application follow-up email

The specific reason in the second sentence is the part most candidates skip, and it is what separates a follow-up that reads as genuine from one that reads as mass-sent. It does not have to be long. One phrase is enough.

How to Follow Up on a Job Application by Phone

Phone follow-up on a job application is appropriate in specific circumstances: after an email follow-up got no response, when the job posting listed a phone number for inquiries, or when you have reason to believe phone contact is preferred (small company, trades role, or a role where communication skills are being evaluated from the first interaction).

Phone is not the right first channel for most professional roles. If the application process is online-only and no phone number is listed, email first.

Before you call

Check the job posting again for any instructions not to call. Some listings explicitly state this; ignoring it immediately rules you out. Check for time zones if the company is in a different city or country. Call during business hours, avoid Monday mornings and Friday afternoons, and have your notes in front of you before you dial.

Template 2: Phone follow-up script

Keep the voicemail under 30 seconds. State your name, the role, the date you applied, and your callback number. Nothing else.

When Your Application Status Says “Under Review”

This is the message that causes more unnecessary anxiety than almost anything else in the application process, so it is worth addressing directly.

In many applicant tracking systems, “Under review” usually means your application has been received and has not yet been rejected. It does not always mean a recruiter has read it. Most ATS platforms apply this status automatically upon submission and only update it when a recruiter manually changes it. Depending on the volume of applications and the company’s review process, an application can remain “under review” for several weeks before it is reviewed.

What “under review” does not mean: that you are in consideration, that you are about to hear back, or that you are being compared to other candidates. Not yet.

According to Jobscan’s research on ATS usage, 97.8% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS. At large companies, especially, applications may be processed, filtered, or ranked inside an ATS before a recruiter reviews them. If your application has been sitting at “under review” for more than two weeks, following up by email is appropriate and will not hurt your chances.

Your follow-up email in this scenario is the same template above. The status message does not need to change your follow-up message.

How Many Times Is It Acceptable to Follow Up?

Two times, total, for an application you have not yet interviewed for.

The first follow-up is one to two weeks after submitting. The second follow-up: one to two weeks after the first, if you still have not heard anything.

After two unanswered follow-ups, it is usually best to move on and keep applying elsewhere. This does not mean you definitely did not get the role. It may mean the role was paused, the hiring process slowed down, or the recruiter is managing a high volume of applications. But repeatedly following up on an application that has not responded to two professional attempts will not help and can work against you.

The one exception: if you have a competing offer and the role you are following up on is genuinely your first choice, it is reasonable to send a third email stating that clearly. “I wanted to let you know that I have received an offer from another company and need to make a decision by [date]. I remain very interested in [Company Name] and wanted to check whether there is any update on my application before I respond.” This creates a legitimate reason to contact them again without seeming persistent for its own sake.

What to Do If You Never Hear Back

No response after two follow-up emails means one of a few things: the role was filled before your application was reviewed, the company paused hiring, or your application did not make it past the initial filter.

The last possibility is worth taking seriously. At most large employers, the ATS filters applications based on keyword matches before any human sees them. If your resume is not formatted correctly or does not use the language from the job description, it may never be reviewed. The guide to things to put on a resume covers which sections matter most and how to tailor your language to specific job descriptions.

There is also a broader strategy question worth asking if you are applying frequently and hearing back rarely: Are you visible to employers who are not waiting for applications? Most job postings attract hundreds of candidates. The roles that do not get posted publicly, the ones filled through direct outreach and sourcing, go to candidates who are discoverable in talent platforms before a position is even listed.

According to LinkedIn Talent Solutions, 60% of the global workforce is not looking for a new job but is willing to discuss new opportunities. Employers using AI sourcing platforms reach these candidates directly, which means a complete profile on an AI matching platform gives you access to a pipeline that job boards and applications cannot reach.

Talentprise’s AI job discovery platform surfaces your profile to employers and recruiters globally who are searching for candidates with your skill set. Instead of relying only on applications, you can also make your profile discoverable to employers and recruiters searching for candidates with your skills. It is free to join as a job seeker and takes minutes to set up.

Create your free Talentprise profile today and stop depending entirely on applications you have already sent.

For a complete job search strategy, the job search guide covers the full picture, from building your profile and resume through to negotiating an offer. Once you land an interview from your application, the guide to questions to ask in an interview covers what to ask when you get there.