Job application response rate calculator: your own funnel, stage by stage
Your response rate is the replies you get divided by the applications you send; your interview rate is the same for interviews. Put in your own numbers: the calculator gives the rate at each stage, the applications each interview and offer took, and how many a week your target date needs at the same rates.
Worked out for the example. Change the boxes to make it yours.
Most of your replies have not led to an interview. Asking for feedback after one or two can show whether it is the fit with the job or the application itself.
| Applications sent | 40 |
|---|---|
| Replies of any kind | 14 (35.0%) |
| Heard nothing | 26 (65.0%) |
| Reached a first interview | 5 (12.5% of applications) |
| Replies that were an interview | 35.7% |
| Offers | 1 (20.0% of interviews) |
| Applications per interview | 8 |
| Applications per offer | 40 |
| Applications a week so far | 5 |
| Applications a week for one expected offer in 6 weeks | 6.7 |
| Offers to expect in 6 weeks at your pace | 0.8 (about a 53% chance of at least one) |
- The chance of at least one offer treats offers as arriving at random at your own rate so far. It is a rough guide, and only as good as the rates behind it.
- Applications sent in the last two or three weeks may still be answered, so your rates can still rise.
- We have found no official New Zealand figure for reply or interview rates, so this compares you only with yourself.
Your Job Hunt counts these stages for you: on Insights, from the jobs on your board, as each one moves from applied to interview to offer. Free while you are between jobs.
See Your Job HuntHow the rates are worked out
Each stage is divided by the one before it, or by the applications you sent. Your response rate is replies of any kind, rejections included, divided by applications. Your interview rate is the applications that reached a first interview, divided by applications, and your offer rate is offers divided by interviews. Turned upside down, the same figures say how many applications each interview and each offer took. The calculator uses only the numbers you enter. We have found no official New Zealand figure for reply or interview rates, and a survey from another country is not a New Zealand figure, so you are compared only with yourself.
Reading your own funnel
Where your numbers stop says where to put your effort. If applications are not turning into interviews, the work is before the interview: which jobs you apply for, and how closely your CV and letter answer each ad. Our stage-by-stage check for getting no interviews goes through the usual causes. If you are getting interviews but no offers, your applications are doing their job and the interview is the stage to practise. Change one thing at a time, then let ten or so applications go out before you judge it.
Setting a weekly target
With weeks so far and weeks to your target, the calculator divides the applications each offer took by the weeks you have, which gives the applications a week that would bring one expected offer by then at your current rates. It also shows the offers to expect at your current pace, with a rough chance of at least one, which treats offers as arriving at random at your own rate. Quality matters as well as volume: our article on how many jobs to apply for each week covers the trade-off. The law sets no number of applications for people on Jobseeker Support: a person must take reasonable steps to get suitable work and report as Work and Income reasonably requires (Social Security Act 2018, sections 144 and 146).
Edge cases
Small numbers move a lot: with fewer than 10 applications, one reply more or less changes every rate. Recent applications may still be answered, so the rates can rise; our article on how long it takes to hear back gives the usual timings. A phone screen counts as a reply; count it as an interview only if you treat it as one every time, so the figures stay comparable from week to week.
Questions
What is a good job application response rate?
We have found no official New Zealand figure to compare with, and overseas surveys do not describe New Zealand. The useful comparison is with your own rate over time: if a change to your CV or the jobs you choose lifts it over the next ten applications, it is working.
How do I work out my interview rate?
Divide the applications that reached a first interview by the applications you sent, and multiply by 100. Five interviews from 40 applications is 12.5%, or about 1 in 8.
How many applications does it take to get a job offer?
From your own numbers, divide the applications you have sent by the offers you have had. With one offer from 40 applications, an offer has taken 40 applications so far.
How many jobs do I have to apply for on Jobseeker Support?
No number is set in law. You must take reasonable steps to get suitable work and report on them as Work and Income reasonably requires (Social Security Act 2018, sections 144 and 146). Work and Income can also ask you to plan for work, attend interviews or take part in activities such as training (section 146).
Can jobtracker.co.nz count these for me?
Yes. Your Job Hunt counts how many of the jobs on your board reached screening, interview and offer, on Insights, as you move each one along. It is free while you are between jobs.
Sources
More free tools: see all the calculators.