Why Hiring Managers Ghost (And What Recruiters Should Ask Upfront)
Aug 27, 2025
If you’re constantly getting ghosted by hiring managers, it might not be a sourcing problem.
It might be a qualification problem.
I worked with a recruiter recently who kept sending strong candidates on a niche role. Tight geography. Hard-to-find skillset. Solid delivery.
And still, silence.
The hiring manager would disappear. Over and over.
We took a step back and looked at the intake. The role was scoped clearly on paper, but one thing was missing: urgency.
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No internal deadline
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No pressure from above
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No clear business impact if the seat stayed open
When the recruiter finally asked, “What happens if this role doesn’t get filled in 30 days?” the answer told us everything.
Nothing happens.
And that’s the issue.
If a role has no real consequences tied to it, even great candidates won’t move the process forward.
This wasn’t a delivery miss.
It was a qualification miss.
So if your outreach is falling flat or clients are vanishing halfway through a search, check further upstream:
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Did you define the urgency?
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Is there pressure from leadership to close?
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Is the role tied to a problem they need to solve now, not later?
If the answer is no, be careful.
You might be chasing a search that was never real to begin with.
And that’s time you won’t get back.
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