Ghosted by a recruiter? Read this.
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In this issue
Why recruiter ghosting happens
The truth from both agency and internal recruiters
What to focus on instead of overanalyzing silence
“A recruiter ghosted me. They’re unprofessional.”
That might be true.
But more often, it’s not personal. It’s structural.
Ghosting happens because the system is broken. It’s always been broken, but it’s being exploited now more than ever because we’re finally in an employer’s market for the first time in many of your careers.
And while some recruiters drop the ball, most are just overburdened, stuck in limbo, or dealing with internal silence they can’t control.
Let’s break it down from both sides for agency and internal.
The agency side
I’ve been in agency recruiting for over a decade.
Here’s what most candidates don’t see:
We pitch roles to candidates. We submit those candidates to clients.
Then we wait.
Sometimes the feedback comes in fast.
Sometimes it takes 3 days.
Other times…we never hear back.
No “yes,” no “no,” just crickets.
Meanwhile, the candidate is checking in every few days, which they should, and we’re stuck. Because we don’t have answers either.
We’re being ghosted by the client.
That’s not a cop out. It’s the reality of the game.
Clients shift priorities. Roles go on hold. Budgets freeze. Hiring managers get pulled into fire drills.
And guess what? They don’t always tell us.
So now we’re sitting on 5 submitted candidates with zero response, trying not to burn bridges or overpromise.
You think we enjoy silence? We don’t.
You think we want to dodge your emails? We don’t.
But if we don't have an update, we can’t fabricate one.
And if we're juggling 20+ roles across multiple companies, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
That’s not right, it’s just the bandwidth reality.
The internal side
Now let’s talk about internal recruiters. The folks who sit inside companies and run point on hiring for 10, 20, sometimes 30+ open positions all at once.
If you’ve worked in tech the last 2–3 years, you know what happened:
Mass layoffs. Then hiring freezes. Then a slow trickle of recovery.
But guess what didn’t bounce back?
Recruiting headcount.
Internal recruiting teams are running leaner than ever.
A team that used to have 10 people now has 3.
And they’re doing the work of 10.
Here’s what that looks like:
Dozens of roles to manage
Hundreds of resumes per role
Constant meetings with hiring managers
Coordination with HR, compensation, compliance
Interview scheduling hell
Status updates for VPs who want answers yesterday
It’s easy to scapegoat internal recruiters as lazy or unresponsive.
But most of them are just drowning.
And sometimes they don’t follow up with you because the role you interviewed for just…disappeared.
Budget pulled. New VP arrived. Reorg in progress.
You’re still waiting for feedback, and they’ve been told to “pause all updates until further notice.”
You think they’re being shady.
They’re just following orders.
And sometimes, they’re doing it while quietly applying for jobs themselves because their job isn’t secure either.
So yeah, ghosting sucks.
Let me be clear:
I’m not justifying it.
I’m just realistic.
When recruiters go quiet, it’s rarely because they’re rude.
It’s because the system they operate in is chaotic and don’t have the system or tools to get back to everyone.
Agency recruiters are at the mercy of client feedback.
Internal recruiters are crushed under workload.
And both groups get ghosted too by hiring managers, clients, execs, even each other.
Why candidates get ghosted (from both sides)
Let’s call it like it is. If you haven’t heard back from a recruiter, here’s what probably happened:
1. You weren’t a fit
This happens more than you think.
You had a good call, but you just weren’t close enough to the role's must-haves.
The recruiter didn’t want to burn the bridge with a hard rejection, so they said nothing.
2. The role was filled
You were in play, then another candidate closed faster.
Or an internal referral popped up. Or a backfill was made quietly.
Either way, you were edged out and the recruiter moved on.
3. Priorities changed
The role got deprioritized.
Maybe the team lost budget.
Maybe a hiring freeze was announced.
This happens constantly, especially in Q3 and Q4.
4. Feedback never came
Agency recruiter submits you → hiring manager doesn’t respond.
Internal recruiter schedules interviews → gets ghosted by their own team.
Nobody wants to say, “I don’t know,” so they say nothing at all.
What to do if you’ve been ghosted
Here’s the playbook:
1. Don’t take it personally
Assume it’s not about you.
Even if it feels personal, it’s not.
2. Follow up once
Send one short message:
“Hey [Name], just checking in on the [Role] opportunity. Totally understand if things have shifted, I appreciate any update when possible.”
If they respond, great.
If not, move on. You did your part.
3. Keep your pipeline full
This is the most important one.
One role should never be your only shot.
Keep applying. Keep networking. Keep booking calls.
4. Track your activity
Use a spreadsheet or CRM tool.
Track where you’ve applied, who you’ve talked to, and when to follow up.
This keeps you focused and avoids spinning your wheels on dead leads.
Control the inputs
You will be ghosted.
Maybe more than once.
Maybe by someone you really liked and had a great interview with.
That doesn’t mean your career is over.
It just means the process didn’t go your way this time.
What separates the winners from the frustrated is consistency? Activity and resilience.
You don’t need every recruiter to follow up.
You just need one to say yes.
TL;DR
Recruiters ghost candidates, but it’s usually because the system is broken, not necessarily because they’re unprofessional
Agency recruiters get ghosted by clients
Internal recruiters are overworked and understaffed
Stay active, stay organized, and don’t let one dead lead throw off your momentum