Ghosted to Hired: Insider Tips on Navigating Recruiter Communications

In our latest Wellfound "Ask a Recruiter" community event, "Ghosted to Hired: Insider Tips on Breaking Through Recruiter Silence," we hosted Carmen Hudson, a veteran talent acquisition leader with over 20 years of experience in recruiting strategy and sourcing innovation. This session addressed one of job seekers' most frustrating challenges: recruiter silence. Currently serving as a board member for CareerXroads Foundation and YouthCare Seattle, Carmen brought valuable perspectives on why recruiters sometimes disappear and how to navigate these communication gaps effectively.

You can find the full video of the Q&A here:

Key Takeaways from Carmen's Q&A Session:

Understanding the Recruiter Perspective

"Recruiters are most of the time judged on how quickly they fill the role. They're not judged on how well they treat candidates. It's not something that recruiters intentionally do, but it is something that happens," Carmen explained when discussing why ghosting occurs.

With hundreds of applications for each position (often 200-300 for typical roles and 1,500+ for positions at major tech companies), recruiters face overwhelming volume. Carmen noted that ghosting usually isn't personal—recruiters simply move forward with candidates who immediately meet their needs, often without time to follow up with everyone else.

Responding Quickly Increases Your Chances

When a recruiter reaches out with a potential opportunity, timing matters tremendously. "Responding quickly definitely helps," Carmen emphasized. If you receive a message or email from a recruiter, act fast—they're likely reaching out to multiple candidates simultaneously, and often proceed with the first qualified candidates who respond.

For maximum impact, Carmen recommends immediately going to the employer's career site and applying directly for the position as well: "That's just going to double your chances of being selected."

Making Connections That Last Beyond Rejection

Instead of viewing recruiter outreach as a one-time event, Carmen advises building relationships that can pay dividends later:

"Any opportunity that you have to connect with a recruiter, so even if they reach out to you, ask you about a position and then ghost you, connect with them if they are accepting connections. I, for one, love to connect with anyone that I reach out to or reaches out to me."

When asked about effective networking with recruiters, Carmen emphasized giving them something concrete to work with: "If you do that work for me and I know the answer, I'm happy to refer you to the right recruiter in my company. If you don't do that work, I'm not going to do much more work on your behalf."

What should candidates actually do? Carmen recommends immediately connecting with recruiters who reach out (even if conversations fizzle out), sending specific follow-ups about particular roles you're interested in, and making it easy for the recruiter to help you by clearly stating the position you're seeking and your qualifications, instead of making them guess. Include your resume, too, to make it easy for her to pass it on. This allows recruiters to get right to what really matters–connecting you with the right opportunity.

Cover Letters: Quality Over Quantity

Many candidates wonder if cover letters actually matter. Carmen's take was refreshingly straightforward:

"I love cover letters, but I don't like what I don't want to do is read a cover letter that you've written and forgotten about. If you've got a cover letter that actually tells me in three paragraphs why you are perfect for this role, what stands out in your experience that makes you a great candidate for this role. That's all I want to know."

Her advice was clear: make your case concisely and specifically for each position—or don't bother at all. "If you've written something that is fluffy, full of crap that you've written to everyone, I don't want to read it, and it wastes my time," she cautioned. As for AI-generated cover letters? Carmen was blunt: "Don't give me that crap. I don't want it. I will read beautiful, but it won't be anything that's advantageous to me."

Looking Beyond Skills to Behaviors

While most candidates focus heavily on matching skills to job descriptions, Carmen revealed that hiring decisions often hinge on something else entirely:

"People walk in with all the skills, but it's their behaviors that actually get them the job. What hiring managers really want to know, even if they don't know that they want to know this, is how you do your work and whether or not that matches their environment."

Carmen advises researching company values and culture before interviews, preparing multiple success stories (not just one), and demonstrating how your work style aligns with the company's approach.

The Reality of Job Descriptions

One surprising insight Carmen shared concerned job descriptions themselves: "The job description may be 100% accurate or it may be 50% accurate. There is no predicting. No one in the world wants this as their job. Nobody wants to write job descriptions because it's the most boring work ever."

She recommends asking the recruiter and hiring manager directly about which aspects of a job description are truly critical versus which might be "nice-to-haves" or future aspirations. This targeted approach allows you to focus your interview preparation on what actually matters.

Breaking Through with Employee Referrals

When asked about the most effective networking strategy for job seekers starting from zero, Carmen provided a clear roadmap:

"Start first by practicing. I'd get together with a friend and say let's have a networking meeting. And just figure out three questions. What are you working on now? Why is that interesting to you? What do you see coming down the pike in the future?"

Carmen emphasized that employee referrals represent about a third of all hires at companies and are one of the most reliable ways to get your application noticed: "It works phenomenally. Because you know someone at that company, the next time a role becomes open, you can go back and say, 'Hey, thanks for meeting with me. I saw this role was open. Would you mind referring me?'"

Career Breaks Are No Longer Deal-Breakers

For those concerned about gaps in employment, Carmen offered encouraging perspective:

"These days, I think we understand life a little bit better. Sometimes we take a break because we just are burned out and we need a break. Sometimes we take a break to have children. Sometimes we take a break to take care of an elderly parent."

Her advice was to simply acknowledge the break on your resume without elaborate explanation, noting that most recruiters won't even question it: "If I saw that on your resume and you took an intentional break, I'm not even gonna ask you about it."

Final Insights on What Really Drives Hiring Decisions

Reflecting on why qualified candidates sometimes get passed over, Carmen revealed that the final decision often comes down to subtle behavioral signals rather than experience level or skills:

"I've been in many debrief meetings, which are what we call the meetings that happen after we've interviewed and we talk about candidates. Very rarely do I hear, 'This person has two years more experience than that person.' At that point, we've determined that this person can do the job, and that person can do the job. It's really about those matters of whether they will fit in this environment."

By focusing on both the technical requirements and the cultural elements of a role, candidates can better position themselves for success in today's competitive job market.

Actionable Takeaways for Job Seekers

Based on Carmen's insights, here are key strategies job seekers should implement:

Respond quickly to recruiter outreach—speed often trumps perfection when opportunities arise
Double your visibility by also applying directly on the company's career site when a recruiter reaches out
Connect with every recruiter who contacts you, even if the initial conversation doesn't lead anywhere
Be specific in your communications—tell recruiters exactly what roles you're interested in and why you're qualified
Craft customized cover letters that specifically address why you're perfect for that particular role (or don't use one at all)
Research company values and prepare to demonstrate how your work behaviors align with their culture
Ask clarifying questions about job descriptions to determine which requirements are truly essential
Prepare multiple success stories (at least 5-7) that showcase different aspects of your experience
Practice networking first with friends before reaching out to industry contacts
Seek employee referrals, which represent approximately one-third of all hires at most companies
Be strategic about applying to multiple positions—focus on genuinely relevant roles rather than applying to everything
Include career breaks on your resume without apology—state the timeframe matter-of-factly
Focus on behavioral fit as much as skills alignment in your interview preparation

Moving Forward

At Wellfound, we're committed to connecting our community with insights that help navigate the often challenging landscape of job searching. Carmen's candid perspective reinforces that recruiting is ultimately a human process—with all the complexities and quirks that entails.

For those struggling with recruiter silence or uncertain next steps, Carmen's parting advice is clear: be proactive, connect authentically, focus on behaviors as much as skills, and remember that persistence (strategically applied) pays off.

This article summarizes key points from Wellfound's 'Ask a Recruiter' live Q&A event featuring Carmen Hudson. To find out more candidate tips, check out other 'Ask a Recruiter' sessions on the YouTube playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWXEk-9uTX2jyKkLsW9WZLBfucYXh9TQa