What LinkedIn 'In Progress' Status Means and What to Do
An "In Progress" status on LinkedIn simply means the employer's applicant tracking system received your submission and has not closed the listing or marked you as rejected. It does not mean a hiring manager is actively reading your resume at this exact moment.
Because many companies connect their internal hiring platforms directly to LinkedIn, status updates often lag or never update at all until a requisition formally closes. Relying on that dashboard label to gauge your chances will only stall your search.
Why do applications remain stuck "In Progress"?
When you see an application sit untouched for weeks, it usually comes down to how internal recruiting workflows operate behind the scenes:
- Batched candidate reviews: Recruiters rarely review applicants one by one as they arrive. They let submissions collect until a deadline, then review the batch together.
- Unsynced applicant tracking systems: Many recruiting teams do all their evaluations inside Greenhouse, Lever, or Workday. If their software integration with LinkedIn is one-way, candidate status changes never reflect back on LinkedIn.
- Deprioritized requisitions: A role may be put on temporary hold internally while the job post remains live on job boards.
How and when should you follow up?
Wait roughly a week after submitting before reaching out. Following up the next day signals impatience, while waiting a month means the candidate pool may already be narrowed down to final rounds.
Identify the recruiter or the functional team lead on LinkedIn and send a concise note. Keep it focused on what you bring to the table rather than asking for an administrative status update.
Here is an example message you can send:
"Hi Sarah, I applied for the Product Marketing Manager opening last week. My background is focused on B2B software launches, specifically translating technical roadmaps into positioning that drives customer adoption. I wanted to reiterate my enthusiasm for the role and confirm you have everything you need from my end. Either way, thank you for your time."
What should you avoid doing while waiting?
Waiting in silence can feel uncomfortable, but certain reactions will hurt your candidacy:
- Do not message multiple people at once: Contacting the recruiter, the hiring manager, and two peers on the team in the same afternoon looks disorganized and creates unnecessary confusion.
- Do not pause your outreach: The most common mistake candidates make is treating an active application as a likely interview. Keep submitting applications and having conversations elsewhere.
- Do not send repeated check-ins: Send one clear follow-up note. If you do not hear back after another week, take it as your cue to move forward.
How to keep your momentum going
The best antidote to application limbo is maintaining a continuous pipeline. Rather than checking LinkedIn dashboards daily, record the company, title, date applied, and follow-up target in Destava's application tracker. Your AI career manager keeps those dates organized in one place so you know when to follow up and when to move on.
While you wait, stay active in public conversations. Use Comment Assist to post thoughtful observations on discussions started by leaders at companies you admire. Showing up consistently in industry conversations often opens doors faster than waiting on an automated applicant portal.