A Workday application status tells you where your application sits in that employer's hiring workflow, not how good you are. "Application Received" and "Submitted" mean it arrived, "Under Consideration" and "Under Review" mean someone is reviewing it, "In Progress" usually means you are still active and have moved past the first review, and "Inactive", "Process Completed" or "Not Selected" mean the process for that job is closed. Each employer configures its own labels, so use the table below as the common meaning and check the Candidate Home page of the company you applied to for its exact wording.
Workday application status meanings: all 16 statuses at a glance
Workday status | What it means | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
Application Received | The application reached the employer's Workday tenant. Nobody has to have opened it yet. | Nothing. Keep applying elsewhere and look for a referral. |
In Progress | You are still active. At many employers this appears once you move past the first review into a later stage (screen, assessment, interview). At some it also marks a draft you never submitted. | Open Candidate Home and check for a submitted date. If it is a draft, finish and submit it. If it is submitted, wait. |
Under Review | A recruiter or an automated screening step is looking at your application. | Wait 5-7 business days, then send one short follow-up. |
Under Consideration | The recruiting team is actively reviewing you for this job. | Prepare for a screening call. Do not chase yet. |
Recruiter Review | A recruiter is checking your application against the requirements. | Make sure your answers to screening questions match your resume. |
Business / Hiring Manager Review | The recruiter passed you on and the hiring manager decides who to interview. | This is the moment a referral helps most. |
Next Level Review | You passed one round and are reviewed by a second person or panel. | Prepare for the next interview round. |
Screen | You are in, or about to be in, the recruiter phone screen. | Check your spam folder for a scheduling email and prepare a 30-second pitch. |
Assessment | The employer wants an online test (skills, personality, coding, writing). | Complete it within 48 hours unless a deadline says otherwise. |
Interview | You are in the interview stage: scheduling, interviews or feedback collection. | Prepare STAR stories for the top 3 requirements. Follow up 3-5 business days after the last round. |
Offer | An offer is being prepared, approved or has been sent. | Prepare your negotiation range. A delay here is usually internal approval. |
Background Check | The employer or a vendor is verifying identity, employment, education or right to work. | Reply to vendor emails the same day and have your documents ready. |
Inactive | Your application is no longer active for this job. The job was filled, frozen or cancelled, or you were not selected. | Apply to similar open roles at the same company instead of contesting it. |
Process Completed | The hiring process for this requisition is finished. Unless you got an offer, you were not hired for this job. | Treat it as closed and keep your profile in their system for future roles. |
Not Selected | The employer decided not to move forward with you for this job. | Ask for brief feedback only if you interviewed. Reapply only with a new requisition or a real update. |
Withdrawn | You (or, rarely, the recruiter) withdrew the application. | If it was an accident, email the recruiter the same day and ask whether they can reactivate it. |
Workday guide: Workday application stuck on In Progress · Workday duplicate application error · Workday voluntary disclosure forms · ATS-friendly resume for Workday · AI apply tools for Workday
Why do Workday statuses differ between companies?
Workday is configured by each employer, so the same stage can carry different names. Behind the label, a recruiter works with three fields: an application status (Active or Inactive), a stage (for example Screen or Interview) and a step inside that stage. The University of Wisconsin-Madison HR guide for its own Workday recruiters (updated 12 December 2025) shows how that becomes what you see:
- While you are in the Review stage, you see "Submitted" on the Active tab.
- In any later active stage (interview, assessment, employment agreement), you see "In Progress" on the Active tab.
- After any decline reason, or when the job requisition is cancelled, you see "Completed" on the Inactive tab.
- If you withdraw, you see "Withdrew" on the Inactive tab.
- If the requisition is frozen, you keep the status you had at that moment.
The same guide says a status change "does not send them any kind of notification/communication". So a status can change silently, and silence after a change is normal.
Other employers use their own wording. Public Health Ontario's careers FAQ, also on Workday, lists four statuses: "Received" ("Your application was successfully received"), "Under Consideration" ("Talent Acquisition is actively reviewing your application"), "In Progress" ("You are currently being considered for this position") and "Not Selected for this Position". The 16 statuses in the table cover the labels job seekers report most often across employers.
Two more things shape what you see in 2026:
- Many teams add automated screening in front of the recruiter: resume parsing, knock-out questions and skills matching. That can move you forward or close your application before a person reads your resume.
- Some roles are "evergreen" (always open) and filled in waves, so your status can sit unchanged for weeks.
What does each Workday status mean in practice?
Application Received and Submitted
Your application is in the system and eligible for review. Treat both as neutral. Use the waiting time to improve your odds for the next application: tailor your resume to the job's top 6-10 skills, and double-check any knock-out answers ("Do you have X certification?"), because those can route you to a different queue.
In Progress
What it usually means: you are still an active candidate. At employers set up like UW-Madison, "In Progress" replaces "Submitted" once you move past the first review into a later stage, which is a good sign. At some employers an unfinished draft also shows as "In Progress".
What to do next:
- Open the application in Candidate Home and look for a submitted date or a confirmation email.
- If there is none, finish any required section (often an assessment or the voluntary disclosure step) and click Submit.
- If it is submitted, wait. If it stays the same for weeks, read Workday application stuck on In Progress for the full checklist.
Under Review, Under Consideration and Recruiter Review
A recruiter, or a screening step, is evaluating your application. Wait 5-7 business days before you follow up, unless the posting gives a timeline. Prepare a 3-sentence message: the role and why you fit, one piece of proof (a metric or a work sample) and a clear question.
Business Review, Hiring Manager Review and Next Level Review
The recruiter has screened applicants and a manager or a second reviewer decides who moves on. If you can get a referral, ask for it now: it can pull your application up the manager's list. If not, strengthen your profile for future roles (a role-matched headline, a portfolio link).
Screen
You are in, or moving into, the recruiter screen. Sometimes the status changes before anyone messages you, so check spam and promotions folders. Prepare a 30-second pitch tied to the job's main outcomes and 2-3 proof points. If nothing happens for 7-10 business days, one polite follow-up is reasonable.
Assessment
The employer requires an online test. Finish it within 48 hours unless the deadline says otherwise, read the instructions before you start a timed test, and treat it like an interview. Many employers use the result as a hard filter.
Interview
You are in the interview workflow. Confirm the time zone and the format, ask once whether there will be a case study, a technical test or a portfolio review, and prepare STAR stories for the top 3 responsibilities. Workday often stays on "Interview" after your last round while the team collects feedback.
Offer and Background Check
"Offer" means the offer is being drafted, approved or has been sent. If it does not move for more than 5 business days, it is usually waiting for an internal compensation approval. During the background check, answer vendor emails at once and have your ID, past employer contacts and education documents ready.
Not Selected and Withdrawn
"Not Selected" closes this requisition for you. Reapply only when the job is posted under a new requisition ID or you have a meaningful update (a new certification, a portfolio, measurable results). If you withdrew by mistake, write to the recruiter the same day.
On Hold
Some employers also show "On Hold" when hiring is paused for budget or headcount reasons. Follow up lightly after 10-14 business days and keep applying elsewhere.
What does "Inactive" mean on Workday?
"Inactive" means your application is no longer active for that job. At UW-Madison, every decline reason and every cancelled requisition moves the candidate to the Inactive tab, and a frozen requisition can leave you there too. In practice it covers:
- the role was filled, or you were not selected after a stage
- the requisition was cancelled, frozen or merged with another one
- you withdrew
- a duplicate application was closed (see Workday duplicate application error)
"Inactive" is not a ban from the company. Your candidate profile stays in their Workday tenant and you can apply to other jobs there. What to do:
- Apply to 1-3 similar open roles at the same company.
- If you interviewed, send a short thank-you and ask for high-level feedback.
- Change one thing before you reapply: a quantified result, a certification or a portfolio project.
If you only applied and never spoke to anyone, do not follow up on an "Inactive" status unless you have a referral or found a real mistake in your submission.
In Progress vs Under Review on Workday: which is better?
Both mean your application is still open. The difference is how far it has gone:
Under Review | In Progress | |
|---|---|---|
Typical stage | First review by a recruiter or a screening step | A later active stage: screen, assessment, interview, agreement (at employers that map it like UW-Madison) |
Has a person seen it? | Often yes, or it is in their queue | Usually yes, because someone moved you forward |
Risk of confusion | Low | Some portals also label unsubmitted drafts "In Progress" |
What to do | Wait 5-7 business days, then one follow-up | Confirm it is submitted, then prepare for the next step |
If your status went from "Submitted" or "Under Review" to "In Progress", that is usually progress. If it has said "In Progress" since the day you opened the form and you never got a confirmation email, it is probably a draft: go back and submit it. For a status that does not move at all, see Workday application stuck on In Progress.
Why does a Workday status not change for weeks?
Long gaps are normal and rarely about you:
- hiring managers are slow to give feedback, which is the most common bottleneck
- headcount and compensation approvals take time
- panel interviews are hard to schedule
- recruiters often update stages in batches, and a status change sends no email
Do not read silence as rejection until the status moves to a closed state such as "Inactive", "Process Completed" or "Not Selected".
How do you follow up without annoying the recruiter?
Follow up once, at the right time, and add something useful.
- Days 0-2 after applying: do not follow up. Improve your resume targeting and look for a referral.
- 5-7 business days after "Under Review": one short message.
- After interviews: 3-5 business days after the last round, unless they gave you a date.
- When "Offer" stalls: a logistics check-in after about 5 business days.
After "Under Review" (LinkedIn or email): Hi [Name], I applied for the [Role Title] role and wanted to share one relevant result: I recently [achievement with a number] using [skill or tool]. I can send a one-page work sample if that helps. Is the team still reviewing candidates this week?
After the final interview (status still "Interview"): Hi [Name], thanks again for coordinating the process. I'm still very interested in the role, especially the [specific team goal] we discussed. Is there a decision timeline you can share, or anything else I can provide?
What not to do: follow up daily, send "Any updates?" with no context, or write more than 5 lines.
How do you track many Workday applications at once?
Every employer runs its own Workday portal with its own login, so after ten applications it is easy to lose track of which resume you sent, which status each one has and when to follow up. A spreadsheet works for a handful of roles. For more, a tracker that keeps every application, its status and the resume version in one place saves time. Apply4Me combines a job tracker, an ATS score for each offer and auto-apply with your approval on web and mobile, and it has a free plan.
Checklist: what to do for each Workday status
- Application Received / Submitted: tailor keywords for the next application, look for a referral, keep applying.
- In Progress: confirm it is submitted; if yes, prepare for the next stage.
- Under Review / Under Consideration: wait 5-7 business days, then one value-based follow-up.
- Manager Review / Next Level Review: ask for a referral now if you can.
- Screen / Assessment: finish within 48 hours and prepare your pitch.
- Interview: STAR stories, confirm the format, follow up 3-5 days after the last round.
- Offer / Background Check: answer fast, prepare negotiation, gather documents.
- Inactive / Process Completed / Not Selected: apply to similar roles and improve one thing before reapplying.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Inactive" mean in a Workday application?
It means the application is no longer active for that job: the role was filled, frozen or cancelled, you were not selected, or you withdrew. It is not a ban, and you can apply to other jobs at the same company.
Is "In Progress" on Workday a good sign?
Usually yes. At many employers "In Progress" replaces "Submitted" once you move past the first review into a stage such as screening, assessment or interview. Check that you actually submitted, because some portals also show drafts as "In Progress".
Does Workday email you when your status changes?
Not necessarily. At UW-Madison, for example, a recruiter's status change sends no notification to the candidate. Check Candidate Home and your spam folder rather than waiting for an email.
How long does "Under Review" take in Workday?
Often one to two weeks, depending on the hiring manager's queue and approvals. One follow-up after 5-7 business days is appropriate.
What does "Process Completed" mean on Workday?
The hiring process for that requisition is closed. Unless you received an offer, you were not hired for that job. Your profile stays in the employer's system for future openings.