r/Recruiter_Advice

Looking for some perspective from recruiters/hiring managers, particularly those who work with senior-level professional positions.

I recently completed a final panel interview for a Principal-level position that I’m extremely interested in. I have about 9 years of directly relevant experience, exceed the minimum experience requirement, have both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and believe my background aligns very closely with what they’re looking for.

I had an initial interview with the hiring executive, which went very well, and was advanced to a four-person final panel. Before the final interview, the recruiter also allowed me to provide supplemental materials to the panel, including professional recommendations and a 90-day plan for the position.

The final interview was last Friday and, from my perspective, it genuinely could not have gone much better. I answered every question with specific examples from my experience, handled the follow-ups well, and received positive comments about my instincts and thought process. The conversation became very natural, with plenty of back-and-forth, humor, and discussion about the organization and its culture. I left feeling extremely confident about both my performance and the fit.
The hiring executive had previously mentioned wanting to fill the position ASAP.

It’s now Wednesday, and I haven’t heard anything. On Monday, I sent the recruiter a brief email asking if they could provide a rough timeline for a decision or next steps because I have some upcoming decisions/administrative items with my current employer. No response yet.
I’m not planning to follow up again right now. What I’m trying to understand is what could be happening behind the scenes.

For recruiters/hiring managers:
- Is 3 business days of silence after a final panel completely normal, even when the company wants to hire quickly?
- If the panel selected its candidate, what normally happens internally before that person actually gets the call?
- Could compensation/HR approvals explain several days of complete silence?
- Would you read anything into the recruiter not responding to the timeline question?
- At what point would the silence actually start making you question the outcome?

Obviously, I have no idea who else interviewed or how they performed. I’m not assuming the job is mine simply because I felt good about the interview. I’m mainly struggling to reconcile an interview that felt exceptionally strong, and included several positive signals, with suddenly hearing absolutely nothing afterward.

For those who have been on the recruiting side, what would you make of this timeline?

Should candidates be allowed to record recruiter calls?

Especially when calls involve role details, compensation, timelines, and next steps but can sometimes also cross professional boundaries.

What starts as a normal recruitment call can turn into questions about your personal life or inappropriate comments. In my case, a recruiter told me he “liked my voice.”

And then you’re left thinking: should I have recorded that call?

Are there legal/privacy concerns around candidates recording recruiter calls? And if not, why aren’t candidates encouraged to document these interactions?

Genuinely curious what people think.

I'm so confused. I applied to the legal Assistant job in my area on 7/30. A recruiter reached out that she'll review my resume on 8/10. I still haven't heard anything. I followed up with her on 8/14, but heard nothing. Starting to think I didn't get the job and got ghosted. Anybody go through the same process?

Just got a rejection email from a job I really wanted. Definitely stings since this is a role I would’ve been great at & at a company I truly think is great. And job hunting in this market has been stressful, disappointing, and just awful.
I’d love to respond back to the recruiter asking to keep me in mind for other roles especially since they are expanding. I’d really love to work at this company.

Is this something recruiters/ hiring managers can appreciate- that even though I didn’t get this position, I do want to work for this. What’s my best approach??

The job market is absolutely brutal.

Juniors aren’t getting jobs because companies think it would be cheaper to get AI to do it, or some team sitting in a country where you can get cheap labor.

Folks with 15+ years of experience is being looked at with caution because companies are afraid they wouldn’t be able to adapt with how fast the world and technology is moving.

And the guys in middle are getting outflanked because folks with much more experience are also applying for the same jobs they do.

(We will see how hiring idiots/machines or taking advantage of older folks who are desperate works out for these companies in due time.)

But after all that bs, say you do it make it, somehow land an interview, and you prep for it and do it.

You think the hard part is over.

But no no, because the process isn’t brutal and humiliating enough, you’ve now got to be subjected to radio silence. Nothing that screams “we know you’ll wait for us, bootlicker” like a recruiter completely ghosting you for weeks on end after you’ve done an interview or two.

Bonus humiliation if you actually met the recruiter or hiring manager in person and think at least them meeting you in person would help them to see you not just as someone the beloved ATS happened to pick and you then interacted with through a screen on a random Tuesday, but as an actual human being who deserves respect.

So if you’re an HR recruiter, who works for a recruitment agency or a company, and if you have even an iota of humanness left within you that the corporate world hasn’t sucked out of you yet? Just have the basic decency to let people know what is happening - let it be bad news, that’s ok. But put people out of their goddamn misery.

And not the generic message that your AI pumps out to let every tom, dick and harry who had applied for the job on linkedin. At least, a one liner as to why it didn’t work out. You can skip any filler talk or fluff, no one cares for it.

Too much to ask for?

Waking up, that first cup of tea, the morning constitution, having a scroll, an email at 5am rejecting you. What a way to start the day.

Based in Europe (work authorization here), background in tech consulting and finance. Targeting remote roles with US companies and getting nowhere. I am looking to stay in Europe and work remotely for a US company.

For anyone who's done it:

1. Did you land the role first and then negotiate the EOR setup, or filter upfront for companies that already hire globally?
2. Any way to surface those roles instead of "remote (US only)"?
3. Is invoicing as a contractor the more realistic path?

Edit: I am a U.S. citizen.

Had a second interview last Wednesday which was actually just a chat about why I was a good fit they said things like “this it’s only right for both of us that we make an offer” etc really positive.

Recruiter called Thursday morning with their offer (unsure whether that was a lie) but said he thinks I could get more so I said I’m happy with that if not but go for it. Said he had a meeting with them Thursday afternoon.

Since then I’ve not heard anything I text him today at 8am (Tuesday) and then called just before 12 and I’ve not heard back.

The job was also re uploaded on LinkedIn Monday night I’m just confused and disappointed.

What happened here? I don’t even think I’ll get the closure of a rejection now.

Hi I'm currently working in a small pbc company and I have done my graduation from tier 2 nit in CSE branch. Due to some tnp rules I was not able to get a very good offer as compared to my batchmates from cs departments, they are all in very well known and good companies.

I have 1.5 years of experience (2025 batch) working on kotlin, groovy and java tech stack, I have added genAi and Agentic AI things in my resume(because I am thorough with them and have done my 4th year project in this domain only). Now I do not know how I can convert my job application to oa or interview calls. I have applied to 200+ applications not heard back from a single recruiter I have heard back one (from Amazon) when I was doing my internship, at that time I was rejected after the 3 rd interview round). After some time I have been applying since last 2-3 months from Naukri, Linked easy apply, career sites everything getting referrals applying early but not getting heard from a single company?

Can anyone tell me the hack to get the interview call.

Got call from the HR manager extending a verbal offer. Forgot to negotiate salary then and she sent over the offer letter. Is it okay to ask to set up another call to discuss total compensation? Or should I do it over email? Plus she hasn’t gotten back to me on start date yet.

I made it to the final round for a Sales Development Manager role at a large tech company, and I’m trying to figure out how to read what happened.
For context: I have ~5 years of strong SDR/BDR experience across large SaaS companies, have helped coach/onboard reps, built motions, worked closely with AEs/partners, and have strong performance numbers — but I have never officially held a people-manager title.
I passed several rounds:
Recruiter
Senior SDR leader / hiring manager
Peer manager
Operations/forecasting interview
Final panel + Sales leadership
Throughout the process, the feedback was mostly positive.
One interviewer told me there was nothing preventing him from moving me forward.
Another repeatedly told me my answers on forecasting, coaching, and performance management were “exactly what I was looking to hear.”
During the final panel, the LATAM sales leader told me:
“It’s clear that you can do the job.”
But at the very end I asked the hiring manager directly if there was anything about my candidacy that concerned her.
She said, essentially:
“To be fully transparent, the management experience.”
She explained that the person coming in already has to learn the company/product, scale the team and eventually build another team in North America, so she worries about adding the learning curve of becoming a first-time manager on top of everything else.
What confused me is that earlier in the process she had told me my lack of formal management experience was not a blocker and that she had promoted ICs into management before.
After the final presentation she didn’t really compliment the deck or ask me questions. She mostly listened. The sales leader asked a couple of questions and seemed positive.
So for hiring managers/recruiters here:
How would you interpret this?
Is this usually the kind of thing a hiring manager says before rejecting a strong finalist in favor of someone with formal management experience?
Or can a hiring manager openly tell a finalist, “this is my concern,” and still ultimately decide the candidate’s other strengths outweigh that risk and make the offer?
I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has been hired into their first formal manager role after receiving this exact objection in the interview process.

Hi everyone,

I’m a little confused about my hiring process and wanted to know if anyone has experienced something similar.

I cleared the technical round on August 1, and on the same day I had an HR round over a call.

During the first HR discussion, I asked for around a 40% salary hike. The HR said that they currently didn’t have that much budget, so I agreed to proceed with the available range.

Then, on August 3, HR contacted me again and conducted another HR discussion over the phone. This time, they asked for my salary slips, documents, photos, and other details.

During this second call, I asked for around an 80% hike. The HR said something along the lines of “I’ll have to check with higher authorities/leadership, subject to market/leadership approval.”

So I have a couple of questions

Which HR discussion is usually considered for the final offer — the first HR round or the second one?

Since they asked for salary slips and documents, does that usually mean the process is close to the offer stage?

If the salary needs higher-level/leadership approval, how long does it typically take to get the offer letter?

Has anyone experienced a similar situation where the salary was renegotiated during a second HR call?

Any insights from people who have gone through a similar process would be really helpful. Thanks!

Does any one face a total silent from Munich RE after grilling through long interview process ??

Context - The process started with a hiring manager round, followed by a technical panel with a live case study + managerial (around 2.5 hours). After clearing rounds, I was invited to visit the Munich RE office for an HR interview, a team meet, and lunch. The overall experience was well-structured and professional.

However, it has been over three weeks since my final round and I have not received any update on the outcome despite following up multiple times.

Hey folks,

I received a call from a recruiter for a SDE job oppurtunity at onepay. I haven't heard much about the company, how good is it. Is it growing? And how good it will be for the enginners.

Recruiter reached out for an SDE role at OnePay. I’m completely out of the loop on this company.

Can anyone shed some light on their engineering culture and growth trajectory? Is it a good place for engineers right now? Any major red flags I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance!

I interviewed with a great firm last week for a role I was genuinely excited about. The opportunity came through a third-party recruiter, and I went through the interview process and met with several members of the team.

Today, the recruiter called and told me the company has decided not to move forward with any candidates and is freezing the position for the time being, with no timeline for when—or if—it will reopen.

I understand hiring freezes happen, but the timing has me second-guessing myself a little. The outside recruiter seemed genuinely surprised by the decision and told me they thought I was a very strong candidate for the role. They also weren’t given much explanation for why the position was suddenly put on hold.

I happen to know someone who currently works at the firm and who was aware I was interviewing. Would it be appropriate to reach out casually and ask if they’ve heard anything about what happened? Part of me would like to know if there was something I could have done differently in the interview process, especially as I continue interviewing elsewhere.

At the same time, I don’t want to put my contact in an awkward position or come across as fishing for information I’m not entitled to.

For those who have been on the hiring/HR side: when a company freezes a position after interviewing candidates, is it usually completely unrelated to the candidates? And would you reach out to your contact, or just chalk this one up to one of life’s great mysteries and move on?

Waiting for a response from Highmark/engen

Hello, I had my interview in late July and it’s now August 17. I wanted to know if Highmark/Engen usually take this long to get back to you after the first interview? Should I go ahead and mark this as a rejection?

Hi guys, I am currently interviewing for a position and I was reached out by the HR to apply for this position. Within 2 days of applying i had my introductory interview. And during the interview, I was told that they would love for me to meet their team for a second interview next week. I was sent the next interview information and link within 8 minutes of ending the screening. The hR who reached out to me to apply for this job said they want to have a meeting with me before the second interview to prep me for it. I wanted to know if this normal and a good sign?

I received a call from the HR on 6th August regarding my selection and she sent me a consent form to get my independence clearance for the company.
Last week we finalised the numbers and she said they are working on the offer letter and will release it in sometime. They are also awaiting independence clearance from my current company.

It’s been around 10 days since I received the call, and I still haven’t received the offer letter or any written confirmation of selection over mail from the HR. Although she is picking my calls and answering all questions I might have, but still >!hasn’t!< released the offer letter.
Does it usually take this long, or is she looking for another candidate and would not select me eventually?