Chasing interview feedback
Slow feedback is how good candidates end up taking other offers. Agree when you’ll hear before the interview, then chase a decision, not an update.
The interview went well. Your candidate rang straight after, pleased with how it went. That was Tuesday. It’s now Friday, the hiring manager hasn’t answered your email, your candidate has messaged twice, and you’ve just heard they have a second interview elsewhere on Monday.
This is where placements slip away. Not at the CV stage, and not at offer, but in the quiet days after an interview, when the client has gone back to their day job and the candidate is still deciding where the next few years go. Every day without news is a day another process, or their current employer, can make a better case.
Chasing is part of the job, but it’s also where the day goes. The fix isn’t to chase harder. It’s to set the process up so there’s a decision to chase and a date it’s due, and to keep your candidate close while you wait.
What recruiters told us
Read together, those say the slow part of a role has moved. Finding candidates is rarely what holds it up now. Getting answers from the client is, and every hour spent chasing comes out of the time you’d spend winning the next client. Booking interviews has its own trap: recruiters told us the hard part is often the candidate’s diary, not the panel’s, and that interviewers’ availability can change by the hour.
Why feedback stalls
Silence after an interview isn’t the same as a no. A no is easy to send. Silence means something is unresolved, and the right chase depends on what it is.
From the hiring side, a candidate who meets every requirement gets a fast answer. A partial match is left for a few days while the hiring manager weighs it, then moved forward or turned down. That pause is deliberate. They aren’t ignoring you: they’re deciding whether the gap matters, and a good chase helps them decide.
Each needs a different nudge. If the panel hasn’t met, ask when it will. If nobody owns it, ask the hiring manager who will make the call. If it’s a close call, ask for the doubt. If they want to see someone else first, ask when, and tell your candidate honestly.
Book the decision before the interview
The easiest chase is the one you agreed in advance. When you confirm the interview, ask two things: when will the panel compare notes, and when can you have an answer? “Will you all have seen her by Wednesday? Can I call you Thursday afternoon for a yes or no?” It’s a fair ask and easy to agree to. On Thursday you aren’t chasing. You’re calling when they said to.
For the interview itself, start with the candidate. Get two or three times they can definitely do before you go to the client, then offer them to one named person who owns the panel’s diary. Copy the whole panel into a thread and it unravels as their diaries shift. One contact, a few fixed options and “I’ll hold Tuesday at 2 unless I hear otherwise” keeps it moving.
Debrief the candidate on the day, while it’s fresh. How did it go? What did they make of the team? Is anything putting them off? Ask if there’s anything they’d want the client to know. What they tell you becomes the substance of your chase, and an early warning if their interest is cooling.
Chase the decision, not an update
“Any feedback?” is easy to put off. “Would you like a second interview?” can be answered in one word, from a phone. Ask one question, make it yes or no, and give a reason for your date.
Then offer to clear the doubt. A lot of stalls are a close call the hiring manager hasn’t put into words. “If there’s one thing you’re unsure about, tell me and I’ll ask them today” lets them say it without committing to a no. Often it’s something you can answer on the spot: notice period, room on salary, how far they’d travel.
A slow answer on a partial match is often a decision being weighed. Your chase can help them make it.
If email hasn’t worked by day five, pick up the phone. A call gets you the half-sentence nobody puts in writing, like “we liked him, but our head of engineering wants someone who’s done it at scale”. That you can work with. Go back to the candidate, find the example, and put it in front of the client the same day.
The feedback chase
Subject: [Candidate] for [Role]: second interview?
Hi [Name], Thanks for seeing [Candidate] on [day]. They enjoyed it and would like to go further. Would you like them back for a second interview? A yes or no is all I need for now. If there’s one thing you’re unsure about, tell me and I’ll ask them today. They’re in process elsewhere, so I’d like to give them an answer by [date]. [Your name]
Only say a candidate is in process elsewhere if it’s true. If it isn’t, give your own reason for the date.
Your week, day by day
Enter the interview date to see where you are and what to say today.
- Day 0Interview; debrief the candidate that day
How did it go? Anything you’d want them to know?
- Day 1–2Chase with one question
They meet on Wednesday. You’re still very much in it.
- Day 5Call, don’t email
I’ve asked for a yes or no by Friday.
- Day 7Last chase; talk about other roles
I don’t want you waiting on them. Can I show your profile to two similar companies?
Keep the candidate close
While you wait on the client, your candidate is waiting on you. Silence from you feels like a no, and a candidate who thinks they’ve been turned down starts saying yes to other things. Tell them what you know, even when it’s nothing yet: what you’ve asked, and when you expect to hear.
The wait is also when a counter-offer lands. The way through is person to person: go back to why they started looking, and adapt to who they are. Some want reassurance, some want the facts laid out. “You told me you started looking because you wanted to lead a team. Does their offer change that?” does more than any list of benefits. There’s more on this in handling counter-offers.
If a week passes with no reply, the role has gone quiet. Make one last chase by phone, then be straight with your candidate and offer to put their profile in front of similar companies. That isn’t giving up on the client. If they come back, the candidate is still yours to place. If they don’t, you haven’t lost a good person while you waited. The guide on when a client goes quiet covers what comes next.
No candidate left waiting on a quiet panel.
Interview admin lives across your inbox and calendar, so it falls between tools. Hamrr reads both, drafts the replies, and flags a change to salary, start date or stage before it surprises you.
- Spots a hiring manager with no reply for over a week
- Drafts the chase for you to approve
- Writes the outcome back to your ATS once it’s confirmed
Questions
How long should I wait for interview feedback before chasing?
Agree a feedback date before the interview. If none was agreed, chase a day or two after it, and call rather than email if you’ve heard nothing by the end of the week.
Why won’t a hiring manager give interview feedback?
Often they haven’t decided yet. The panel may not have met, nobody may own the reply, or they’re weighing a candidate who meets most of the brief but not all of it. Ask one yes-or-no question and offer to answer whatever they’re unsure about.
How do I chase a hiring manager without being pushy?
Ask one question they can answer in a line, such as whether they’d like a second interview, and give a reason for your date. Offer to find out anything they’re unsure about.
What should I tell the candidate while I wait?
Tell them what you know, when you expect to hear and what you’ve asked. If a week passes with no reply, ask whether they’d like you to show their profile to similar companies.