Why Hiring Managers Go Quiet (And What To Do About It)

[00:00:00] Hello, hello. You're tuning into the Careering with Cameron Podcast, your safe place to ask all the dumb questions about finding a job. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. If you're in the middle of a job search right now, I know exactly how you're feeling. You pour your heart into your applications, you finally get the interview, and then nothing. Silence.

[00:00:27] Days turn into weeks, and you start wondering if you should follow up or just move on. Today, we're talking about exactly that. How do you stay top of mind with hiring managers and recruiters when responses feel painfully slow in this tough job market? No desperate tactics, no spamming, just smart professional ways to remain visible and memorable.

[00:00:51] I'm Cameron, and whether you're a recent grad, a career changer, or a seasoned professional, this episode is packed with practical tools you can start using today. Let's dive in. Why do people ghost? And are they ghosting? And why that's kind of normal? First, let's normalize the silence so you don't take it personally. And let's be honest, it's very easy to take that silence personally.

[00:01:19] We immediately look internally and decide why this person doesn't like us. I've heard it many, many times. The 2026 job market is quite cautious. Companies are dealing with economic uncertainty, heavier AI screening than ever before, and longer internal approval processes. Hiring managers are often juggling multiple roles while doing their regular jobs. A thoughtful follow-up isn't annoying.

[00:01:48] It shows interest and initiative. The key is adding value instead of just, did you decide yet? If you've been ghosted after an interview, you're definitely not alone. The good news, there are simple systems and free or low-cost tools that can help you to stay on the radar without burning bridges. Let's get into the good stuff, the actual tools and strategies. Tactic one. LinkedIn. Your visibility engine.

[00:02:18] LinkedIn is still the number one place recruiters and hiring managers check. Don't just set it and forget it. You need to post consistently, two to three times per week. Share insights from articles that you've read, lessons from your last role, or quick thoughts on industry trends. Even a short post like, just read about how AI is changing the engineering field. Here's one takeaway I'm applying, keeps you visible.

[00:02:46] And the thing with that is, most people are challenged around not posting at all on LinkedIn and suddenly finding themselves in a capacity where posting on LinkedIn is a very challenging requirement of their job search. Because it's not natural. It's not something you've been practicing. It's not something you've been doing. Like many things you're learning by going through the job search process. Next, engage genuinely.

[00:03:15] Comment thoughtfully on posts from people at target companies. And last, send a value add follow-up message seven to ten days after an interview. Explaining who you are, why you enjoyed the conversation about that specific role, and that you came across a report or some interesting news about that trend or about that opportunity that you thought they may find interesting.

[00:03:41] This is a great way to add value to your interview process. Finding information, finding news, finding things that can help them with their day-to-day job is a great way for them to become somewhat reliant on you to provide them with information and get an idea of how much of a team player you actually are before you're ever part of the team. There's a couple tools you can use that will help you. LinkedIn has some built-in features that will help you that are free.

[00:04:09] Using the open-to-work banner selectively. There's a lot of conversations around using that open-to-work banner, removing your ability to negotiate a better salary. This is simply not the case. I know there's a lot of thought process around people thinking that they're at a disadvantage based on that. That is very similar to the film we get when we don't get a response from an email or a resume or an application where we turn it into they don't like me.

[00:04:40] The bottom line is if you are talking about what you're an expert at, you're putting yourself out there and you're networking and you're working at that next position, your next chapter. Green banner or not is not going to affect your salary. What's going to affect your salary is how you perform and the interview process and your experience as it relates to that role. That's it.

[00:05:07] For scheduling and analytics, try to use tools that can help you to schedule meetings. Make sure that you're using them to keep track of the meetings that are going on.

[00:05:19] But more than that, make sure you're also tracking how you found out about this opportunity, who your contacts are in that company, who you can reach out to for more support and help that may know more about the organization, and also any pertinent details to that particular position, including the resume version that you submitted for that role. Keep this stuff as handy as possible. You are going to be submitting to a lot of applications and you want to know what's current.

[00:05:48] Talent Connect has a program that we use. It is a spreadsheet. It digs into every single detail of what you want to be tracking. If you need some help, let us know. The second tactic in terms of how do you stay current and how do you get noticed is smart email follow-up sequences. So I get this question quite a bit. I haven't heard from them in two weeks, so I'm not sure what to do. Two weeks is way too long for you to be waiting. The bottom line here is this.

[00:06:18] If you're looking at a new opportunity and you've applied to it, anywhere between 7 to 10 days after the interview, it's time for you to thank them and add some value. You want to have three different touches after your interview. Somewhere in day 14 to 28, you want to be able to share an update about you. Either a certification you completed, a project, some relevant news.

[00:06:43] These are all ways to be in touch with them without coming back to them and saying, did you fill the job yet? That's not where we want to go here. We want to just continue to build that conversation and the connection. You're building a relationship here. Lastly, at about a month out, just inside a month out, it's time to politely check and see where things are and then express the continued interest that you have in that role. Okay. Backing up. Before you get to that interview component and you're applying to the position,

[00:07:12] you can absolutely reach out to that person and hopefully there is a person that you've identified or somebody who can be your advocate to get you in front of the hiring manager. Whether that's a recruiter or somebody who works there does not matter. What you want to be able to do is reach out within seven days if you haven't heard anything back.

[00:07:34] What we tend to forget as human beings in job search is that oftentimes when we're in job search, we assume that we are everybody's priority. We are not. I'm very sorry to tell you that. What we are is somebody who's looking for a job.

[00:07:50] And the person who really focuses on looking for that opportunity and separating themselves from everyone else by adding value, by continuing to follow up, by not being annoying, but also following up, is how you separate yourself. The person who's receiving those messages and considering candidates for this role, they're seeing more than just you for that position. Give them a break that they have a lot going on while they're hiring.

[00:08:19] Most people actually put off hiring as long as possible because it is such a long process to be able to not only do their day job, but also hypothetically they're doing a job that they're hiring for. And now they're going to hire somebody to train into that job that they are also working with. So there's quite a few things that are going on. People are not typically excited about hiring somebody new with the amount of work that goes into it. They don't see the benefit of that for several months after the person starts.

[00:08:47] So keep in mind, that's where they're operating right now. Okay, so what kind of tools can you use to make sure that you have this sequence set up in terms of responding to them or sending a message to them a couple different times, three different times maximum, more than likely. You can certainly use Gmail or Outlook templates.

[00:09:12] You can use templates that are very similar for each position, not in the same company, mind you, but that gives you a rough idea to have some structure for what that email is going to look like. You can certainly go ahead and snooze some of the emails in your inbox so that they pop back up when it's time for you to respond or time for you to kind of prod that hiring manager again or the recruiter again. And then there's also free options. Certainly our favorite. Everybody talks about this one.

[00:09:58] Always make sure that when you are doing the follow-up, tie it back to how you can help them, not just what you want. Lead with help. If you're an outplacement with me, you've heard this many times. Lead with help. People will return help much faster than they will respond to I need. Lead with help. You can also do things like building a personal CRM. That's basically what the spreadsheet is that we work off of with Talent Connect.

[00:10:28] It is not anything that's automated. You don't need to get that fancy with it. You just want to make sure you have all the information that you need. So when somebody calls and you're in the car and you pull over to do your research and call them back or you're someplace where you can't be in front of your computer, that information is handy. Now, in terms of places you can go to find more information.

[00:10:54] So things like Hunter is a great one or Teal. Both of those have job search specific trackers. They have great interfaces you can work with. Again, the spreadsheet that we have. Happy to work with you on that. And then also setting up calendar reminders to nudge you.

[00:11:15] So whether you're creating a to-do list, whether you have something like Skylight, whatever it may be where you're tying in the contacts, the activities and your tasks so that you're sure that you're following up with people in a timely fashion and making sure that you're staying in front of them. You know, part of this also is, especially if you're interviewing for a sales or marketing role, making sure that you can demonstrate to them that you can keep tabs on projects. And guess what?

[00:11:44] The interview process is your project. So I'm not saying that they're just running a test, but they're definitely looking at how you respond in terms of what your response would be if you were selling to them. Okay. Next topic. Content and personal branding. Become somebody that they remember by creating light content. So maybe it's a short newsletter series on LinkedIn. Maybe you're updating your portfolio.

[00:12:13] Maybe you're recording quick videos and maybe they're like 60 seconds long. Certainly not the Careering with Cameron podcast. Although happy to talk to you if you have interest in being on the podcast. But record a quick video. Make sure that those updates are there. People do respond to videos more so than they do text.

[00:12:34] It's easier for people to consume quickly, as evident by Instagram and TikTok and all those platforms that have popped up over the last 10 years, maybe more, where we're literally scrolling videos. I mean, there's a reason why people are in that scroll phase. Tools you can utilize for those types of programs. Things like Canva, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini is another one. And then also working with programs like Substack or LinkedIn for your distribution. Okay.

[00:13:05] Next piece of support here. Networking touch points. So the challenge with the networking piece is that we feel like we sent off that email and maybe it's a distribution. Maybe it's not. And now we're expecting that person is going to get back to us. And they don't always get back to us. Again, going back to the beginning of this podcast, this does not mean they're upset with you. It doesn't mean they don't like you. It doesn't mean that they don't want to hear from you ever again. It just means that they may have gotten busy. They may have read it and meant to get back to you and didn't.

[00:13:36] Using Calendly to make scheduling informational chats effortless would be a great way to do that. If you're doing some outreach to your network and you want to make sure that they have the opportunity to schedule time with you, maybe that's an easier way to ensure that you're connecting. Include a Calendly link. Include a Google Calendar link. Give them some times that they can choose from to reach out to you to make that back and forth go away and have them just set up a time to talk.

[00:14:07] Keep in mind that outside of LinkedIn, outside of Facebook, outside of Instagram, there are other communities that you can tap into that will help you to find roles. So communities like Slack, Discord groups, alumni networks. If you've been in coaching with me, you know how important I find alumni networks in terms of making connections. There are more. Circle has one as well.

[00:14:37] Talent Connect has a Circle community, which we will be opening up wider soon. But these are all areas where you can find and meet people who may have either connections or even opportunities for you. Also, think about the fact that your messaging should not be pressurized. If you're sending messages to folks from a networking or job search perspective that feel like they're loaded with pressure, they're not going to respond as quickly as you may hope.

[00:15:07] Read it again. Make sure that it's not a ransom email, as I call them. We're not saying, I need a job and this is what I need. These are just checking in notes with zero pressure. Zero. Lastly, best practices and some pitfalls in terms of this connecting component. So timing and tone matter. As I said, no ransom notes. Okay. Gracious and concise. Making sure that you're having your follow-ups in there.

[00:15:37] Make sure you're adding value. Make sure that you're showing them that you are really appreciating the time they're spending in reading your information and getting back to you. And you're supporting them as best you can by sharing free information that maybe they haven't seen yet. Maybe it's in the Business Times. Maybe it's something in the Journal. Maybe it's something in the Times. Maybe it's in the Business Times. Making sure that you're sharing some value back to them. Know when that it's time for you to pause also.

[00:16:05] If you follow it up three times with no reply whatsoever, it's time for you to basically kind of pause on that conversation. If there's been no response after three complete follow-ups over that sequence of seven to 13 to 20 some odd days and there's nothing back, give it a pause. Let it be. Lastly, please, please make sure you're tracking everything that you do. The tracking piece is really important.

[00:16:35] Not just from the perspective of tracking how many applications you're putting out because you can feel as though you're having a tough week this week because nobody's getting back to your applications, but you've only submitted three applications. So make sure you're tracking that and also make sure that you're tracking it so that you can very easily follow back up with those folks when they call you or email you with the complete information that you have. Last, best practices.

[00:17:04] This is the last topic on this area or category. Please make sure you're protecting your mental health. You need boundaries. You need to make sure you're still doing the things you enjoy doing. You need to make sure that you're not spending 22 of your 24-hour day in front of the computer aggressively searching for jobs. That does not make sense. And in any capacity, there's no job where 22 of 24 hours is going to be helpful. Make sure that you have a schedule. Make sure you have a structure.

[00:17:33] There is a podcast that we did. I think it's about episode 23 or 24 with Christine, who we helped to land a new role. The number one thing that she brought up was that she built a structure for herself. She built a schedule. She had a time that she woke up and a time she got to work. This works. This is very effective. Make sure that you're attentive to your own mental health. Make sure you're doing the things that you really enjoy doing. Make sure that you still have your hobbies. You still have things you look forward to.

[00:18:03] And you still have that time to go spend that you're able to participate in activities that you really enjoy. Last subcategory to protecting mental health. Make sure that we're not sounding desperate in terms of your job search. I know there are tough days. I know there are days where it seems like this process of searching is never going to end.

[00:18:27] It's okay to put the pen down, put the keyboard down, close the laptop and step away. Give yourself a break. Give yourself some time for some mental health. Get outside. Make sure you're getting outside every day. You really need to be able to frame enthusiasm around the roles you're talking about so that that recipient, that interviewer, is seeing that you are excited to move forward, excited for the next chapter, and you've done your research on that role.

[00:18:59] Okay. Now, here's the final piece. It's a slow market. And it's a slow market for a lot of reasons that are not really being talked about as much as others.

[00:19:12] One, it's slow because there's a lot of people who are using AI to create their resume and submit that or using tools like an AI platform to submit their resume for them, which creates a lot of AI resumes in the same job description, which creates a lot of people looking at resumes and saying, these are all the same. How do I find the real people? So, very similar to the fact that there are jobs that are seemingly not real. There are resumes that are seemingly not real. Now we have a whole lot of not real.

[00:19:42] Make sure that you are, A, creating a resume that reflects on who you are. Make sure that you're not entrusting AI to create your resume. Again, it's a resource. It's not a solution. And also make sure that you are being professional and you're being persistent the whole way through. Your action step for this week, starting with this podcast, pick one tool from today.

[00:20:10] Whether it's setting up a tracker, whether it's drafting your first LinkedIn follow-up message, whether it's identifying at least three opportunities and posting for them. And also identifying somebody you can talk to in that organization and go and apply to them. Go and put them into motion. I'd love to hear how it goes. Drop me a comment. Send me a message. Tag the show with your wins and struggles. We want to hear about this. One strategic touch at a time. Make sure you're being upbeat. Make sure you're being positive.

[00:20:40] If that's a challenge today, it's okay. Close the laptop. Come back tomorrow. Come back later today. But make sure that you have a structure and a schedule. Thanks so much for listening. This is a topic that I know is near and dear to many in terms of the job search market right now. AI certainly is part of that. But also volume is part of that.

[00:21:01] And lastly, the component of there being positions that are out there that are asking for multiple skills that don't necessarily fit together is another component of there being a slower job market and thinking that these people are probably there. They may or may not be there. But the bottom line is getting to know somebody in that organization to say, what's really important here? What's the pain point? Let's talk about that.

[00:21:30] Is how you can sort of cut through the confusion on that job description. Again, thanks for listening today. If you found this helpful, please subscribe. Leave a review. Share it with somebody who's job hunting right now. Share it with a friend. Make sure that the people that you know who could use a little extra help are a little bit more confused in terms of what's happening with the job market, are aware of what's happening. This show hopefully will help them. We'll see you next time.