How do I apply for an opportunity, and what do the different statuses mean?

Last updated About 1 hour ago

Applying to a Work-Based Learning opportunity starts with expressing interest — your WBL coordinator approves your placement before you formally apply. Every step and status you'll see along the way appears in My Applications.

The full status trail

	What you do	What you'll see
1. Express interest	Click I'm Interested on an opportunity card	Interested badge
2. Coordinator approves	Your coordinator reviews and approves you	Notification that you've been approved; card shows Approved Placement with an Apply button
3. You apply	Click Apply and fill out the application	Card shows Resume/Email Sent
4. Follow-up (if needed)	More than 5 days pass with no update	Follow Up Recommended badge suggests checking in with the employer
5. Report the outcome	You click I'm Hired or Not Hired	If hired: Waiting on WBL Coordinator. If not: it drops off your active applications
6. Coordinator confirms hire	Your coordinator finalizes the hire	Hired
7. Experience starts	Your coordinator creates your WBL experience	WBL Experience Started

There's no "Interview" or "Under Review" status in this flow — approval, application, and hiring are the only formal stages.

Step 1 & 2 — Interest and approval

You express interest from the opportunity card (see How do I search for Work-Based Learning opportunities and express interest?). It appears in My Applications as Interested while your coordinator reviews it. Once your coordinator approves your placement, you'll be notified and the card will show Approved Placement with an Apply button.

Step 3 — Applying

Click Apply on an approved placement. A window opens explaining What happens when you apply: your message and resume are sent to the employer, and you're encouraged to follow up after a few days. Fill out:

A Custom Message/Cover Letter
Whether to apply without a resume (unchecked by default — you'll need a resume on file unless you choose this)
Optionally, a link to your portfolio

If you don't have a resume uploaded, you'll be prompted: "You must upload a resume to apply for opportunities. Please click the 'Eligibility' tab to upload a resume."

Once submitted, the employer receives an email and your application status becomes Resume/Email Sent.

Step 4 — Following up

If it's been more than five days since you applied with no update, you'll see a Follow Up Recommended badge as a reminder to check in with the employer directly.

Step 5 & 6 — Reporting and confirming a hire

Once you hear back from the employer, report the outcome using the buttons on your application card:

I'm Hired — sends your hire status to your WBL coordinator to start setting up your experience. You'll see: "Congratulations! Your hire status for this application has been sent to your Work-Based Learning Coordinator." Your card then shows Waiting on WBL Coordinator.
Not Hired — removes the opportunity from your active applications.

Your coordinator then finalizes the hire on their end, which updates your status to Hired.

Step 7 — Your WBL Experience starts

Once your coordinator sets up your official WBL Experience record, your application shows WBL Experience Started and you can begin tracking your hours and work logs as usual.

A note on direct placements

In some cases, your WBL coordinator may place and hire you directly for an opportunity without you going through the Apply step yourself (for example, if they already coordinated the hire with the employer). If that happens, you'll simply receive a notification that you've been placed in a work-based learning experience, and your record will already reflect Hired / WBL Experience Started.