Application Etiquette from Sales & Marketing Management briefly provides some stats about when applicants should follow up after submitting their resume.
How long should a job applicant wait to follow up with the hiring manager after submitting a resume?
* 37 percent said one week or less
* 45 percent said one to two weeks
* 9 percent said two to three weeks
* 3 percent said three weeks or more
* 5 percent said don’t follow up at all
* 1 percent said they didn’t know
What’s the best way to follow up? E-mail is the preferred follow up method, followed by telephone, and a handwritten note.
We see hiring through a sales perspective and have some distinct thoughts about this topic. First off, our preference is to see salespeople pick up the telephone and call to respond to an employment ad. This is good sales behavior. It shows that they are confident in using the phone and, hopefully, are calling to qualify the position.
Second, I am shocked that 2 weeks is the preferred amount of time to wait before following up. I would say that 1 week is long enough. Again, we like to see good sales behavior in their follow up. Are they timely? Is their follow up professional? How do they approach the reason for their call or email? These are all valuable questions to address when searching for strong salespeople.