No Calls Means No Calls. Here’s Why.
So, you’ve come across your dream job, updated your résumé with all of your best skills, wrote a smashing cover letter that will make them want you, and submitted your application with a hope and a wish, and now you’re waiting to hear back to see if you got an interview. That wait is loooooooooong. And then your anxiety creeps in. What if they didn’t see my application? Did I stand out enough? Should I send a quick message to tell them just how excited—and perfect!—I am for the position? Maybe I should just send a quick email to make sure it went through?
But then you look at the job application again and there at the bottom the organization is clear: No phone calls, emails, texts, messages on social media, messages via carrier pigeons or sky writing, please.
Do they really mean it though? One little email from me, their best candidate, won’t hurt, you think.
We get it. You really want the job. So do a few hundred other people and they’re all thinking the same thing. But sending that email can be really disruptive to the hiring process, and in some cases, could get your application disqualified.
(This advice is for after you submit your application before any interviews have been offered. Yes, there are some caveats which we’ll address at the end.)
Our advice: do not send that email. Here’s why:
It violates boundaries: The organization was clear in outlining their process for their applications and in writing their job descriptions. They wrote the request to applicants not to call or message them for a reason. The organization named their boundary about how they’d like to receive applications and have specific reasons for doing so. Respect those boundaries as they set them. Clearly they’re hiring for a position, so they need additional staff to do the work. This means they’re short staffed already and don’t have the capacity to read more emails on top of their daily overflowing inbox. Follow the directions and respect boundaries.
It could disqualify you: For some organizations and positions, the job application process itself is a test and one of those tests is to see if candidates are able to follow basic instructions. Sometimes the instructions are what type of materials to submit, what to include in a cover letter, how to name a file, or other small flags that help hiring teams sort applications quickly and gather the information they need in a certain way. An applicant emailing the organization and its staff despite the application clearly asking candidates not to can be a red flag for some organizations that a candidate is unwilling to follow instructions or respect boundaries, and in some cases can have your application disqualified. The directions were clear and if you reach out you’re demonstrating that you either didn’t read or decided not to respect or follow the directions. That’s not a good sign to a potential employer about a candidate.
It’s taxing on the staff: Organizations may receive hundreds or even thousands of applications for a position. If everyone reaches out, it creates a lot of work for the staff and makes it difficult for them to do their daily tasks on top of the hiring and responding to inquiries. We’re all already stretched thin in this work; show yourself to be an applicant who follows directions and doesn’t create additional work for the people you hope to be your new co-workers. Moreover, know that when you send the exact. same. copy. and. paste. email. to several staff and the organization’s general inbox it’s going to get shared among the staff and they’re pretty likely to all be frustrated that you didn’t follow directions, not eager that a stranger is emailing them out of the blue.
Additionally, it’s draining on staff to receive DMs and messages on their personal social media from candidates about a position, especially during their off hours from work. They deserve a break and may not look favorably on a potential coworker who messages them on their personal social media all hours of the night. They also may feel awkward telling someone no or setting a boundary around their role in the hiring process. Don’t put them in that position.
Again, if you’re doing it, so are a dozen other people and it creates more work and stress for the staff.
The organization asked you not to: The organization that you are hoping to work for specifically asked you not to. They wrote it in the job application for a reason. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you aren’t privy to and they’ve made it clear they cannot handle application inquiries. Respect that. Respect their process.
What About The Caveats?
But what if I know someone who works at the organization? Can I flag my application to them?
Our movement is small and many jobs come through the connections we know of friends, conference colleagues, or an old partner at that practical support training you attended six years ago. That’s real. Here’s the thing: if you know someone who works at the organization, and you know them well enough that you feel comfortable to ask them questions about the position, that is between you and them. But, you should also recognize that they may not feel comfortable answering the questions. You need to be prepared to hear a no.
They also may feel obligated to give you information due to your relationship, even if they feel uncomfortable doing so because of their role in the hiring process. We’ve seen this go well and not so well. It’s great when folks can recommend other great folks for positions, and it’s not fair to put pressure on them to try to give your application an extra look when they may not feel comfortable doing so or have nothing to do with the hiring process. Again, this is between you and them within the confines of your relationship. We just want folks to be aware of the dynamics at play so you can make a thoughtful decision. Respect their boundaries.
But my computer glitched when I submitted my application and I am not sure if they received it!
In this case, yes it’s fine to email the organization to make sure your application materials were received, BUT only email once to one email address. Do not email everyone on their staff and do not use it as an opportunity to restate your case as to why you love their organization and you’re the best candidate for the job.
But it’s been a long time since I applied and they haven’t reached out yet!
In a perfect world, every organization would post their hiring timeline, respond to every applicant, or at the very least let all applicants know when they hear back if they are going to receive an interview and when to just give up waiting. In that perfect world all pregnancy, trans, and reproductive health care would be free, available in all communities, culturally competent, and supported by loving, caring providers. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world…yet. Organizations are doing the best they can and sometimes they are unable to respond to all of the candidates who apply for their positions—particularly if they are already a small, short-staffed team fielding hundreds and thousands of applications for one opening as reproductive healthcare is being criminalized in their community. Maybe they lost the funding and had to pause hiring. Maybe they had to delay the process. Have patience. If you don’t hear back after a while, you should move on to applying for your next dream position.
But what if I’ve already interviewed and I haven’t heard back?
As we mentioned earlier, this advice is for candidates who have submitted their application but have not yet received an invitation for an interview. If you have already interviewed with an organization, it is absolutely acceptable for you to ask about the hiring process and next steps timeline during the interview and follow up if it is quite a bit past that timeline. All candidates who receive an interview should be communicated with about whether or not they are moving on to the next round in the process. Sometimes organizations ghost applicants they aren’t moving forward with, and that is wrong. Sometimes they’re delayed in the process and things just take longer than the organization anticipated with their timeline. It’s okay to send a quick follow up email to check in about the timeline to understand if anything has changed.