How many weeks after applying should I receive a response?

Realistic expectations protect against unnecessary stress. BA employment statistics: typical response timelines in Germany: acknowledgement of receipt: 1–3 working days (automatic in 80% of cases). First response (invitation/rejection): 2–4 weeks normally, 4–8 weeks in corporations and the public sector. Between interviews: 1–2 weeks. From final decision to offer: 1–3 weeks. Destatis: the overall process in Germany takes an average of 6–10 weeks. Objection: public sector and universities often need 10–20 weeks. Startups sometimes 1–2 weeks. What you can do: politely follow up once after 2 weeks. Always have multiple processes running in parallel — waiting on a single application is risky.