How long to hear back from job apps?

Rob Galanakis

I sent out most of my job applications to a variety of companies what will be one week ago tomorrow... I got a call from someone from gamerecruiter.com unrelated to that (actually he saw my freelance post in the forums here and was interested), which will be a good opportunity when he gets back to me on Thursday, but I'm wondering, how long does it take for a company to get back to you for an entry or mid-level position?

My portfolio, resume, and cover letter was solid, and the gamerecruiter guy said my work was really good... so I'm not sure what's going on, really.

I could just wait and see, but it doesn't hurt asking... and I need to plan out my expenses for the next couple weeks.

snap.crackle.pop

Hey professor420 hello there

From my experience i would at least give any mid-sized company 2 weeks to answer back as they probably have small resources devoted to look at applicant's folios and websites, and would rather gather 3 or 4 guys for the job and call them up all at once for the sake of timing. So usally wait for the second week to start looking for other places to send in your demo.

I had my first interview from a company the day after i sent them my resume and folio and some others that i never heard of again, its up to your demo and folio, and don't forget that company slack off a bit during summer since people tend to take their vacation during this time of the year versus many people are looking to join the gaming industry once school is over.

Good luck in your job search.

JDinges

I actually got lucky in that I was contacted within 12 hours (over night) of appyling, to my current employer. I was definetly not expecting that. All my other job opportunities came from contacting people on the boards or just having companies email me directly.

I'd say send a follow up email after a week or two. Just to see if they recieved your app.

I've actually heard of people who had companies contact them months later after applying. fun.

Good luck

aesir

Some replies have taken over 2 months for me, while others are the next day. Just work on your portfolio until you get a job.

Ferg

I know this doesnt help, but pretty much anywhere from a day to a year. I still get portfolio hits every month or so from studios I applied to 10 months ago.

sprunghunt

For the first job I applied for the company took 6 months to get back to me. I got the job though.

nitzmoff

I echo the rest. I've had it range between 24 hrs to a full year. A year however is completely silly and I told them to go pound salt.

Tulkamir

Also, don't expect to hear back. A lot of companies just don't contact someone that they aren't interested in.

Mongrelman

Indeed, I applied to about 75 places overall, only heard anything (even automated repsonses) from maybe 20ish.

Some might email and ask something(so you think "Oh, they're showing some interest!") you reply and may well never hear from them again. Some might email you saying your portfolio has been forwarded to a team to decide, and you never hear from them again etc.

My advice is send it out everywhere and don't be expecting to hear back. Not saying you won't hear anything, but given the percentages, it's less frustrating to "fire and forget" and be pleasantly suprised when you get a reply than to sit waiting to hear back from people, when you probably won't.

Bear in mind my experience is from sending out my stuff 3 months ago, so who knows, I might get a reply from the rest in 6 months time (aye, right).

Even apply to places that you aren't actually that interested in. I've had a couple of interviews from places I applied to who only had PSP and PS2 type games on their sites (I want to do next gen damnit!) then when speaking to them found out they were working on some cool next gen stuff.

If you get an offer from somewhere you aren't interested in you can turn them down, so no harm in applying all over.

danr

[ QUOTE ]
I echo the rest. I've had it range between 24 hrs to a full year. A year however is completely silly and I told them to go pound salt.

[/ QUOTE ]

many places put people on "hold" while they're waiting for a more suitable position for the candidate to come up, or more vacant seats to fill, many reasons really. It would be ideal of them to reply and let you know this is the case, but sometimes this communication slips through the cracks cos "on hold" can just mean "at the back of the mind of the recruiter". Don't assume that a late reply only means that company can't be arsed

greenj2

You never can tell. I've had one place ask me to come for an interview a year after my applying there like nitzmoff. I took some pleasure in informing them I had already been employed nearly a year ago. On the flipside of that situation, I did have another company contact me saying they were interested in my app but didn't have a suitable position available at the time and they'd keep me on file. I was pretty impressed that they took the time to inform me, as like some have said, many companies will just blank you if something doesnt work out, be it your fault or not.

I think it's a good idea to follow up applications though, I'd suggest two weeks after sending. Word it properly, don't be too pushy or sound desperate and you might get some info. Doing this also helps ensure your app hasn't been forgotten or lost in the system (hopefully).

Mark Dygert

I would continue exploring your options until someone offers you a job. If several offers come in, take the best fit. You might be able to play them off each other a tiny bit also...

AstroZombie

You should also follow up with every company you applied to every one to two weeks. Just send them an email letting them know that you are still looking and still interested in working for them.

Also, as far as planning your expenses goes, even after initial contact it could take up to 6 months or more before you are sitting behind a desk collecting a pay check. If you are not working right now you should plan to be out of work for a while and may want to consider taking something non-industry related to get you by in the interim.

Rob Galanakis

Thanks for the tips guys. Based on the responses here I've sent out job apps to more companies. I'm also going to scoop up anything the gamerecruiter.com guy offers me.