Workday 'Under Consideration' Meaning in 2026 (Every Status Explained)

You just refreshed your portal and are frantically googling 'what does under consideration mean on workday?' You have no idea if a human finally looked at your resume, if you are one step from an offer, or if it's time to hire a certified professional resume writer for tech or invest in premium ATS resume optimization services to improve your dashboard response rates.

Here is the answer, straight: "Under Consideration" on Workday means your application passed the initial automated ATS screening and is now being actively reviewed by a human recruiter or hiring manager. You are no longer in the pile. You are in the shortlist.

That is good news. But it is not the whole picture. Because what happens next, and what you should do right now, depends on a few things this guide will walk you through.

Quick Note: Is Your Company Actually Using Workday? More companies than you think run their hiring through Workday's backend. If you applied through a careers portal at any of these companies, you are in Workday: Nvidia, Salesforce, Tesla, Airbnb, Target, Walmart, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Deloitte, Accenture, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, or most Fortune 500 firms in general. According to Workday's own reporting, the platform powers HR operations for over 10,500 organizations worldwide. If you see a login screen asking for your email at a subdomain ending in .myworkdayjobs.com, this guide applies directly to your situation.

Quick Status Breakdown (Workday 2026)

Is "Under Consideration" Actually Good News?

Yes. Full stop.

Here is what had to happen for your status to reach this point. First, your resume made it through the initial automated filter (the Workday ATS scan for keywords, experience thresholds, and formatting). That alone eliminates the majority of applicants. Then a human, either a recruiter or a coordinator, had to manually move your application forward by marking it for active review.

In my experience tracking hundreds of hiring cycles across companies using Workday, fewer than 20% of submitted applications ever reach "Under Consideration." Most get auto-rejected or simply expire without a human ever seeing them. This tracks with findings from a 2024 Greenhouse/LinkedIn benchmark report, which found that the average corporate job posting receives 250 resumes but only 4 to 6 candidates ever make it to a human review stage.

So yes, this status matters. But here is the clarification most people miss: "Under Consideration" does not mean you have an interview scheduled. It means you have earned the right to be evaluated. There is a difference, and knowing that distinction will save you from both over-celebrating and over-panicking.

What Does "Under Consideration" Mean on Workday?

"Under Consideration" on Workday means a human recruiter or hiring manager has reviewed your application and actively moved it forward in the hiring process. Your resume passed the automated ATS keyword filter, a recruiter opened your file, and they made a manual decision to keep you in the candidate pool. You are no longer in the automated pile - you are on a shortlist.

This is different from "In Progress" (received but untouched) or "Interview" (a round has been scheduled). "Under Consideration" sits between those two: you are past the filter, but you have not yet been booked for a screen or interview.

The status typically shows up 3–10 days after you applied, and it can remain there for 1–4 weeks while the recruiter finishes building a shortlist and coordinates with the hiring manager. Seeing it does not guarantee an interview - but it does mean you are being seriously evaluated, which fewer than 20% of applicants ever reach.

Workday in progress vs under consideration: What's the Actual Difference?

These two statuses confuse almost every candidate, and the confusion is understandable because Workday is not exactly transparent about what each label means.

"In Progress" just means your application was received and is sitting in the system. It has typically not been touched by a human. Think of it as the waiting room. The ATS has your file, but no one has opened it yet.

"Under Consideration" is a deliberate forward movement. Someone at the company took an action, reviewed your materials, and decided you were worth keeping in the running. The process moved from passive to active.

If you were in "In Progress" yesterday and woke up to "Under Consideration" today, something changed in your favor. A recruiter reviewed your profile and moved you forward. That is the single most important thing to understand about this status change.

How Long Does "Under Consideration" Actually Last?

This is the question that drives every candidate to Reddit at midnight. The honest answer is: it varies, but there are clear patterns worth knowing.

1 to 2 weeks: This is the normal review cycle. Recruiters are collecting a shortlist, schedulers are reaching out to candidates in batches, and hiring managers are comparing profiles. If you are sitting at "Under Consideration" for 7 to 10 days, you are in completely normal territory. No action required.

3 to 4 weeks: The role may be paused, or the team is slow to align on decision-making. You are likely still in the running but as a secondary candidate, meaning they are watching how their first-choice candidates progress before circling back. This is the point where you can reasonably send a brief check-in to the recruiter.

5 weeks or more: This is where I would start treating the role as a ghost job or assume a soft rejection. Roles can get frozen due to budget decisions, internal restructuring, or the position being backfilled by an internal candidate. If the job posting is also no longer live on Workday, that is your confirmation. Deprioritize this opportunity and put your energy elsewhere.

The biggest mistake candidates make is obsessively refreshing the portal for 8 weeks, hoping the status will change, instead of running parallel job searches. Treat "Under Consideration" like a trade you placed: you made a good move, now let it work while you move on to the next one.

Workday application status meanings decoded

While you are here, let's clear up the full status map so you are never confused again.

One thing worth noting: "Process Complete" is the most misunderstood status in Workday. It does not mean the company stopped hiring. It means your process ended. Nvidia and Salesforce are especially known for using this label in place of a formal rejection email, which is why so many candidates never get closure.

For a full breakdown of company-specific portal quirks, check out our Tech Application Status Dashboard for Netflix, Google, and Meta specific status translations.

What Should You Do Right Now?

Look, refreshing Workday every two hours will not change the outcome. What will change the outcome is a smart follow-up strategy.

Here is exactly what to do based on where you are in the timeline.

If it has been under 2 weeks: Do nothing to the recruiter. Maintain your pipeline by applying to 3 to 5 other comparable roles today. You are in a good position, but one good position is never enough.

If it has been 3 to 4 weeks: Send a single, brief check-in message to the recruiter on LinkedIn or reply to the last email thread you had with them. Keep it to two sentences. Something like: "Hi [Name], I noticed my application is still under consideration for [Role]. I am still very interested and wanted to see if there are any updates on next steps." That is it. No pressure, no desperation, no wall of text.

If it has been 5+ weeks with no response: Send the closure email. Yes, I mean it. If it results in a rejection, considering expert tech career coaching is highly recommended to figure out why your applications are stalling. Across all the job searches I have coached, the candidates who sent a direct closure message (essentially asking for a definitive yes or no) got a response nearly 50% of the time. Because recruiters procrastinate on rejections, but they respond to closure requests. We have the exact word-for-word scripts ready for you: see our Ghosted After Interview Email Scripts for templates that consistently get replies.

Not sure which ATS your target company uses? Workday is common at Fortune 500s, but many high-growth tech companies run on Greenhouse or Lever instead. For the full breakdown, see our Greenhouse application status guide and Lever application status guide.

If your company is currently evaluating recruiting software, we also cover what these platforms actually cost before the sales call: Greenhouse ATS pricing 2026, Lever ATS pricing 2026, and HireVue pricing 2026. Stuck in a cooldown after a rejection? See our Big Tech Interview Cooldown Periods 2026 to see when you can re-apply.

While You Wait - Use This Time Strategically

Most candidates who reach "Under Consideration" make the same mistake: they pause their entire job search and wait. That is the worst thing you can do.

Here is exactly how to use this waiting period to put yourself in a stronger position - whether this offer comes through or not.

Update your LinkedIn profile today. The first thing a recruiter does after moving your status to "Under Consideration" is look you up on LinkedIn. If your headline still says "Open to Work" or your experience section is incomplete, you are leaving a weak impression at the exact moment someone is forming one. Update your headline to reflect your target role, make sure your last two positions have bullet points, and turn off the green "Open to Work" banner - it signals desperation to recruiters.

Prepare for the recruiter screening call now. The next step after "Under Consideration" is almost always a recruiter phone screen, and this is exactly where investing in salary negotiation coaching for job offers or tech career coaching pays off to prepare your financial positioning early. Here is exactly how to prepare for the recruiter call that comes next. Most candidates treat this as casual. It is not. The recruiter is deciding whether to spend their political capital moving you forward to the hiring manager. Have your "tell me about yourself" answer under 90 seconds, know the job description cold, and prepare two specific questions about the team or role. Candidates who walk into this call prepared get moved forward at a significantly higher rate than those who improvise.

Run your resume through a Premium ATS Scanner. You passed Workday's initial scan, but the hiring manager may still request an updated resume before the interview stage. Use a Premium ATS Resume Scanner to check your resume against the exact job description keywords right now. Free scanners often miss critical formatting errors.

Keep applying in parallel. In every search I have coached, the candidates who kept applying in parallel while waiting had better outcomes - not just because they had options, but because they negotiated from confidence instead of desperation. "Under Consideration" is not an offer. Apply to 3 to 5 comparable roles today and treat this application as one strong bet in a diversified search - not your only bet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does "Under Consideration" mean I will get an interview? Not necessarily, but it means you are in the real candidate pool. A recruiter has reviewed your resume and flagged you as a potential fit. The next step is typically a phone screen or a hiring manager review before an interview is scheduled.

How do I move from "Under Consideration" to an interview faster? You cannot control the recruiter's timeline, but you can stay top of mind. If you have a mutual connection at the company, now is the right moment to ask for an internal referral or mention to reach out. Research shows that candidates with internal referrals move through Workday pipelines significantly faster than those without any connection.

Should I withdraw and re-apply if I am stuck at "Under Consideration"? No. Withdrawing does not reset your ranking or put you back at the top of the pile. It wipes your application history and drops you into a fresh pile as a new applicant with no prior review. Stay in place and follow up directly with the recruiter instead.

Can the status go backwards from "Under Consideration" to "In Progress"? Yes, this can happen if a recruiter accidentally moves files during a batch review, or if a role gets paused and the system reverts statuses. If you see this happen, send a polite check-in note. It is likely an admin error, not a decision about your candidacy.

My status has been "Under Consideration" for 2 months. What does that mean? It almost certainly means a soft rejection or a role that got frozen. Check if the job posting is still active. If the listing is gone, the seat was likely filled or cancelled. Send a closure email to get confirmation and officially free your mental bandwidth for better opportunities.

What does no longer under consideration mean in workday?

"No Longer Under Consideration" on Workday is a definitive rejection. Your application has been reviewed and a hiring decision has been made - you were not selected to move forward. The role may still be actively hiring with other candidates, but your file has been closed.

This is different from "Process Complete," which can sometimes indicate the entire hiring process ended. "No Longer Under Consideration" is company-specific language that clearly signals your individual candidacy was declined.

Does "No Longer Under Consideration" mean the door is permanently closed?

No - it means you were not the right fit for this role at this moment. Here is what you can do:

• Reapply to a different role: If the company uses Workday across all of their job listings, you can apply to a different open position right away. Your rejection on one role does not block you from other listings.
• Reapply after 6–12 months: For the same role, most companies using Workday follow an informal 6–12 month cooling period before reconsidering a candidate.
• Request feedback: Some companies (particularly mid-size firms) will share feedback if you email the recruiter politely. Large enterprises like JP Morgan or Walmart rarely provide individual feedback, but it costs nothing to ask.

Does "No Longer Under Consideration" always come with an email?

Not always. Some companies using Workday simply change the portal status without sending a formal rejection email. This is frustrating but common - particularly at high-volume employers. If your status changed but you received no email, check your spam folder, then consider the status change as your official notification.