How Long Does it Take to Hear Back After an Interview

Waiting to hear back from a recruiter or hiring manager after an interview is a stressful experience. Even with a clear plan of next steps, the time it takes to hear back from the employer varies–and there’s no specific rule or timeline that everyone is required to follow. So what can you do while you wait? And how long is typical to wait until you hear if you’ve landed the job or if you need to keep looking? Read on to find out. 

How long after a job interview does it take to hear back? 

The time that most candidates wait to hear back after an interview varies. On average, most companies get in touch with candidates 24 days after their interview. But this can vary by industry. Government jobs tend to take longer at 38 days while open positions in the manufacturing and electronics industry only take 16 days. Less than 4% of applicants see a response within 1 day and only 37% see feedback within a week. 

Why does the time vary on hearing back after an interview? 

There are many factors that impact how long it can take to hear back after an interview. These reasons include: 

The company is still interviewing candidates. 

For most positions, 3 candidates make it to the final interview stage, but that number varies between 2 - 10 depending on the type of job and the industry. With this insight, it’s very likely that if you haven’t heard back from the recruiter or hiring manager after your job interview, it could be that they are still interviewing candidates. Matching a candidate’s schedule to the internal team that needs to meet and interview them takes time—increasing the amount of time you may have to wait after your interview. 

The team is making a decision about which candidates will make the final round of interviews.

Data suggests that 40% of candidates are required to go through at least 2 interviews. If the company policy is to bring in candidates for multiple rounds of interviews, this can impact how long you may wait to hear back from the employer. And if the team is struggling to make a decision based on the first round of candidates, the time can increase even more. 

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The company is working on an offer for you and it’s taking some time. 

The best case scenario for any candidate is that the time it takes to hear back after the interview is spent putting together an offer. In this situation, you may have to wait for finance, HR, and the hiring manager to make key decisions—and compromises—on your salary, bonus, benefits, and other offer details. 

‍The company is checking in with your references. 

Another best case scenario for candidates is additional waiting time when the company is checking in with your references. This can add on a few extra days or even weeks if the recruiter or hiring manager is playing phone tag with one of your references. 

‍The company doesn’t follow a fast hiring schedule. 

The culture of the business can often impact how quickly a recruiter or hiring manager reaches out to you after an interview. If the culture is to take as much time as needed, interview as many candidates as possible, and spend more time reviewing each candidate internally, you may be in for a long wait. This is especially true if the position is new and you’re not backfilling for someone who has left a workload that can’t move forward without a new hire.

The team hasn’t had time to meet and discuss how your interview went. 

Oftentimes, the main reason you haven’t heard back after an interview is simply that the team hasn’t had time to meet and discuss the details of your interview. Many open positions require multiple rounds of interviews and multiple interviews within those rounds—meeting with key leaders and team members. In these scenarios, it can be difficult to get everyone together to discuss the pros and cons of each candidate—delaying the final decision and the call back to you. 

The company’s priorities have changed and hiring isn’t a main focus. 

While hiring is sometimes a key priority for businesses, getting new employees onboarded as quickly as possible to meet specific needs for the org, it can just as easily fall to the wayside when other priorities arise. This can create an even longer wait for you and other candidates if the internal focus has shifted from getting a new hire to finishing fire drill projects with the existing team members.

‍The team is out on vacation or the company is closed for a few days. 

If your interview lands around a national holiday or a typical time for company closures (e.g. the 4th of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving), you may find yourself waiting an extra week to hear back about your interview. And if your interview isn’t near a holiday, the key decision makers may be out on vacation or at a work event—adding even more time to your wait. 

The company has a freeze on hiring new employees. 

While hiring can seem slow for many companies, it can grind to a halt when internal priorities change. In some scenarios, a hiring freeze will derail your candidate experience. Consider the economic situation and any clues you may find with public companies when their stock jumps up or down. 

The company is waiting to hear back from their first choice candidate. 

It’s possible that it’s taking the potential employer additional time to get back to you because they’re checking in with their first choice candidate. While this scenario might not seem positive, it can mean that you’re still in the running for the open position. The first choice may have several offers on the table, they could have accepted another position already, or perhaps their salary requirements aren’t aligned with the company’s compensation philosophy and options for the role. In all of these scenarios, the next call for the job could be coming to you—making the wait worth the extra time. 

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What should you do while you wait to hear back after an interview?

If you find yourself waiting to hear back from a potential employer after an interview, use your time wisely. Consider the following best practices: 

Send a follow-up email.

Give yourself another opportunity to make a good impression by sending a follow-up email after your interview. Send the message within 24 - 48 hours and always thank the team for their time, restate your interest in the job, and reiterate any next steps that were shared with you in the interview. 

Do not give notice at your job. 

A good job interview can sometimes lead to a hiring manager or recruiter telling you that you’re the first choice for the role during the actual interview. But without a job offer, you shouldn’t give notice at your current job. Things can change quickly after an interview and you should wait until you have a signed job offer before you resign. 

Keep applying to other jobs and interviewing for other roles. 

An aced interview might lead you to put off your job search—setting aside other interesting roles or to decline other interviews. But now is not the time to rest on your laurels. Instead, use this time to continue your search and keep perfecting your interviewing skills.

Check in with your references.

While you’re waiting to hear back after the interview, it’s a good time to check in with your references. Whether you gave your reference list to the recruiter before or during the interview, you can use this time to see if your references have been contacted and how those conversations went. 

Keep learning about the potential employer. 

Use this time to keep researching your potential employer. Stay up-to-date with their social media accounts, LinkedIn posts, and any press releases. If you’re called in for another round of interviews, this information could help you have a more informed conversation with the hiring manager and show that you’re interested in the business. 

Check in with the people you know at the company.

If you know anyone at the company—maybe an old colleague or a friend—and they’ve referred you to the open position, now is a good time to check in with them. Ask if they’re heard how the interview went and if there’s any news about the role. They may know if it’s been offered to someone else, if the company has a hiring freeze, or if something has shifted internally that might change the focus away from hiring.

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How long should you wait to follow up after an interview?

The wait after an interview can feel excruciating. And while you may feel your interview went well, it can be hard to know exactly how often you can follow up to see if you’ve landed the job. Best practice is to send a follow-up email within 24 - 48 hours of the interview. Then, if you don’t hear back from the recruiter or hiring manager within 2 weeks, an additional email is appropriate. If you don’t hear back after the second attempt, it’s best to let the recruiter reach out to you—don’t send a third email.

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For help writing your follow-up email, check out this post. 

Need more resources? Check out these links: 

7 signs you will get the job after an interview

Should you always negotiate salary? 

18 expert tips on salary negotiation 

‍10 tips to write a salary negotiation email

How to respond when a recruiter asks: “What’s your salary expectation?”

What to do before you accept a new job offer

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