Workday Application Status Meanings: What You Can Tell
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A Workday application status is a label the employer chose, not a standard Workday code. Workday's own administrator course shows the main example: instead of the internal steps Review, Screen or Interview, "In Progress" displays for candidates. So a status tells you whether your application is still active or declined. It rarely tells you how far you got.
In short: Behind every Workday status is the employer's recruiting process: Review, Screen, Assessment, Interview, checks, Offer and Ready for Hire. Employers write their own candidate-facing labels (up to 20 characters) and can use them to hide internal terms such as Interview and Offer. They can also delay rejection notifications by a day or more. Read statuses as active or closed, and trust emails and invitations over the label.
Waiting on one application and preparing the next? Check your resume against the job you're applying to: paste the next posting and see which of its required skills and keywords your resume never states.
Table of contents
- What sits behind a Workday status
- Workday application status meanings, one by one
- Does Workday tell you if you are rejected?
- Rejected minutes after applying on Workday
- How long does each status last?
- What to do while you wait
- Worked example: one status, two very different applications
- FAQ
What sits behind a Workday status
Workday runs each application through what it calls the Job Application business process. Workday's administrator course, last updated July 10, 2026, describes it this way (Workday Education: The Job Application Business Process):
- It starts at Review. "The initiating step in the business process is Review Candidate", and it starts when you apply.
- It ends at Ready for Hire. "Review is the Initiation step, and Ready for Hire is the Completion step."
- The steps in between are the employer's choice, such as Screen, Assessment, Interview, Reference Check, Background Check and Offer. "If you do not perform a phase (e.g., Reference Check), no possible next steps display."
- You can be in two steps at once. "Candidates can have a job application in more than one recruiting stage at the same time."
- A rejection is a disposition. When a recruiter declines you, they pick a reason for that step, and rules can do it automatically.
The status you see is a translation of that process, written by the employer:
- "External candidates can view the status of their job applications from their Candidate Home accounts", and employers configure "external labels" so that "candidates do not receive internal terminology (e.g., Interview, Offer)". Each label can be up to 20 characters in the My Applications table (Workday Education: Prospects and Candidates).
- "Use External Label Override in communications sent to candidates or agencies. For example, instead of Review, Screen, or Interview, 'In Progress' displays for candidates" (Workday Education).
That is why the same status means different things at different companies, and why guides that give one fixed meaning per status are guessing.
Workday application status meanings, one by one
These are the labels candidates most often report. The middle column is what each can stand for, given how Workday works. The exact mapping is the employer's, and it is not published.
| Status you may see | What it can stand for in Workday | What you can conclude | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Received, Submitted | The application started at Review | It arrived. Nothing more | Nothing. Keep applying elsewhere |
| In Progress, In Process | Any active step: Review, Screen, Assessment, Interview, even later steps hidden behind it | You have not been declined | Watch your email; do not reapply to the same job |
| Under Review, Under Consideration, Reviewed | A more specific label for an active step, usually Review or Screen | Still active. A person may or may not have read it | Same as In Progress |
| Interview, Interviewing, Assessment | The employer chose to show the step | You are past the first review | Prepare; reply to scheduling emails fast |
| Offer, Hire in Progress, Background Check | Late steps, if the employer shows them | You are close, or already in pre-hire tasks | Complete any tasks in Candidate Home |
| Not Selected, No Longer Under Consideration, Not Moving Forward | A decline, with a disposition reason you do not see | Over for this job | Apply to other roles; it does not block you |
| Withdrawn | The application was withdrawn | Over for this job | If you did not withdraw it, ask the recruiter |
| Process Complete, Closed, Inactive | The job was filled or closed, or the process ended for you | Treat it as closed for you | Ask the recruiter if you need certainty |
Two rules cover most of the confusion:
- Active labels hide progress. Workday lets employers relabel steps so candidates "do not receive internal terminology (e.g., Interview, Offer)", so an active label can sit unchanged from first review to final interview.
- Closed labels hide reasons. The disposition reason (for example "Does not meet job qualifications") is recorded for the employer, not shown on your status.
For how Workday reads your resume once it arrives, see our Workday ATS guide and how Workday parses a resume.
Does Workday tell you if you are rejected?
Your status changes. Whether you also get an email is up to the employer.
- Notifications are configured, not automatic. Employers set up the notifications candidates receive at each step, and can write different messages for different situations (Workday Education).
- They can be delayed on purpose. "You can delay notifications. This feature allows recruiters to control when candidates receive their notifications." Workday adds that "Candidates do not receive notifications immediately if they are declined from a job application", and that "The minimum delay is one day."
So a status that turns to Not Selected today can come with an email tomorrow, next week, or never. If the waiting matters to you, sign in to Candidate Home on that employer's career site and check the status there, rather than waiting for your inbox.
Rejected minutes after applying on Workday
A decline within minutes is not a recruiter reading your resume. Workday documents "Automatic Stage Routing and Dispositioning": employers "can set up conditional logic on a step to automatically move a candidate to another stage or automatically disposition a candidate". Workday's own example: if a candidate answers "No" to "Are you 18 or older?", the system can decline them with the reason "Does not meet job qualifications" (Workday Education). Workday's admin guide describes the same kind of rule for work eligibility (Workday Recruiting documentation).
If your status flipped to a decline right after you submitted, look at your screening answers first: work authorization, sponsorship, location and years of experience. Our guides to ATS knockout questions, being rejected immediately after applying and whether ATS automatically reject resumes cover each rule.
How long does each status last?
Nobody outside the employer knows, and guides that promise "5 to 10 business days" for a status are not quoting Workday. Workday gives employers a report called Candidate Time Per Stage, which shows "the average number of days a candidate was in a stage for filled requisitions" (Workday Education). That number lives inside each employer's account, and it differs by company and role.
What you can rely on:
- An unchanged active status is normal. Because the label hides the step, In Progress can stay the same through several rounds.
- A recruiter's message beats any status. Interview invitations and assessment links are the real signals.
- Asking is fine. After a couple of weeks without news, a short note to the recruiter, if you have a contact, is a reasonable step. Do not reapply to the same job to "refresh" it.
What to do while you wait
- Keep applying. One active status is not a pipeline.
- Upload a tailored resume for each new job. When you are signed in to Candidate Home and apply again, Workday asks you to choose between "Use my last application" or "Upload a new Resume or CV" (Workday Education: Prospects and Candidates). Reusing the last one sends the resume you tailored for a different posting.
- Match the next posting's terms. Check your resume against the job you're applying to to see which of the new posting's required skills and keywords your resume does not state yet. ResumeAdapter cannot see your Workday status or the employer's rules.
- Answer screening questions as they are asked. They decide most automatic declines.
If the role came through LinkedIn, see whether LinkedIn Easy Apply uses an ATS: on jobs connected to Workday, your Easy Apply application lands in the same system and gets the same statuses.
Worked example: one status, two very different applications
Everything below is fictional: the employer, the candidates and the steps. It shows the mechanics, not a real ResumeAdapter result.
A logistics company runs Workday and shows only three labels to candidates: In Progress, Not Selected and Process Complete. Two people apply to the same analyst role on the same Monday.
Sam sees In Progress for three weeks. Inside Workday, Sam's application never left Review: the recruiter filtered the pool on "SQL" and Sam's resume says "built queries in our reporting database" instead. Sam is not rejected, just not found.
Dana also sees In Progress for three weeks. Inside Workday, Dana passed Screen in the first week, did a phone interview and is waiting for the hiring manager's final round.
Same label, same three weeks, completely different positions. The only signals Dana got were the recruiter's emails and the interview invitation. Sam's fix for the next application is the posting's own word: "Wrote SQL queries for weekly inventory reports in our reporting database."
Related reading
- Workday ATS Guide explains what Workday reads and when it can reject automatically.
- How Workday Parses Your Resume shows which fields it keeps and drops.
- Companies That Use Workday lists employers whose applications run through Workday.
- Does LinkedIn Easy Apply Use an ATS? shows when a LinkedIn application lands in Workday.
- Rejected Immediately After Applying? decodes a fast rejection by timing and platform.
- ATS Knockout Questions lists the screening questions behind most automatic declines.
- ATS Optimization Hub collects every ATS guide in one place.
Primary sources
Read on October 13, 2026.
- Workday Education, Recruiting for Administrators: The Job Application Business Process (last updated July 10, 2026)
- Workday Education, Recruiting for Administrators: Prospects and Candidates (last updated July 10, 2026)
- Workday Recruiting documentation: Automatically Advance or Decline Candidates
While you wait on Workday
A status tells you whether you are still in. It does not tell you how far. Spend the waiting time on the next application, with a resume that states that posting's requirements in its own words.
Check your resume against the job you're applying to and see what the next posting asks for that your resume leaves out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions readers ask about this topic.
What does In Progress mean on Workday?
That your application is still active, and little more. Workday's own administrator course gives the example: instead of the internal steps Review, Screen or Interview, In Progress displays for candidates. So In Progress can mean nobody has opened your application yet, or that you are between interview rounds. It does not mean you were rejected.
Does Workday tell you if you are rejected?
Your status changes, and an email follows only if the employer set one up. In Workday, declining a candidate records a disposition reason, and the employer configures which notifications candidates receive. Employers can also delay those notifications, with a minimum delay of one day, so candidates do not hear immediately after being declined. Check Candidate Home on the employer's career site rather than waiting for an email.
What does Under Consideration mean on Workday?
That the employer chose a more specific label than In Progress for an active step, usually review or screening. Workday lets each employer write its own candidate-facing labels, up to 20 characters, so Under Consideration at one company and In Progress at another can describe the same step. It is not a sign that a person has read your resume unless the employer says so.
What does No Longer Under Consideration mean on Workday?
That the employer declined your application for this job. In Workday, a recruiter declines a candidate by choosing a disposition reason, and rules can also do it automatically, for example after a screening answer. The label is the employer's wording for that decline. It does not stop you from applying to other jobs at the same company.
What does Process Complete mean on Workday?
It depends on the employer, because the label is theirs. Candidates most often see it after a job was filled or closed. Workday's process ends at Ready for Hire for the person hired; what everyone else sees is the employer's choice of label. If you were not contacted, treat Process Complete as closed for you, and ask the recruiter if you need certainty.
Is In Progress a good sign on Workday?
It is a neutral sign. It means you have not been declined yet. Because employers can show internal steps such as Interview and Offer under the same label, In Progress cannot tell you how far you are. A recruiter email or an interview invitation tells you more than any status.
Can ResumeAdapter tell me my Workday status?
No. ResumeAdapter cannot see an employer's Workday account, your status or its screening rules. It compares your resume with a job posting and shows which required skills and keywords your resume does not state, which helps with the next application while you wait on this one.