When to Send in Your Email Application

Applying for a job through email is one of the most common forms of job application. However, since many businesses still use human judgement as a tool to filter out candidates, your email application may be subjected to some form of bias. One form of such bias is the timing of your application. If you apply for a job at an optimal time, you can be up to 40 times more likely to hear back from the company than any other time. Thus, below we have broken down the best time to send through your email applications.

Which days of the week should I apply?

Apply on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

The best days of the week for you to send through your online application are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

If you apply on Friday, then your chances of being accepted is lessened because most workers are looking to wrap up their weekly tasks, and are less keen on looking at new work. They may respond less enthusiastically to your application, leaving them aside for next week or rejecting it altogether.

Applying on the weekend means that your application will be clumped together with many other emails that will be inevitably piling up over the weekend. When the recruiter opens up their email on Monday, they will be sorting through many emails, and yours will have a higher chance of been lost within the pile.

On the other hand, applying on Monday means that your application will be on top of the email pile, so the recruiter will see your application first. Applying on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday is also a good idea because these are the days where most emails are opened.

What time to apply for a job

Apply either late at night, or early morning

The best time to apply for a job is after working hours (later in the evening), or in the early morning. This is because your email will be ready for the recruiter to open up first thing in the morning. Whereas if you apply in the afternoon, particularly from 3PM to 6PM, then workers will be more likely to be in the midst of wrapping up their work. So they will be too tired to read your application, putting it off for the next day or forgetting about it.

When should I apply?

Apply within three to four days of the job opening.

Ideally, you should apply as soon as the job listing opens. The quicker you can put in your application, the better your chances are. This is because you have a higher chance of making an impression on recruiters when they are still motivated to find new candidates. However, if you miss out on applying on the day it opens, then you will still have a good chance of scoring an interview if you apply within three to four days of the job listing. However, if you still missed out on applying within this time frame, then just apply as soon as you see the job advertisement, don’t put it off for later as it will gradually decrease your chances of making it in.  

Where timing does not matter

Regardless of timing, there are plenty of other factors that come into play when recruiters decide whether or not they should give you an interview. Remember that even if you apply on a Saturday afternoon, there will still be a chance for success if you’re the ideal candidate for them. Similarly, just because you apply Monday morning does not guarantee an interview. These are all a matter of chance.