A recruiter who stops replying is rarely passing a verdict on you. It is usually volume, or a firm that has gone quiet, or a recruiter with nothing to say who says nothing. That explains it. It does not excuse it, and you can set things up so it happens less.
Why do recruiters ghost lawyers?#
Mostly volume, a silent firm and an incentive that rewards the placement more than the update. None of these makes silence acceptable. They explain why it keeps happening.
Volume. In Greenhouse's 2026 survey of 1,100 jobseekers in the UK and Ireland, 38% of UK jobseekers said they had used AI to apply for more jobs in the past year. Robert Walters, a recruiter, described an all-time high number of applications per vacancy in the same People Management report. A recruiter's inbox fills faster than anyone can read it. If you applied online, is AI reading your CV covers what happens to the application.
A quiet firm. A recruiter has put your CV forward, and the partner who must decide is in the middle of a completion week. The recruiter has no news. Many say nothing instead of saying that.
The pay model. Gov.uk says an agency cannot charge a work-seeker a fee for work finding services. So the recruiter's income comes from the hiring side. That is our reading of the incentive, not a statistic, but it explains why a candidate who is not going to fit gets less attention.
Awkwardness. A no is uncomfortable to send. Some recruiters would sooner let it fade.
How common is being ghosted?#
Common. In three vendor surveys, between 42% and 61% of jobseekers said an employer or recruiter went silent after an interview. These surveys ask about hiring generally. We found no UK figure for legal recruiters alone.
- Greenhouse 2024, workers in the US, UK and Germany61%
Survey of 2,500 workers, December 2024
- Greenhouse 2026, jobseekers in the UK and Ireland47%
Survey of 1,100 jobseekers. Worded as "no response after an interview"
- Employment Hero 2026, UK workers42%
Sample size not published on the pages we read
The wording differs between the surveys, so do not read the gap between 42% and 61% as a trend. All three come from firms that sell software or HR services. Treat them as indicative.
81%
of UK and Irish jobseekers said they had been rejected for a job without speaking to anyone at the company. Greenhouse survey of 1,100 jobseekers, vendor data.
80%
of UK workers said they had applied for a job and received no response. Employment Hero, a software vendor. Sample size not published on the pages we read.
42%
of people in Greenhouse's survey wanted stronger recruiter communication. It surveyed 2,500 workers in the US, UK and Germany, and the page does not say who the 42% is out of. Vendor survey.
The last figure is the useful one. People are not asking for a job offer. They are asking to be told where they stand.
What is "flipping the call", and how do you spot it?#
Flipping the call is when a recruiter turns your call into theirs. They ask where else you are interviewing, so they can pitch other candidates to those firms. You spot it by the order of the questions: you are asked a lot and told nothing.
Some lawyers report it on unscheduled calls. The call comes in during a working day. The recruiter has a role, or says so. Within minutes the questions are about your other applications, your current salary and your notice period.
There is a fair version. A recruiter may need to know whether your CV has already reached a firm through someone else, so it does not arrive twice. That needs one firm name, for the role under discussion. It does not need a list of your interviews.
Did they tell you the firm and the pay band before asking about your other interviews?
YesThat is an exchange. Carry on.
NoYou are being asked for information and given none. Ask them to go first.
Have they asked which firms you are speaking to?
YesAsk what it is for. If it is to avoid a duplicate CV, give the one firm name that matters.
NoFine. Say nothing you are not happy to share.
Did the call come without a time agreed?
YesSay you can talk briefly, then ask for the basics by email.
NoGood. You were ready for it.
You can say: "I will tell you about other conversations when we agree my CV goes forward. Can you tell me the firm and the pay band first?" A good recruiter will not mind. On pay, should you tell a recruiter your current salary goes through that question on its own.
How can you tell a recruiter who read your file from one who mass-messages?#
A recruiter who read your file shows it in the first message: a detail only your CV or profile could supply, the firm, and the pay. A mass message could be sent to anyone.
Sent to everyone
- "I came across your profile", with nothing to prove it
- No firm, no pay band
- Says "exciting opportunity"
- Asks you to ring
- Pushes several roles at once
- Opens with your current salary
Written for you
- Names your practice area, your PQE or a detail from your CV
- The firm or a clear description, a pay band and a working pattern
- Says what the role is, and one thing about it you may not like
- Offers email first and a booked call
- Offers one role and says why it fits
- Asks what you want and what you would not accept
If you are not sure how they found you, ask. The ICO says an organisation that gets your personal data from another source should tell you where it came from, within one month. Ask in writing. The answer tells you a good deal about the message.
What to ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV has the full list of questions. Ask the same ones of the recruiter who writes the warm message. Warm is not the same as prepared.
What is a reasonable response time to ask for?#
We found no official standard for how fast a recruiter should reply. The REC's compliance guide for its code of practice tells members to agree clear timescales for returning calls and correspondence, and recommends acknowledging every candidate's contact. It sets no fixed number of days. So treat it as something you ask for at the start, in words, and not as a number you can demand.
A fair standard is this. Every message gets an answer, even if the answer is "nothing yet". Every update names the date of the next one. A recruiter who can do that is easy to work with. Silence is not a status update.
Ask for it in one line: "Could you tell me when you will next update me, and tell me too if the answer is no?"
Be fair on your side. If a firm is slow, a recruiter cannot make it faster. What they can do is tell you that, and tell you what they are doing about it.
On this siteWhat to ask before you send a CVThe questions that settle the firm, the pay and what happens to your CV, in one place.Read the guideHow do you set the terms of contact?#
Say it in your first reply: email first, calls by appointment, and a date for the next update. A recruiter who agrees has told you something. One who ignores it has told you more.
Reply by email
Even if they called. It puts the terms in writing.
Say how you want to be contacted
Email first. A call at a time you book. Not at your desk if your current firm could overhear.
Ask for the basics in writing
The firm, the pay band and the working pattern in days.
Say what needs your yes
Your CV goes to no firm without your agreement for that firm.
Ask for a date
When will they update you, and will they tell you if the answer is no?
Here is wording you can use:
Thank you for getting in touch. I prefer email first, then a call at a time we agree. Could you send the firm, the pay band and the working pattern in days? Please do not send my CV anywhere without asking me first. Could you also tell me when you will next update me?
Mention your notice period once, as a fact, and not as a bargaining chip. How long is a solicitor's notice period explains what is usual. If you work in conveyancing, our conveyancing page shows the kinds of roles we speak to people about.
What should you do when a recruiter ghosts you?#
Send one short follow-up, wait, then move on. This is our suggestion, not a rule, and it keeps you polite and moving.
Check the date
Did they promise an update by a day that has passed? If so, that is your cue.
Send one chaser
Wait until the date they gave you. If there was none, about a working week after the last message.
Ask a closed question
"Is this role still live, and is my CV still with the firm?" A yes or no is easy to give.
Wait a second week
Then stop chasing. Two messages is enough.
Move on, and say so
Tell them you will assume the role has closed. Keep their reply, or the lack of one.
A short script:
Hello [name], you said you would update me by [date]. Could you tell me whether the role is still live and whether my CV is still with the firm? A yes or a no is fine. If I do not hear by [date], I will assume it has closed.
If the silence follows an interview, ask the recruiter for the firm's feedback in writing. If they have none, ask them to say so. That at least closes the file. Sometimes the cause is that the role was never real, and ghost jobs and how to tell a real legal vacancy covers the signs.
Do not let one quiet recruiter put you off moving. The live roles on our jobs page show the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date, so you can judge a role before you speak to anyone.
What does a good recruiter do instead?#
A good recruiter reads your file, tells you the firm, pay and working pattern, asks before sending anything, and keeps in touch when there is no news. That is a standard to hold any recruiter to, including us.
If you would like to test that, a 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams is the place to do it. Bring the questions in this piece, and see how they are answered. You can also read why legal job adverts should show the salary, or look at the salary guide for bands.
On this siteAsk us the questions on a callA 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams, with a named person. No CV goes forward without your say so.Book a callSources
- Greenhouse: 2024 State of Job Hunting report (vendor survey of 2,500 workers in the US, UK and Germany, December 2024)
- People Management: Half of UK and Irish jobseekers have been ghosted after interviews, survey finds (20 October 2026, reporting Greenhouse's 2026 Future of Hiring Report)
- Employment Hero: Ghost jobs and fake job listings discourage UK job seekers (13 January 2026, vendor survey)
- REC: Code of Professional Practice
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses: Overview
- ICO: Your right to be informed if your personal data is being used
- REC: Code of Professional Practice, guide to compliance (PDF; its file properties show October 2020)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.