Quick answer: Most job application statuses are workflow labels, not verdicts. In Workday, every new application lands in the "Review" stage automatically (Workday), so "Submitted" or "Under Review" only means you are in the queue. "In Progress" usually means you are in an active stage, "Not Retained," "No Longer Under Consideration," and "Not selected by employer" mean rejection for that job, and a frozen or unchanged status often just means no one has updated it. Hires take time: Greenhouse reported an average time-to-hire of 46 days in Q3 2024 (Greenhouse via PR Newswire).
This guide decodes the labels that applicant tracking systems (ATS) and job boards actually document, what each can and cannot tell you, and the next step for every status. If you were rejected minutes after you hit submit, read rejected immediately after applying instead, because that is almost always a knockout rule, not a status problem.
Why application statuses are so confusing
Three facts explain most of the confusion.
- The employer configures the labels. Workday lets each employer define its own stages and order, for example Review to Screen to Interview to Reference Check to Offer (Workday). Two companies on the same ATS can show you different words for the same step.
- Candidates see a simplified view. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which uses Workday, the recruiter sees a status, a stage, and a step, but the candidate's portal only changes when the status or stage changes, not the step (UW-Madison HR). A phone screen and a resume screen can look identical from your side.
- Portals only show what the employer shares. Greenhouse says plainly that MyGreenhouse shows "only the updates a hiring company chooses to share," and that an unchanged status may simply mean the team has not shared a new update (Greenhouse Support).
Add today's application volume and the delays make more sense. Ashby's recruiter productivity data puts the average at 291 applications per hire, compared with roughly 100 in early 2021 (Ashby Talent Trends). The wider market is slow too:
| Signal | Latest figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US payroll growth, September 2026 | +29,000 jobs; unemployment rate 4.2% | BLS Employment Situation, Oct 2, 2026 |
| Long-term unemployed, September 2026 | 1.9 million, 27.1% of all unemployed | BLS Employment Situation, Oct 2, 2026 |
| Job openings, August 2026 | 7.1 million (rate 4.3%) | BLS JOLTS, Sept 29, 2026 |
| Hires, August 2026 | 5.2 million (rate 3.3%) | BLS JOLTS, Sept 29, 2026 |
| Applications per hire | 291 on average | Ashby |
More applications per hire means longer queues and statuses that sit still for weeks.
Job application status meanings: the master decoder
Use this table first. It groups the labels you are most likely to see by what they actually tell you.
| Status you see | What it usually means | Is a decision made? | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied, Submitted, Application received | Your application is recorded; nobody has to have read it yet | No | Save the posting and the date; set a follow-up reminder |
| Under Review, Review, In Review | You are in the initial queue (Workday puts every new applicant here) | No | Keep applying elsewhere; do not reapply to the same job |
| Under Consideration | Often the default first state in Oracle Taleo and Oracle Recruiting | No | Treat it like "received" unless something else changes |
| Employer reviewing applications (Indeed) | The employer is reviewing applicants, but not yours yet | No | Wait; nothing to fix |
| Application viewed (Indeed, LinkedIn) | Someone opened your application | No | Optional short thank-you note; keep applying |
| Resume downloaded (LinkedIn) | The poster downloaded your resume, often to read or forward it | No | Be ready for a screen call |
| In Progress, In Process | You are in an active stage beyond the first review | Not final | Check email and spam; prepare for a screen or assessment |
| Interviewing, Screening, Assessment | You passed the first filter | Not final | Prepare; reply to scheduling emails the same day |
| Response seems unlikely (Indeed) | No activity for at least two weeks, or the employer hired enough | Probably | Move on; follow up once only if the role really matters |
| Completed (Workday) | Usually the application is closed: declined, or the requisition was canceled | Usually yes | Check for a rejection email; apply to other roles there |
| Not Retained, No Longer Under Consideration, Not selected, Not referred | You will not move forward for this job | Yes | Ask for feedback only after interviews; apply to other openings |
| Job closed | The employer closed the posting or it expired | Varies | If you heard nothing, assume no and move on |
The rest of this guide explains each platform's rules, with the documentation behind them.
What does "application under review" mean?
"Under Review" is the most common waiting status, and the least informative. In Workday, an application is created and its status is set to Review the moment you apply (Workday). At UW-Madison, a candidate in the Review stage sees "Submitted" in the Active tab (UW-Madison HR). Other employers rename that stage "Under Review" or "Application Received."
So "under review" does not mean a recruiter is reading your resume right now. It means your application exists and is waiting in a queue that may hold hundreds of others.
How long can "under review" last?
There is no fixed limit. It stays there until someone moves you, rejects you, or closes the job. On Greenhouse, most recruiters review applications in the order received, but on popular roles they may filter the queue by referrals, internal candidates, or screening answers first (Greenhouse). If you are not in the filtered set, your status can sit unchanged for weeks.
"Under review" vs "under consideration"
In practice they are close cousins. Oracle's Taleo documentation shows "Under Consideration" as a status inside the very first "New" step of its example workflow, next to "New Applicant" and "Recommended" (Oracle Taleo). In Oracle Recruiting Cloud, one employer's guide notes that a new application defaults to the state "application under consideration" (City of Greeley). Read both as "received, no decision yet."
Workday application status meanings
Workday is the system most people are asking about. Here is what UW-Madison documents for its Workday candidate portal, which is a useful reference because it maps internal stages to what candidates see (UW-Madison HR):
| What the recruiter does | What you see | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Application is in the Review stage | Submitted | Active tab |
| Moves you to any other active stage (Interview, Assessment, Employment Agreement) | In Progress | Active tab |
| Declines you with any disposition reason (except Withdrawn) | Completed | Inactive tab |
| You withdraw | Withdrew | Inactive tab |
| Cancels the job requisition | Completed | Inactive tab |
| Freezes the job requisition | Whatever status you had | Unchanged |
Three practical takeaways:
- "In Progress" is a good sign at this employer, because it only appears after you leave the Review stage. At other employers it may be configured differently, so treat it as "still active," not "shortlisted."
- "Completed" is not good news. It moves to the Inactive tab and usually means the application was declined or the job was canceled.
- Status changes may not trigger an email. UW-Madison warns its recruiters that changing a status in Workday, including removing a candidate or closing the requisition, sends no notification on its own. Texas A&M's Workday guide, by contrast, says dispositioned candidates receive a general notification without the specific reason (Texas A&M Workday). Employers differ, so check the portal as well as your inbox.
What does "not retained" mean in Workday?
"Not Retained" is a rejection label some employers use for a declined application. The underlying reason is a disposition the recruiter picks. Texas A&M's list of disposition reasons at the initial review stage includes "Does not meet required minimum job qualifications," "Duplicate Application," "Incomplete application," and "Position not being filled," and at the screen stage adds "Less relevant experience/skills than other candidates" (Texas A&M Workday). You will not see which one applied to you, which is why "not retained" says nothing about whether your resume was weak or the job simply went away.
"In progress" after an interview
If your status says "In Progress" or "In Process" after an interview, you are still active. The team may be interviewing others, waiting on approvals, or checking references. If the recruiter gave you a timeline, follow up one business day after it passes. If not, a week after the interview is reasonable. Our job application follow-up email templates include a post-interview version.
For the application form itself, see how to apply on Workday.
Greenhouse, Oracle, Indeed, LinkedIn, and USAJOBS statuses
Greenhouse (MyGreenhouse)
Greenhouse says 95% of jobs on its platform are configured to send an automatic "thanks for applying" email (Greenhouse), so that email is your proof of submission. MyGreenhouse may show a high-level status, but not every step, and applications submitted through LinkedIn, Indeed, or other third-party sites may not appear there (Greenhouse Support). Greenhouse employers can also set up auto-reject rules based on a single screening answer (Greenhouse Support), which is why some rejections arrive within minutes.
Oracle Taleo and Oracle Recruiting Cloud
Oracle Recruiting Cloud's reference partner statuses are New, Under Consideration, Screening, Interviewing, Offer Extended, Background Check, Hired, Rejected, and Withdrawn (Oracle). That order is a useful mental map: anything at or past Screening means a person moved you. In one Oracle employer's process, rejecting a candidate automatically emails them that they are "no longer under consideration" (City of Greeley).
Indeed
Indeed documents its statuses clearly (Indeed Help Center):
- Set by Indeed: Applied; Employer reviewing applications (they are reviewing, but have not reviewed yours yet); Response seems unlikely (the employer hired enough candidates, or there has been no activity on your application for at least two weeks); Job closed. Indeed notes these appear only in the mobile app.
- Set by the employer: Application viewed; Employer reached out; Not selected by employer.
- Set by you: Interviewing, Offer received, Hired, No longer interested.
Employer-updated statuses usually exist only for jobs posted directly on Indeed. If Indeed sent you to a company site to apply, the company's own portal is the real source of truth.
For Easy Apply jobs hosted on LinkedIn, you get notified when the poster views your application or downloads your resume. LinkedIn says a resume download commonly happens when the poster wants to read the details or forward it to someone else, and that neither signal guarantees a message, interview, or offer (LinkedIn Help).
USAJOBS (federal jobs)
Federal hiring gives the clearest statuses. OPM says agencies give you a status at four points: application received, application reviewed, referred or not referred to the hiring manager, and selected or not selected. Agencies do not review applications until the announcement closes (USAJOBS Help Center). "Referred" means you were found eligible and qualified and sent to the hiring manager; it does not guarantee an interview.
Stuck on "Under Review" everywhere? The status will not tell you why, but your resume might. Run it through the free ATS resume score checker to see whether it parses cleanly and matches the posting, and check suspicious listings with the free ghost job checker.