Ask a Recruiter: Handling a Resume Rejection

It’s natural to feel excited after receiving a promising message from a recruiter who happens to be holding the gatekeeper’s key to your dream job. It’s just as natural to feel disappointed when this promising conversation amounts to nothing, despite your best efforts. We turned to our recruiter contacts to ask why they let the line go silent after receiving a resume from a candidate. Following are some responses.

It’s not personal, so please don’t assume something went wrong and that’s why I ended the transaction. Usually when this happens, it’s because I cast a very wide net to begin with. I opened a conversation with a large number of candidates for a single open position, and I’m gradually narrowing my options.

This silent treatment may seem cruel or intentional, but it’s not. It’s just that I don’t have time to reach out and officially close down communication with every candidate I speak to about the job. Keep following up, and if I don’t get back to you, it means this job just wasn’t a match.

If I stop returning your calls, it simply means the position has been staffed or the finalist candidates have been selected at this point. I’ll keep your resume on file in case something else comes up, but feel free to turn your attention to other opportunities.

I know that candidates are sometimes hurt by this behavior, but here’s a way to avoid feeling rejected: just keep lots of irons in lots of fires all the time until you’re finally ready to accept an offer and step into your new job. Never sit and wait by the phone for any given employer, and that goes for recruiters as well.

Now that you know what to do if you experience a resume rejection, make sure you have a professional one ready to send out to multiple recruiters and employers by using our simple Resume Builder.