Why Recruiters Don’t Reply

Not hearing back from a recruiter after an interview is a painful topic for all job seekers. It happens at all stages of the hiring process. There are plenty of reasons for recruiters to act in such a way and it is not always about them being “busy”:

• There are many candidates for a position and you were one of the first interviewees. It may take some time until they conduct interviews with other applicants and decide on who will move further.
• Sometimes companies consider internal candidates who applied for the same role as you. Such candidates often have superiority over external applicants, as well those, who were referred by company employees.
• In some cases, it happens that the company already made a job offer to another applicant and is waiting for approval. If the offer is rejected, they would consider another person for the next interview round.
• If the company is about to release a big project, recruiters and hiring managers may be involved in other tasks. Often in such a hurry, they forget to answer on time or lose candidates’ applications.
• Key people are missing. Holidays are an unpleasant time for interviewing since the chance of important people missing from the office is high.
• Sometimes there have been great changes in the company that require a recruiter’s focus: someone leaves, the company is restructured or there are changes in funding. There are situations when an offered position is not relevant anymore and they are looking for a person with a different skill set.
• Recruiters and hiring managers are not the ones who make the final decision, so sometimes they’re simply not getting clear answers from decision-makers.

Keep in mind that if you have an interview with a company and they are certain that you are not the right person for the position, they are likely to reject you promptly. If they do not reject you instantly, do not panic and assume good intent. Keep searching for other vacancies whilst you are waiting for a response and also do not hesitate to politely follow up.

You can find more insights in this article.