A recruiter note that closes the loop

A candidate is waiting. A hiring manager has a feeling. A note that asks for thoughts leaves both of them hanging. Put a hire / more loop / no in the first sentence and a default on a dated hour.

2 min read

You told the candidate you would know this week. The hiring manager said they wanted to think. Thinking has no owner and no hour. The draft you send is a recap of the loop and "when you have a moment." The candidate is still waiting. So are you.

Ask for a decision. Three options is the whole menu.

The first sentence is the loop

"I need hire, a loop with Priya, or no on Jordan, by Thursday 16:00 UTC. I recommend the Priya loop. If I have not heard I will tell Jordan we are not moving forward, in those words."

That default is uncomfortable and it is the job. A candidate can use a no. They cannot use your hope that the manager will open the doc.

The reply is the point. A one-word no is a complete reply. Say so, so they do not write you an essay they do not have time for.

Give the smallest packet that makes a no informed

What the role is. What the loop already covered. What it did not. Two quotes if they carry the score. The date you already told the candidate.

Do not paste the whole debrief set. A manager who wanted to read those already would have. A briefing they can finish on a phone is how you get an answer before the candidate accepts something else.

If you are recommending no, say it. Softening it into "maybe another time" is how you get a maybe you then have to chase.

One note, not a nudge campaign

Follow up when the hour arrives, or when the candidate's other process moved. Not every afternoon. A default you honour is a follow-up they can see coming.

You approve the words. If the manager has an account, you need an accepted contact. If they do not, they get email and a page. You do not need to be in the same applicant tracker for this note to work; you may still log the outcome there afterward.

Use the candidate's name as they use it. A private nickname on your contact list is not a name you put in a packet that might be forwarded.

If the week is already in a session, connect your assistant and have it put the promised date in the first sentence.

Frequently asked questions

How should a recruiter ask a hiring manager to decide on a candidate?
Open with the closed choice — hire, one more named loop, or no — the date the candidate was promised, and your recommendation. Say what you will tell the candidate if you have not heard by a dated hour. Thoughts is how people wait a week.
What if the manager wants to wait for another interview they have not scheduled?
Make that one of the options, with a date. Waiting with no date is a no you have not had the courtesy to send. The candidate can use a no. They cannot use a silence.
Should I keep pinging in the hiring channel?
One briefing, then a follow-up only if the facts changed or the default hour arrived. Repeating just checking trains them to ignore the next one.