Following Up After a Job Application: Templates and Timing for Switzerland

You sent the application ten days ago. You reread the ad, you know you are a good fit — and you have heard nothing. Silence after an application is completely normal in Switzerland: many HR teams screen in batches, wait for the posting to close, or simply move slowly during the summer and Christmas lulls.

A well-timed, polite follow-up can only help you: it signals genuine interest and sometimes surfaces an application that got stuck. A badly timed or pushy one can genuinely hurt. This guide covers when to follow up, whether to call or write in the Swiss context, exact templates you can copy, the mistakes to avoid — and why, if you are registered with the RAV (regional employment center), every response you receive belongs in your monthly proof of job-search efforts.

When to Follow Up: Timing That Works

There is no legal or official rule for follow-up timing — treat everything below as guidance, not law.

Two Swiss-specific factors are worth pricing in. First, many postings stay open for several weeks, and screening often starts only after the closing date. Second, replies slow down noticeably in July–August and around Christmas — the traditional hiring lulls — so add a few days of patience in those windows.

If a first follow-up gets no reply, one more attempt after another two weeks is acceptable. After that, let it go and put your energy into the next application.

Phone or Email? The Swiss Context

Email is the safe default. It is unobtrusive, gives the recipient time to check your file, and leaves a written trace you can archive.

Phone can work — under conditions. If the ad explicitly lists a contact person with a phone number ("Auskünfte erteilt Frau X"), a short, well-prepared call is accepted and even welcomed in Switzerland; recruiters list the number because they expect calls. Keep it under two minutes, call mid-morning or mid-afternoon, and have a concrete question ready. In German-speaking Switzerland, open in Hochdeutsch and only switch to dialect if the other person does. If no phone contact is given, don't hunt one down — that reads as boundary-crossing, not initiative.

Whichever channel you use: follow up with the address or person named in the ad, not the CEO, not the team lead you found online.

Copy-Paste Templates

Adapt the brackets, keep the length — short is a feature.

1. Polite status inquiry (no response after ~2 weeks)

Subject: Application for [position] — [your name]

Dear Ms./Mr. [last name],

On [date] I applied for the position of [position]. The role still interests me very much, so I wanted to ask politely about the current status of the selection process.

If you need any further documents from me, I will gladly provide them.

Kind regards, [your name] — [phone]

2. Post-interview thank-you and status check

Subject: Thank you for the interview on [date]

Dear Ms./Mr. [last name],

Thank you again for the open conversation on [date] — it confirmed my interest in the role and in [company].

You mentioned a decision was planned by [date]. May I ask whether the timeline still stands? I remain very interested and am happy to provide references at any time.

Kind regards, [your name]

3. Replying to a rejection and asking for feedback

Subject: Re: Your decision regarding [position]

Dear Ms./Mr. [last name],

Thank you for letting me know, and for the time you took to review my application. I am naturally disappointed, but I appreciate the clear communication.

If possible, I would be grateful for one or two points of feedback on my application or interview — it would help me a great deal.

I would be pleased to be considered for future openings at [company].

Kind regards, [your name]

What Not to Do

• Daily pinging. More than one follow-up per stage reads as pressure, not interest.
• Guilt-tripping. "I really need an answer," "I've been waiting for three weeks now" — never. Your circumstances are not the recruiter's obligation.
• LinkedIn stalking. Repeated connection requests to the hiring manager, DMs after being rejected, commenting on every company post — all of it is visible and all of it is remembered.
• Showing up unannounced at reception "to introduce yourself." In Switzerland this is not bold; it is a red flag.
• Ultimatums. "I have another offer and need your answer by Friday" only works if it is true, and even then it belongs in a polite phone call, not a threat-shaped email.
• Following up before the stated deadline. If the ad says applications close on the 30th, silence on the 25th means nothing.

Handling Rejections Professionally

A rejection ends one process — it does not have to end the relationship. Switzerland's job market is small: HR staff change companies, and the recruiter who rejected you in spring may screen your dream job in autumn. So reply briefly (template 3), thank them, and ask for feedback.

Manage expectations: many Swiss companies give little or no substantive feedback in writing, often out of legal caution. Your odds are better after an interview than after a paper rejection, and better on the phone than by email. If you get feedback, take it as data, not judgment; if you don't, one polite ask was still worth it.

Then log the rejection and move on — which brings us to the RAV.

Every Response Belongs in Your RAV Record

If you are registered with the RAV, follow-up has an administrative side that many people miss: outcomes are part of your monthly proof of job-search efforts.

The official form "Nachweis der persönlichen Arbeitsbemühungen" (716.007) contains a dedicated outcome column — "Ergebnis der Bewerbung" — with the options still open, interview, hired, and rejection (plus the reason for the rejection). A rejection is not a failure in RAV terms; it completes the record and shows your applications were real.

Three rules follow directly from the form and the official guidance:

1. Keep every rejection letter. The form's own instructions state that written documents such as copies of application letters or rejection letters must be kept and submitted on demand.
2. Update outcomes before you submit. The proof for each calendar month is due at the latest on the 5th day of the following month (Art. 26 AVIV); efforts submitted later can no longer be considered unless you have an excusable reason.
3. Or record digitally. The "Arbeitsbemühungen" eService in Job-Room lets you log efforts online; recorded entries are transmitted to your RAV automatically around the 5th–6th of the month. Whether self-made tables are accepted instead varies by RAV — use the eService or the official form unless your advisor agrees otherwise.

Practical habit: the moment any response arrives — confirmation, interview invitation, rejection — note it the same day. Reconstructing outcomes on the 4th of the month from a full inbox is exactly how entries get lost.

Where preparAItor Fits

Follow-up fails when it depends on memory. The preparAItor Application Tracker — included on every plan (Free 5 / Starter 15 / Pro 50 / Premium 300 entries) — makes it systematic:

• Statuses across the whole pipeline (applied, interview, offer, rejected …) mean one glance shows which applications are quietly aging past the 10–14-day mark.
• Notes and next-action reminders hold the follow-up date, the contact person from the ad, and what you promised to send — so the second template above goes out on the right day, not "sometime."
• Every outcome logged is proof-ready. The tracker records the same data the RAV proof form asks for — date, company, contact, position, status and outcome, notes — and keeps entries for 365 days with export available. Your monthly proof becomes minutes of copying, not an evening of reconstruction. (preparAItor doesn't fill or submit the official form itself — it just keeps the identical information in one place.)

The generated Application Email from the document package gives you a consistent, professional starting point, and if the follow-up produces an interview invitation, the interview preparation guide is the logical next read.

Sources

• arbeit.swiss — Form "Nachweis der persönlichen Arbeitsbemühungen" 716.007 (PDF)
• arbeit.swiss — eServices and forms for unemployment benefit
• Canton of Zurich — Persönliche Arbeitsbemühungen einreichen