Moving LinkedIn Applications from In Progress to Hired
An "In Progress" status on LinkedIn confirms that an employer's applicant tracking system has accepted your submission. It does not mean a hiring manager or recruiter has opened your resume, read your credentials, or scheduled a screening call.
What does "In Progress" actually mean?
When candidates manage their pipeline—such as in this job search tracking page—seeing an application linger in progress for weeks can feel like dead silence. In recruiting workflows, this label usually acts as a default placeholder. Your profile remains active in the queue until an internal recruiter changes the status to reviewed, archived, or interview scheduled.
Because recruiters handle hundreds of inbound profiles per opening, many candidates remain in this status indefinitely if an internal candidate or early applicant advances first. Do not treat this status as a confirmation that your materials were evaluated.
How long should you wait before following up?
Wait five to seven business days after submitting your application before contacting anyone at the company. This window gives the recruiting team adequate time to review early batches without making you look impatient.
When you reach out, find the relevant department lead or recruiter on LinkedIn and send a short, polite note directly to their inbox:
"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."
How to move past the application stage
Relying solely on standard application submissions leaves your candidacy to chance. To improve your chances of getting moved to an interview, take proactive steps on each role:
- Align your resume bullets with the core job requirements. Replace general duties with the direct result of your work. For instance, change "Responsible for weekly email campaigns" to "Redesigned weekly product newsletters, reducing subscriber drop-off and increasing direct replies from customers." If you want to tighten your wording quickly, use Destava's /rewrite-bullet skill to put the outcome first.
- Engage publicly before reaching out privately. Cold messages get ignored when the sender is an unfamiliar name. Find public discussions, articles, or updates shared by the hiring manager or department heads and leave meaningful replies. Destava's Comment Assist helps draft thoughtful contributions so you build familiarity before sending an inquiry.
- Log every submission systematically. Avoid relying on LinkedIn's internal dashboard to tell you when a status changes. Keep every position, submission date, and customized document recorded in Destava's application tracker so you know precisely when to follow up and what qualifications you emphasized.
When should you move on?
If two weeks pass after your follow-up note with no response, assume the team has filled the interview schedule. Continue pursuing active openings rather than waiting for an employer to update an automated status label.