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Recently, I've begun commencing on my job search via a job portal. The job portal works in a way such that the status of your job application with any company to which you've applied to is communicated via that portal as employer go through your application.

For some roles, I was deemed "unsuitable" which is a clear rejection. For others, my profile was viewed but there was no rejection yet.

While the most efficient way is to politely ring up the company to follow up, this is not always possible for various reasons.

How should I interpret the fact that my job application has been viewed but no rejection yet made? Am I still in the running?

freshgrad
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    When did you submit your application? The fact that it shows as "viewed" is just a confirmation that they received it, nothing more. – Brandin Jan 13 '18 at 10:57
  • I would also not just use the portal - the sort of employers that use these "portals" are maybe not the best ones, try applying via several different routes – Neuromancer Jan 13 '18 at 13:40

3 Answers3

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To optimize your effort, I suggest you take the no response as a lack of interest on your profile and move on.

If you really want to show interest in the company/position, give a call before applying and ask some questions about the role. In this way when they see your CV they will already have you in their mind, and you will be "oh, this is that candidate who called me...".

L.Dutch
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  • Thank you. I am the poster of this OP. This is a sector (defence) that I've always wanted a career in and the JD happens to appeal to me very much. Further, I've quoted my salary at half that of the minimum that they're offering because of my highest interest for this role. Would your stance changed had the recruiter viewed my application twice? – Physkid Jan 13 '18 at 09:46
  • @Physkid, based on my experience, if they are interested in you they call or contact you as quick as possible, at least with something along the line of "thank you for your application, I find it really interesting. Since I am quite busy right now, I will come back to you soon". Even if they were interested but didn't find the time to call, would you really like to work for somebody like this? – L.Dutch Jan 13 '18 at 09:52
  • I have no strong opinion on this. The person who viewed my application may just be someone from the talent acquisition team or the HR director. In any case, they won't be the person whom I would be working in close proximity with on a regularly basis. The role is for someone with three years experiences with a salary ballpark of 6,000 - 8000 USD per month. Due to a lack of 3 years experiences, I offered a lower salary to strengthen my application since the the JD and industry fits my preference. – Physkid Jan 13 '18 at 09:57
  • @Physkid, giving a call takes 5 minutes. If you want to give it a try, be my guest. As HorusKol says in his answer, if you are really interested in the position, give them a call. In the worst case you have just wasted 5 minutes and some cents. – L.Dutch Jan 13 '18 at 10:14
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    @Physkid "I've quoted my salary at half that of the minimum" - don't do that - Is it a good idea to ask for a significantly lower salary than the median to increase the chances of an offer? Also, don't discuss salary until you're far into the interviewing stage, certainly don't mention it at the application (if avoidable). – Bernhard Barker Jan 13 '18 at 10:14
  • @L.Dutch Thank you. I'll do that. Despite quoting the figure in USD, the job is not located in the US. At this time of the year, hiring managers and companies are still in a slum due to the policy of leave clearance. – Physkid Jan 13 '18 at 10:17
  • @Dukeling The case study in the link is different to my situation. I have no 3 years experiences for which the role is asking for; I am a fresh graduate. It is also noteworthy to mention that this salary expectation is a necessary input for my profile on that job portal. I quoted a lower salary because
    1. Lack of 3 years experience + lack of high -level proficiency in the technical skills require
    2. Because I love the defence sector
    3. Love the JD
     – Physkid Jan 13 '18 at 10:20
  • @physkid if you don't have the required job experience, it's a very safe bet you won't be getting the job. If the company has a graduate/intern program - find out how to get on that – HorusKol Jan 13 '18 at 19:03
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You may or may not be in the running - not everyone who uses these portals use them in the same way, and they may not be marking rejections like other people have.

If you are really interested in the position, give them a call. If not, don't bother unless they contact you.

Either way, don't stop looking for other jobs until you start an actual job.

HorusKol
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  • While calling them might show that you're particularly interested in the position, some (if not most) hiring managers may disapprove of needing to explain why they haven't responded yet, to the point that you get removed from consideration. – Bernhard Barker Jan 13 '18 at 08:54
  • @dukeling others would be neutral or even positive towards the call - like all other things in job seeking, you just have to take a chance. – HorusKol Jan 13 '18 at 08:56
  • @HorusKol I will ring them up. – Physkid Jan 13 '18 at 09:47
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There is no way to interpret how the company is using the system. I have experience within my own company different styles.

Some HR specialist will quickly review any application and reject any that are below a standard immediately. Then they pass on all the rest to the hiring team once the time period the posting must remain open has ended. So 25% are rejected in less than 24 hours, but no progress is noted for two weeks, until the team can go through all the ones not rejected. Then many are quickly rejected and half the survivors are called in for interviews, but those that aren't called in are not rejected until the hiring team knows they have interviewed enough good candidates. It is possible to have almost zero chance of getting the job, but not be officially rejected for weeks.

In other cases they will perform a daily review. and only send the top ten to the hiring team. So you could survive for a few days, but eventually fall out of the top ten if there is a late wave of applicants.

You may also find out that it is hard to get the contact information for the person making the decision. They may be hundreds of miles away from the hiring team. So finding somebody to ask can be very hard. If you do know somebody in the company, and they can recommend you, they may have better luck getting a more accurate status.

The best advice is to apply to multiple places at the same time. Also don't get too attached to one company, unless you already have a good job, and are just looking to change jobs if a great opportunity if offered.

mhoran_psprep
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