Best Times and Days to Submit Your Résumé and Job Application

By Leslie Stevens-Huffman

Did you know that applying for a job on a Saturday decreases your chances of landing an interview? Or that including an objective on your résumé results in 20 percent to 60 percent fewer interviews, unless you happen to be a new grad?

“Candidates should focus on making it past the top part of the recruiting funnel,” said Matt Singer, VP of Marketing for Jobvite, “because our data shows that those who interview stand a good chance of receiving an offer.”

In other words, you may not need additional skills to increase your chances of getting hired, if you use data to apply more efficiently and move beyond that initial screening stage.

Improve Your Timing

Applying on a Monday increases your hiring chances by 46 percent, according to an analysis of more than 4,000 applications.

Delivering your résumé and application between early Tuesday morning and Thursday before noon local time is even better, noted Mark Babbitt, CEO & founder of YouTern. Indeed, data shows that your chances of getting an interview is five times higher if you submit an application before 10 A.M., while the likelihood of an interview drops below 5 percent for most evening applicants.

Findings from SmartRecruiters also show that applying within the first four days after a job is posted delivers a 64.7 percent boost over your competition (on average). In fact, nearly 60 percent of candidates apply within the first week. The longer you wait, the greater the chances of your résumé or application falling into a black hole. 

Level the Playing Field

Ageism is a reality in today’s tech job market. But what you may not realize is that, after age 35, your “hire ability” decreases by 8 percent every year. All the more reason to omit your graduation date from your résumé and don’t include more than 10 years’ experience if you’re over 35.

Moreover, if you include three years’ experience on your résumé, you’ll qualify for 75 percent of entry-level jobs. Include five years and you’ll qualify for 77 percent of mid-level jobs; eight years will qualify you for 72 percent of senior-level jobs. If you’re within two years of required experience, hiring managers will often consider you “close enough.” In fact, you should apply if you’re at least 60 percent qualified.

This advice becomes especially important as more and more companies rely on automation and machine learning to screen job applicants.  Although they might not mean to, companies may install software that accidentally screens out candidates based on their graduation date, for example.

Target the Sweet Spot

Applying at smaller companies, with revenues between $5 million to $50 million, increases your chances of being invited to an interview, according to the Recruiting Benchmark Report from Jobvite.

Want less competition? Companies on Fortune’s Organization That Change the World list have the highest number of applicants per requisition at 92:1. If you want a quick and efficient hiring process, consider applying to companies on the Inc., 5000 list which need to onboard staff quickly in order to propel fast growth.

Become the Candidate of Choice

When it comes to your résumé, there are very specific things you can do to make sure you’re noticed, such as using action verbs that convey your true strengths. Conveying your impact and results on your previous companies (through numbers, preferably) also boosts your chances.

Political rants and spelling errors give recruiters pause when researching candidates online, while examples of written or design work (65 percent), volunteering, mentoring, or non-profit work (63 percent), and mutual connections (35 percent) are the top three factors that impact a recruiter’s decision to move forward with a candidate, according to Jobvite.

Finally, consider creating a personal website, especially one that highlights what your dream employer might need. That could boost your chances of landing an interview—and the job.

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