Ghosting and Follow-up Best Practices

The reality

Ghosting is common in Web3 — teams are tiny, hiring is chaotic, and priorities shift overnight. Do not take it personally. Build a follow-up system instead.

Follow-up cadence that works

• Within 24 hours of any interview: short thank-you email. 4–6 sentences. Reference one specific thing from the conversation. Reaffirm interest.
• After 5 business days of silence: polite check-in. "Wanted to check in on next steps — happy to provide anything else useful."
• After 10 business days of silence: one final nudge. "Closing the loop on my end — still very interested. Let me know if timing has shifted."
• After that, move on. Keep the door open without chasing.

Using LinkedIn the right way

• Connect with your interviewer after the interview, not before applying. Personal note: 1–2 sentences referencing the conversation.
• Do not DM founders cold-asking for status. It rarely helps.
• Post your own work — write-ups, repos, audits. Recruiters notice candidates who build in public.

Handling technical take-home assignments

• Ask the scope question first: "How many hours should this take?" Then stick to that budget.
• Ship a README with: how to run it, assumptions you made, what you would do with another day.
• Add tests, even minimal ones. It signals seniority more than any clever code.
• If the assignment feels unreasonable (>8 hours unpaid) — push back politely or decline. Good companies respect that.

When the answer is no

Send a short, classy reply: "Appreciate you letting me know. If anything else opens up in future I'd love to hear about it." This single message has landed people roles 6 months later.

When you have multiple offers

Be transparent. Tell each company you are in late stages elsewhere and give them a real deadline. This usually accelerates decisions and sometimes improves your offer.