What to Do When a Job Application Is 'In Progress'

When a job application shows as "In Progress" on LinkedIn, it does not mean a recruiter has read your resume or that you are being considered. It only means the company's applicant tracking system accepted your submission. Many candidates stay in this status indefinitely because an internal candidate or early applicant moved forward first.

Treating a role as in progress should never mean passive waiting. Instead, use that status as a trigger for a focused preparation checklist before and immediately after you submit your materials.

Rewrite your resume bullets for the specific role

Do not rewrite your entire background for every job. Instead, adjust the bullet points under your past two roles so they address the exact operational challenges mentioned in the job post. Look past the generic requirements and identify what the team actually needs built, fixed, or scaled. Lead with measurable impact instead of responsibilities. For example, change "Responsible for weekly email marketing campaigns and product updates" to "Managed weekly email campaigns across 45,000 subscribers, lifting average click-through rates from 2.1% to 3.8%."

If you need to tighten your wording quickly, you can use Destava to rewrite a bullet point so the outcome comes first.

Update your LinkedIn profile before you apply

Recruiters who review your resume will open your profile within minutes. Your profile must confirm the story your resume tells. Clarify your headline: avoid vague statements like "Aspiring Product Leader" and replace them with concrete focus areas such as "Senior Product Manager | B2B SaaS, Billing Systems, and API Integrations." Refine your About section so your first three lines clearly state the domain problems you solve. Ensure your top featured projects show deliverables directly related to the role you want next.

Engage with the hiring team before you pitch

Cold messages get ignored when the sender is an unfamiliar name. Find public discussions, articles, or updates shared by the hiring manager or department leads and leave meaningful replies. When your name later appears in their inbox or applicant queue, it will already be familiar.

After you submit your application, wait five to seven business days before contacting anyone at the company. Then send a brief, polite note directly to the relevant department lead or recruiter. Do not ask for a referral immediately. For example: "Hi Sarah, I applied for the Operations Lead role last Tuesday. Given my background streamlining supply chain processes and managing warehouse migrations, I wanted to confirm you received everything needed. I would love to learn more about the team's priorities for this quarter."

If you want to reach a team member in the exact function rather than the recruiter, send a focused note such as: "Hi Sarah, I saw the open systems engineer role on your team and just submitted my application. I noticed your recent work migrating the core database; did your team handle the cutover during zero-downtime windows, or did you schedule maintenance periods? Would love to follow your team's updates."

Set a follow-up date and log everything

An application without a calendar reminder is easily forgotten. When you submit materials, immediately set a date five business days out to check in with the hiring manager or internal recruiter. Keep every active lead in a single application tracker that logs the company, the job title, the primary contact, the date of last contact, and the exact next milestone. If two weeks pass after your follow-up note with no response, assume the team has filled the interview schedule and move on to the next role.