Recruiter Ignoring Emails After Callback Forum

[Anonymous User]

recently had a callback via mass mail in NY, and I emailed the recruiter a few days ago, a few days after the callback, simply asking for a timeline of when i'd hear back, and I was completely ignored. Prior to the callback I spoke with the recruiter several times over the span of a week or so, so I know that they read my email. Not sure what else to do at this point.. should i consider this as a ding? Any one have any info or examples of recruiters ignoring you after a cb?

[lavarman84]

Or the recruiter doesn't have an answer for you. Relax. Keep applying to other places. Wait and see what happens. Following up a few days after the interview was unnecessary in the first place imo.

[Pneumonia]

What do you want the recruiter to say? If they had an answer they'd tell you. You say you were "simply asking for a timeline," but there's nothing simple about it.

The truthful answer is something similar to "well, we want to give you a CB, but the hiring committee can't meet until X gets back from London, which should by Thursday, but we're not sure. And in the meantime Y reached out independently to another candidate so we've gotta balance that. And we've also had greater 'accepts' this year than we thought, so we'll have to see where that leaves us. Also, transactional said they want more summers than initially thought, but Z hasn't let me know how many more yet, so not sure."

And so on. Obviously they can't tell you that. And obviously they can't tell you "we don't know." And obviously if they spin you an email that says "we have a lot of great candidates and are still evaluating our options" you won't know anything more than you do now. The recruiters are good at their jobs. They want you to like them, and they want to help you. If another two weeks goes by, send an email saying "I'm still very interested." That is much more gracious (and less entitled) than "when will I hear back?"

[Anonymous User]

I don't really have anything to add to this except to say that I have had two recruiters not return voicemails that I left and yeah it kinda sucks (both after 3 weeks of silence and me knowing that the firms had sent out plenty of rejections). Depending on where you go to school + how much you look at this site, I think it can feel like everyone around you has their SA figured out and all these recruiters are done with process, but I don't think that is true. In fact, I have a two close friends who are recruiters in a major non-NYC market, and they both say that they are incredibly busy until the start/middle of October. Hang in there, and remember, no news can be good news (this is coming from someone who waited almost 5 weeks and had 2 unreturned communications with the recruiter before my only offer)!

[Anonymous User]

(OP here) Sorry I should have clarified, I wasn't told during my callback what the timeline would be to hear back, so when I emailed the recruiter I essentially said I forgot to ask for a timeline of when i'd hear back, and therefore was wondering if you'd be able tell me. it wasn't a "do you have a decision yet??" type email. And i know they have exactly 2 spots left, so it's hard to imagine why a recruiter wouldn't just answer "hopefully by next week" instead of ignoring a person they may potentially hire in the future.
But I really appreciate everyone's responses- it really is tough. I've tried so hard to get here, and I thought it was my best callback yet. It's hard to focus getting the next interview when i'm stuck in this limbo without any answers. I'd rather find out i was rejected than be in this, which is why i was hoping i could get some answers here either way

[lavarman84]

(OP here) Sorry I should have clarified, I wasn't told during my callback what the timeline would be to hear back, so when I emailed the recruiter I essentially said I forgot to ask for a timeline of when i'd hear back, and therefore was wondering if you'd be able tell me. it wasn't a "do you have a decision yet??" type email. And i know they have exactly 2 spots left, so it's hard to imagine why a recruiter wouldn't just answer "hopefully by next week" instead of ignoring a person they may potentially hire in the future.
But I really appreciate everyone's responses- it really is tough. I've tried so hard to get here, and I thought it was my best callback yet. It's hard to focus getting the next interview when i'm stuck in this limbo without any answers. I'd rather find out i was rejected than be in this, which is why i was hoping i could get some answers here either way

They will generally tell you at the interview if they have a timeline. Otherwise, the timeline is when they decide to get back to you. The recruiter likely isn't ignoring you. The recruiter likely can't answer your question at this time, and they're not going to make something up to appease you. Being stuck in limbo is better than being rejected, as much as it sucks. Treat it as a rejection, and move forward. If it does pan out, that's great. If it doesn't, you haven't lost out on other opportunities by worrying over it.

[Pneumonia]

(OP here) Sorry I should have clarified, I wasn't told during my callback what the timeline would be to hear back, so when I emailed the recruiter I essentially said I forgot to ask for a timeline of when i'd hear back, and therefore was wondering if you'd be able tell me. it wasn't a "do you have a decision yet??" type email. And i know they have exactly 2 spots left, so it's hard to imagine why a recruiter wouldn't just answer "hopefully by next week" instead of ignoring a person they may potentially hire in the future.
But I really appreciate everyone's responses- it really is tough. I've tried so hard to get here, and I thought it was my best callback yet. It's hard to focus getting the next interview when i'm stuck in this limbo without any answers. I'd rather find out i was rejected than be in this, which is why i was hoping i could get some answers here either way

I didn't mean to underplay how frustrating it is to be in your position. I've been there, and it is.

The baseline for CBs is that there is not a timeline for a decision. So the fact that you weren't told one is normal. If the firm already has two offers out, then "hopefully by next week" won't cut it; those candidates have 28 days to accept. Or if could be, as I said, that the recruiter has no idea when the hiring committee will meet. If she (or he) commits herself to "next week," qualifying it with "hopefully" won't stop you from worrying and reaching out again next week if something falls through.

Regardless of which firm you end up at, silence from recruiters is something you should get used to. You will want to know your start date (both summer and full-time). You will want to know bar-expense reimbursement policies/timelines. You will want to know about the firm's insurance, when your first payday is, and everything in between. In all of these cases, the recruiter will communicate to you almost immediately after she has an answer.

Partners make hiring decisions, and partners are busy.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks everyone- I sincerely appreciate your responses. Although I don't know whether it was a ding or not, I'm thankful for you guys shedding light on this area. Just having this information makes me feel 100 times better (not necessarily about the potential outcome of this, but just not being so lost and left in the dark).
Hopefully it's not over, but now i'll be able to stop obsessing over it and move on to the next one. So again- really appreciate the insight everyone

[Pneumonia]

Good luck!