Workday application status meanings explained

How Workday status updates work

Workday is an applicant tracking system used by thousands of employers. When you apply through a company's careers page powered by Workday, your application gets a status that the recruiter controls. Statuses update manually in most cases, meaning a recruiter has to click a button to move you forward or close your file. Automated rejections are the exception, not the rule.

You can check your status by logging into the same Workday account you used to apply, then navigating to your profile and selecting 'My Applications'. The status shown there is the official one. Email notifications are sometimes sent when a status changes, but not always, so checking the portal directly is more reliable.

Received: what it means and how long it lasts

'Received' means your application was successfully submitted and is sitting in the recruiter's queue. Nothing has been reviewed yet. This is the default state immediately after you apply.

Most roles stay at 'Received' for one to three weeks while the posting is still open. High-volume roles at large employers can sit here for four to six weeks. If the status has not moved after three weeks and the job is still posted, a brief, polite follow-up email to the recruiter or hiring manager is reasonable. Keep it to two or three sentences: confirm your interest, reference the role title and the date you applied, and ask whether there is anything else they need from you.

Under consideration: what it actually signals

'Under consideration' means a recruiter has opened your application and is actively reviewing it. This is a positive signal. It does not mean you have been shortlisted, but it does mean you have cleared the first automated filter and a human has looked at your file.

At this stage, some employers are scheduling phone screens while still reviewing other candidates. Others move everyone to 'Under consideration' in bulk before narrowing down. You may stay here for one to four weeks. Do not follow up more than once during this window. If you have not heard anything after four weeks and the role is still listed, one short follow-up is appropriate.

In process: you are in active consideration

'In process' is the most encouraging status short of an offer. It means the employer is actively moving your application through their hiring steps — phone screen, hiring manager review, interview scheduling, or reference checks. You are in the running.

If you see 'In process' and have not been contacted yet, check your spam folder and the email address you registered with. Recruiters sometimes send interview invitations that get filtered. If a week passes with no contact, it is reasonable to reply to any previous email thread or reach out through LinkedIn to confirm they have your correct contact details.

Once you are in interviews, 'In process' will stay on your portal throughout. It does not update to reflect each interview round, so the status alone will not tell you how far along you are.

Not selected: what to do next

'Not selected' means the employer has closed your application without moving you forward. This can happen at any stage — after initial review, after a phone screen, or after final interviews. Workday does not distinguish between these scenarios in the status label itself.

If you received no feedback, you can send a brief reply to any recruiter email you received asking for a short note on what you could improve. Many recruiters will not respond, but some will, and the feedback can be genuinely useful. Do not reapply to the same role immediately. If the same position is reposted in three to six months, it is reasonable to apply again with an updated application.

Being marked 'Not selected' for one role at a company does not bar you from applying to other roles there. Your Workday profile stays active and you can apply to other postings at the same employer.

Other statuses you might see

Workday employers can create custom status labels, so you may encounter variations beyond the four main ones. Here are the most common extras and what they typically mean.

• Offer: a formal offer has been extended or is being prepared. You should hear from the recruiter very soon if you have not already.
• Withdrawn: you withdrew your own application, or in rare cases the employer withdrew it on your behalf due to a duplicate submission.
• Hired: the role has been filled, usually by you or, if you see this on a role you did not get, it confirms the position is closed.
• Interview: some employers add this custom label to confirm you are in the interview stage, separate from the generic 'In process'.
• Background check: you have cleared interviews and the employer is running pre-employment checks before issuing a formal offer.

Tracking multiple Workday applications without losing track

If you are applying to several roles across different employers, all using Workday, you will have separate logins for each company's portal. There is no single Workday dashboard that aggregates them. Keeping a simple spreadsheet with the employer name, role title, application date, portal URL, login email, and current status is the most reliable method.

Break-In Bad applies to Workday roles on your behalf and saves a screenshot of each confirmed submission as proof. Employer replies, including any status-change emails, come into one inbox so you are not checking five separate portals. This is useful when you are running ten or more active applications at once and need to know at a glance which ones need attention.