Long wait after council job application-should I assume it’s a no?

[OneCoolAquaQuail]

Hi everyone,

I applied for a job at Birmingham City Council at the beginning of October. They said we’d hear by 21 November about whether we’d been shortlisted for interview. I didn’t hear anything on that date, so I followed up, and they told me the delay was due to a large volume of applicants.

It’s now 6 December and I still haven’t heard anything.
Should I assume I haven’t been shortlisted, or is this kind of delay normal for council recruitment?

I cant speak of Birmingham but i wouldn't assume its a no. The local authority i work for is equally as a slow but they always let you know. Did you have to log in to an online portal to submit an application? Usually that updates prior to any email.

Call hr?

I would expect you to hear from a local authority role. Is it done via an application portal? I would chase.

I wouldn't assume it's a no.

DS applied for a job with a council last March. Was told he'd hear within a week or two. Heard nothing. The council chap who called him in July to offer the job and discuss a start date seemed very surprised that he'd found a different job and was no longer interested!

I work for a neighbouring council and it took them two months for them to get back after the initial application submission. I really assumed I hadn't even got an interview! Got the job in the end

i applied for a role in the council at the end of June…didn’t hear anything about interview until beginning of August…got offered the job and didn’t start until end of October! 😂

Thank you so much, everyone! Reading all of this has definitely reassured me. I was panicking because I am really desperate for this job.

On the council’s portal, it still states Application Received. There has been no update since I submitted my application.

Fingers crossed!!!

😄

Any update?

I work in local authority. It's slow for so many reasons but they will defo let you know. Good luck 😊

Well, since 2 weeks ago, my application status on the portal has changed from “application received” to “under consideration.” Apart from that - no update!

Thank you!

it seems the bigger the organisation the slower the process.

I see. The application closed in early October and it’s now December, so I imagine I’m unlikely to hear back over the Christmas period? Given the size of Birmingham City Council, when would you say it’s reasonable to expect an update?

Reasonable would have been mid-Nov, but realistically I'd hold out hope until about the end of Jan. These things can work in your favour though, most people looking for a job have a few applications in at once, so if anyone is exceptional they may well have a job by the time they come back to you.

When you applied, was there a listed contact or email address for an informal chat regarding the role? Theres also no harm in emailing HR. You should be able to find the address on Google. It's definitely reasonable to email.

Ours is like this. Friend applied in June, interview august. Still hasn’t completed on-boarding to start fully. Nuts