Companies may have to talk to five other people before they can decide whether to progress or reject your application. Those five discussions might take time to

Companies may have to talk to five other people before they can decide whether to progress or reject your application. Those five discussions might take time to arrange and complete. Companies may have liked you enough to consider you for the position but if you're third in line, you need to wait for the first and second people to reject or accept the position, which may take a few days each time. Or a great application may come in half way through the process. I agree with you that companies should keep you updated, but sometimes these things take time.