If you recently interviewed for a job that you’re excited about, but have been waiting over a week after the interview and still haven’t heard back, you may be getting concerned about what’s going on.
You might be wondering why the recruiter has gone silent on you, if one week is a normal timeline, and if there’s any action that you should take.
To that end, we connected with a variety of career experts to get their advice and opinions on what it means if it’s been one week after a job interview and you haven’t received a response.
Let’s dive in.
How Long Is Normal to Wait to Hear Back After a Job Interview?
Multiple career experts suggested that about a week or two is a normal timeline to wait to hear back after a job interview. Here is what a couple of the experts had to say about a post interview communication timeline:
“There isn’t a hard and fast rule, good practice as a company would be within a week or two. If it is going to be longer, then it would be a good idea to explain this at the interview. Good reasons may be going on holiday or not completing a round of interviews yet. If a company leaves it too long, you could lose a good candidate to competition, or they may be put off by lack of communication.
A good tip for when you are being interviewed is to include the question at the end when asked if you have any questions. Do you have an indication of when I may hear about if I am successful in progressing to the next stage?”
-Roxanne Massey, Founder, Honest HR
“The average in my experience is around 5-10 days. It can sometimes take longer, but I’d say it’s rare for it to take longer than 2 weeks to hear back from an interview. Normally, if it’s going to take longer than that, the company will either warn candidates in advance or reach out with an update.”
Jon Hill, Chairman & CEO, The Energists
Is It Normal Not to Hear Back From an Interview for a Week?
Most of our career experts agreed that not hearing back from an interview for a week is quite common, and entirely normal. Here is what a couple of them had to say on the topic:
“Absolutely, it’s quite common not to hear back within a week of your interview. Many things could contribute to this, like the number of applicants they’re considering or the hiring manager’s schedule. If they gave you a specific timeframe and it’s come and gone, feel free to check in.”
-Rei Shen, Founder, Success In Depth
“Yes, it is entirely normal not to hear back from an interview for a week or even longer. The hiring process can be complex and companies may want to wrap up interviewing other candidates first. They may also need to loop in other hiring decision makers or find availability of the next interviewer. Job seekers should remain positive and continue their job search efforts rather than dwelling on the waiting period.”
-Athena Kan, CEO, DreamBound
What Should I Do if I Haven’t Heard Back From an Interview After a Week?
Udit Batra, Co-Foudner, Prepfully, suggests the following timeline for following up if you haven’t heard back from an interview after a week:
- After a week — Reach out to the recruiter
- After 2 weeks — Follow up with the recruiter
- After 4 weeks — reach out to the HM on LinkedIn with a polite “just wanted to check in once since I hadn’t heard back yet and was very curious to understand what next steps might look like.”
- Exception scenario: If you receive a competing offer, notify the delaying company instantly. This meaningfully accelerates their time to respond.
Smita Jain, Founder, Empower Yourself, suggests a similar follow up timeline, but with some slight differences:
- Send a polite follow-up email: Write a concise and professional email expressing your gratitude for the opportunity to interview and reiterate your interest in the position. Politely inquire about the status of the hiring process and ask if there is any additional information they may need from you.
- Wait for a response: Give the employer a reasonable amount of time to reply to your follow-up email. Keep in mind that they may still be evaluating other candidates or dealing with internal processes.
- Follow up with a phone call: If you haven’t received a response to your email after a reasonable period, consider making a brief phone call to inquire about the status. Be courteous and professional, and ask if there is any update on the hiring decision.
- Be patient and continue your job search: While waiting for a response, it’s important to continue your job search and explore other opportunities. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and keep pursuing other potential job prospects.
Conclusion
Not hearing back for a week after an interview is perfectly normal and there’s likely nothing to be concerned about.
If the timeline expands much beyond a week, particularly if you’re looking at three or more weeks post interview, that would be an appropriate time to follow up, check in, and see if you can keep moving the process along.
