What does in consideration mean on a job application?

It usually means the application is still open and has not been rejected, not that anyone has chosen you. On systems like Workday, that label often just means your application is still moving through the employer’s process, and how long it sits there varies by employer.

What “in consideration” usually means

If you see “in consideration” on a job application, the employer has not closed the door on you. It usually means your application is still active in their system and someone may still review it. It does not mean:

• you have an interview
• you are shortlisted
• you are the final candidate
• the hiring manager has made a decision

A lot of applicants read more into it than they should, because the phrase sounds promising. In practice, it is a holding status. The company is still deciding, or the process is still moving.

The safest reading is simple: you have not been rejected yet, but you also have not been selected.

Which systems use that label?

The wording shows up in applicant tracking systems, especially Workday, which is the common one people notice. You may also see similar holding language in other ATS setups, but Workday is the one searchers usually mean when they ask this question.

The label can be employer-specific. One company may use “in consideration” as a broad status for any active application, while another may move candidates through more detailed steps like:

• application received
• under review
• in consideration
• interview
• offer
• rejected

That means the exact meaning depends on how that employer configured its workflow. The status itself is not a promise.

If you want a fuller breakdown of the common Workday labels, see Workday application status meanings.

How long does it stay there?

It varies by employer. Some applications sit there briefly, then move to another stage. Others stay there for a long time while the company waits for hiring manager review, compares candidates, or pauses the role.

A status can linger because:

• the recruiter has not reviewed it yet
• the hiring team is interviewing other candidates
• the role is on hold
• the company is batching decisions
• the team is slow to update statuses in the system

That last one matters more than people expect. Sometimes the status is stale and nobody has touched it, even though the hiring process has moved on. If you are applying to a lot of roles, this is one reason to keep your own tracking instead of trusting the portal alone. Wynda’s job application tracker is useful here because the employer portal is not always a reliable source of truth.

Does “in consideration” mean I got the job?

No. It means the application is still under active review, or at least still active in the system. It is not an offer and not a confirmation that you are moving forward.

A lot of candidates assume that any status other than rejected is good news. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it just means nobody has pressed the reject button yet.

If the role is competitive, the company may keep several candidates “in consideration” while it narrows the list. If the role is slow-moving, the status may sit unchanged while the team does other work. And if the company is disorganized, the label may mean almost nothing at all.

That is why the best response is not to read tea leaves from the portal.

What should you do while it says that?

Keep applying elsewhere. Do not pause your search because one status looks positive.

A practical approach:

• keep applying to other roles that fit
• check whether the posting is still live
• look for the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn
• send a short follow-up if you have a real contact point
• keep your resume tailored for the next application

If you already applied through an employer form, you can also draft a direct message to the person behind the role. Wynda’s LinkedIn outreach for job search is built for that, but it cannot force a recruiter to respond and it cannot tell you that “in consideration” means an interview is coming.

If you want to keep your search moving efficiently, the free tools matter too: free AI resume builder, ATS-ready PDF export, and three AI-tailored resumes. That helps with the next application, not the status you already saw.

What Wynda can and cannot do here

Wynda can help you move on from the uncertainty. It can find jobs, tailor a resume to each role, apply from your own browser on the employer’s form, and draft outreach to the people behind the role.

Wynda cannot tell you what one employer secretly means by a status label. It also cannot turn “in consideration” into an offer, or see inside a recruiter’s queue.

That matters because a lot of tools overpromise here. Some competitors are stronger at large-scale automation or at hiding the application flow behind a cloud browser, but that is not the same as knowing what the employer intends. Wynda applies through the user’s own browser via a Chrome extension, which is safer for some job sites and more transparent about what is actually happening. If you want to compare approaches, see Wynda vs Simplify and is auto-apply safe?.

Wynda also does not invent answers when a form asks for something your profile does not cover. The run stops and names the field. That is useful when an employer form asks for a detail you do not have handy, but it does not change the meaning of the application status afterward.

When a status like this is a good sign, and when it is not

Sometimes “in consideration” is a real signal that you have made it past an early filter. That is better than being rejected immediately.

But it is not enough to act on by itself.

Treat it as mildly positive if:

• the application is still active after submission
• the role is still open on the company site
• the recruiter has not contacted you yet, but the status is not rejected

Treat it as weak or stale if:

• it has not changed for a long time
• the job posting disappeared
• you never heard anything else and the employer is known for slow updates
• the same status is showing for many applications

If you are seeing a lot of stale postings and slow movement, that is common too. Job boards and ATS pages can stay live long after a role has lost momentum, which is one reason people use direct sourcing and application tracking together.

What to do next if you want a real answer

If the company gave you a contact, send a brief follow-up asking whether there is anything else they need from you. Keep it short and specific.

Example:

Hi, I applied for the [role] and noticed my application is still marked “in consideration.” I wanted to check whether there’s anything else I can provide.

That will not force a decision, but it is better than guessing.

If there is no contact, the most honest move is to wait while you keep applying. Do not stop your search, do not assume rejection, and do not assume success. The status is just a status.

If you want a cleaner way to manage the next steps, Wynda can keep the search moving with job matching, application tracking, and tailored resumes, while the employer portal continues to do whatever it is going to do.