If you've been ghosted after a verbal offer, wait about a week past the date they gave you, then send one short message asking for the written offer and its date. If that goes unanswered, write to a different person a week later. Keep every other loop running, and pick a close date for this one now.
Greenhouse's December 2024 survey found almost 1 in 10 candidates had been ghosted after receiving an offer. It's not rare, and it says nothing about your interviews.
Is a verbal offer something you can count on?
Not yet. A Muse article republished by CSUN's career center says a verbal offer isn't official until it's in writing, and Career.io advises asking for it in writing with the role, salary and start date. Treat it as a strong lead, not a job.
Silence after a promise usually has a boring cause. College Recruiter, reposted by Lafayette, lists a backup candidate waiting while the company hears from its first choice, a budget cut mid-hire, and a role filled internally. The Muse piece adds promotions from within and a recruiter who doesn't have the final say yet. None of those is about you, and from outside you can't tell which one you're in.
The way to learn about yours is to ask for a date and see whether it holds.
How long should you wait before you follow up?
Ask for the date while you're still on the call: "When should I expect the written offer, and who sends it?" Write down the answer.
If they gave a date, wait about a week past it. If they gave none, count a week from your last contact. If that week has already passed, send message 1 today. The Muse and Career.io both land on about a week, and Career.io adds a second follow-up a week after the first.
One candidate's post on Blind, about a verbal offer from State Street followed by silence, shows how this feels from inside. The poster chased daily. One commenter told them to wait one more week, then move on. A daily chase gives the company nothing new to answer. Two messages a week apart do.
Our close date: a week after message 2. Career.io says that if there's still no reply it's time to move on, and that's the point to move the job to Closed.
Here you're asking for the written offer, not a hiring decision. For the plain silence plan, see when a final round goes quiet.
What do you send, and to whom?
Message 1 goes to the recruiter. Reference the offer, restate your interest, and ask for the written offer and the date you'll see it. Example:
Subject: Written offer for the Frontend Engineer role
Hi Sam, thanks again for Tuesday's call. I'm excited about joining the team. Could you send the written offer, or tell me the date I can expect it? Happy to answer anything that's holding it up.
Priya
Message 2 goes to the hiring manager or HR. They may not know the recruiter has gone quiet. Keep it just as short and add nothing new to argue about. Example:
Subject: Checking on the written offer
Hi Jordan, I spoke with Sam about the Frontend Engineer offer and haven't had the written version yet. Could you tell me where it stands, and when I can expect it?
Priya
A College Recruiter contributor suggests naming a date you need an answer by. If you do, name your own planning date, not an invented rival offer.
Should you keep interviewing, and what do you tell the other companies?
Yes. CSUN's piece says to keep your search going until you've signed an official offer, and Career.io says to get back out and look for another job. We'd go further: the verbal offer should change nothing about your calendar. If you're employed and weighing a resignation, don't hand in notice on a promise. Wait for the paper.
Don't tell other companies you hold an offer, because you don't. If a company is pushing you for a decision, say you're expecting a written offer by a given date and ask what timing works for them. If nobody's pushing, say nothing and keep the loop moving.
A worked example
Priya, a frontend engineer laid off in the autumn (an illustration), has three loops running. Two are ordinary applications and interviews. The third is the company that made the verbal offer on Tuesday the 3rd, with paper promised by Friday the 6th.
- Friday the 6th: no email. She sends one new application and changes nothing else.
- Friday the 13th: a week past the promise, message 1 goes to the recruiter.
- Friday the 20th: still nothing, so message 2 goes to the hiring manager.
- Friday the 27th: a week later, silence. That loop moves to Closed, and she sends another application.
If the paper arrives on the 14th, she's lost nothing. If it never does, she's three weeks further on with the other two loops than she'd be had she paused them. Closed means she's stopped saving a place in her search for them, and they can still write later.
What to do with your promised offer this week
- Write down the date you were promised, and who promised it.
- Mark message 1 for a week after that date, message 2 a week after that, and the close date a week later.
- Next to each of your other loops, write its next date: the call, the panel, the day you'll chase.
- Send one application today, whatever the promised offer does.
Logging several loops in one place is covered in logging several interview loops. If you're coming off a layoff, the first two weeks as a laid-off software engineer covers the deadlines, runway and record to sort out before you apply. More on chasing quiet applications sits in our job application follow-up guides.
Keeping a promised offer in its place
A promised offer is easy to treat as a done deal in your head. In Job Search by HighCircl, the Offer stage is never set from your mail, so you decide when a promise counts and the job stays where you put it. It's free during the open beta.
FAQ
How long should I wait after a verbal offer?
About a week past the date they gave you, or a week from your last contact if they gave none. Then send one message asking for the written offer and its date.
How many days of silence is ghosting?
We'd call it ghosting once a week has passed beyond the promised date with no reply. Send message 1 then, message 2 a week later, and close it a week after that.
Should I stop interviewing after a verbal offer?
No. Keep interviewing until you hold a written offer you've signed. A verbal offer is a strong lead, and your other loops cost you nothing to keep alive.
How common is ghosting after an offer?
Greenhouse's December 2024 survey found almost 1 in 10 candidates were ghosted after receiving an offer.
Sources
- Greenhouse: workers surveyed on phantom jobs, ghosting and AI, December 2024 (PR Newswire)
- CSUN Career Education Center: recruiter ghosted me after a verbal offer (Muse article)
- Career.io: ghosted after a job offer
- Lafayette College / College Recruiter: what to do when an employer ghosts you
- Blind: recruiter ghosted after verbal offer