How to Write a Follow-Up Email After Submitting Your Resume

Before you follow up: can you, and to whom?

A follow-up only works if it reaches a person who can act on it. Before writing anything, check which of these applies to your application:

• You applied through a large company's careers portal with no named contact. There is often nobody to follow up with. You can look for the recruiter on LinkedIn (search the company name plus "talent acquisition" and the city), but a short, polite message is the most you should send.
• You applied by email or the posting named a person. Reply to your own sent email so the original application and attachment sit in the same thread. This is the easiest case.
• You applied through Naukri, LinkedIn Easy Apply or a similar job board. The recruiter may see hundreds of applications through the board's dashboard. If the posting lists a recruiter's name, a LinkedIn message is reasonable; otherwise, applying to more roles is usually a better use of the time.
• The posting says "no calls or emails, please". Respect it. Following up anyway tells the employer you do not read instructions.
• Campus placement. Follow your placement cell's rules. Most ask students not to contact recruiters directly during a drive; ask the placement coordinator for an update instead.

Write to the recruiter or HR contact first. Writing to a senior manager you have never met, over the recruiter's head, can annoy both of them. The exception is a small company where the founder or team lead posted the job personally.

How long to wait

If the posting gives a closing date or a timeline ("we will contact shortlisted candidates within two weeks"), wait until that has passed. If it gives nothing, these are reasonable defaults:

Send it on a working day morning. A message that arrives at 11 pm on a Saturday is not a problem in itself, but it sits under Monday's pile. Most email apps let you schedule a message to go out at 9:30 am on a weekday.

Subject lines that say what the email is

The subject line has to tell a busy recruiter, without opening the email, which application it is about. Include the role, your name and, if there is one, the job ID.

• Avoid "Urgent" or "Request for status" in capitals. Nothing about your application is urgent to the reader.
• Avoid vague subjects such as "Job application" or "Resume"; a recruiter handling several openings cannot tell which one you mean.

Sample: first follow-up after applying

The first follow-up has three jobs: remind them who you are, add one reason to look at your application, and ask a simple question. Keep it under 120 words.

• The date you applied helps the recruiter find your application.
• One new fact gives the email a reason to exist beyond "any update?". It can be a finished project, a certification you have just received, or a sentence connecting your experience to something in the posting. If you have nothing new, skip this paragraph rather than inventing something.
• A specific question ("when is shortlisting expected to finish?") is easier to answer than "any update?" and often gets a one-line reply.
• The attachment saves them searching. If they may upload it into their hiring software, send a version whose text can be selected and copied; in our resume builder that is the "Text PDF (ATS)" option, not the design-exact image PDF.

Sample: second follow-up after no reply

If the first follow-up gets no answer, send one more, shorter one, then stop. The second email should make it easy to reply with a simple yes or no, and should close the loop politely.

Do not express disappointment or point out that you have not had a reply ("I have still not heard back despite my earlier email"). The recruiter knows. A neutral tone leaves room for them to come back to you later, which does happen when the first-choice candidate declines.

Sample: following up after a referral

A referral changes who you follow up with. Ask your referrer first; they can often check the internal status in a minute. Only write to the recruiter if your referrer cannot help or suggests it.

Mentioning the referrer in the subject line matters because many companies track referrals separately. Do not overstate the relationship: "referred by" is accurate; "a close friend of" is not something the recruiter needs.

When to stop, and mistakes to avoid

Two follow-ups per application is the limit. After the second, treat silence as a no, keep the contact details in case a similar role opens, and spend your time on new applications. Following up a third or fourth time rarely changes the outcome and can turn a neutral impression into a negative one.

• Calling repeatedly. Unless the posting invites calls, email or a LinkedIn message is easier for the recruiter to deal with at a time that suits them.
• Copying several people at once. CC-ing the recruiter, the hiring manager and the HR head on one email looks like pressure.
• Asking about salary in a follow-up. Salary belongs in the recruiter conversation or after an offer, not in an email asking whether your application was seen.
• Messaging on WhatsApp without permission. Many Indian recruiters do use WhatsApp, but only message a number they gave you for that purpose.
• Re-sending a different resume. If you have improved it, say so briefly; otherwise send the same file so their records match.

Key takeaways

• Check whether there is a person to follow up with; portal-only and "no calls" applications usually do not need one.
• Wait about a week, or until any stated timeline has passed, before the first follow-up.
• Reply in the original thread, with the role, your name and the job ID visible in the subject.
• Give one new reason to look at your application and ask a specific, easy-to-answer question.
• Send at most two follow-ups, then move on without complaint.