Radio silence (ghosting) after final interview- Tier 2

Hi there,

before offer decisions are communicated, they have to be aligned between HR and the interviewers in the process. This can sometimes take time for various reasons. A few common ones are listed below for a general overview:

• internal scheduling conflicts between HR and the interviewers, especially when partners need to be involved
• the firm is still conducting more final round interviews with other candidates and they might want to wait for that to play out to look at the full candidate picture before extending final offers
• offers have been extended to “first choice” candidates and the firm is trying to keep “backup” candidates on hold until they know who accepted and who declined their first batch of offers
• holidays or year-end shutdown delay the decision-making and communication process
• there is uncertainty internally around budget and the exact headcount they can actually hire so they are trying to buy time

I know that this is unsettling and every candidate wants to have clarity on the status sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, you'll always have to wait for the official word. But it is not common for consulting firms to just ghost candidates.

However, it is best to just assume a rejection and continue with the recruiting efforts with other firms until you have a written offer in your hands. That way you at least won't lose time.

Best

That silence is frustrating, especially after a salary-and-start-date chat, which usually means they're close to an offer.

And yes, Tier 2 firms do sometimes go quiet here, not as a tactic but because final sign-off stalls on budget, headcount, or a partner away. The decision is often made and the paperwork is just dragging.

You've sent one email, so a second short nudge is fair, this time to your main recruiter. If nothing in a week, call. Reaching salary talk is a good sign.

Hi, the salary and start date conversation is usually a strong positive signal, so three weeks of silence after that is definitely unusual. 

At BCG, whenever a candidate was successful in the final round, we tried to get back to them as soon as possible to confirm the offer and get the contract signed, especially to avoid cross-offers.

Given your situation and positive feedback, I would not rely on a single follow-up email: if you have not heard back within a week of your last message, write again to HR directly and ask for a timeline update. Radio silence this late in a process is rarely a quiet rejection, more often an internal delay, but you deserve a straight answer either way. 

Hope it helps. Feel free to drop me a message if anything is unclear.

Hi there,

I would find that very very surprising. 

It might be taking longer on their side and there could be a million reasons for that. But don't read too much into it. 

I understand it's making you anxious, but the only thing you can do on this one is to politely follow up with them. Explain that it's important for you to understand whether something changed, because then you'd want to use the time to look for other opportunities. 

Best,
Cristian

Hi,

Your situation if unusual.  You can try to call the HR responsible of the office to get some clarity on their timeline.

Kr,

Mattijs

Follow up with HR.

As the other coaches have said, there could be a number of reasons for the delay, and HR are not the decision-makers, they’re there to manage the process. A polite follow-up is perfectly appropriate.

Given that you’ve already discussed salary and a start date, I’d take that as a positive sign rather than a negative one.

Try not to worry too much. Reach out, get an update, and hopefully you’ll have some clarity soon.