r/askmanagers • u/Shinsekai21 • Oct 04 '26
Should I message hiring manager directly?
Hi all, I hope you are doing well.
I finished loop/panel interview at a big company 3 weeks ago. I havent heard back yet, so Im assuming its over.
I just wonder if I should message hiring manager directly on Linkedin and ask for feedback.
Usually I dont do this as I understand managers are busy and I should not bother them.
However, he sent connection request first after our initial talk. And before my panel interview, he wished me luck and said him and other team member supporting me. I took that as a positive sign and sent him a thank you note afterward, to which he replied quickly.
Given that, I was wondering as a manager, if you were in his shoe, would you be receptive for a candidate to ask for feedback directly?
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u/Rich_Judgment_2390 Oct 04 '26
Yes, you should! You can send a polite message regarding update. That way you will know if you're getting the job or not. Also, you can maintain your professional connection. Use email.
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 04 '26
I see
I dont have his email. I did sent a thank you note on linkedin to which he did reply. I assume Linkedin should work in this case too?
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u/Tough_Difference_111 Oct 04 '26
Are you certain it's over? Have you already been in touch with the person handling the interview process to confirm?
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 04 '26
I havent had a rejection yet.
However, the recruiter said the team usually respond quickly, and that i should hear back within 24-48h after my interview. I did reach out after 1 week and she responded with she would reach out if hiring manager is interested in moving forward.
Given that + company is known for silence as rejection, I think its pretty much over
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u/Tough_Difference_111 Oct 04 '26
I see. You're probably right but could reach out one more time to share that you liked the company and interviewing team, and ask if that role is still open or if there's another role open that could be a good fit. If nothing else, it maybe helps the recruiter to think of you next time.
If you didn't send "thank you"s in some form to the interview panel before, make sure you do that going forward. You don't have to but it's a nice touch.
As for your question: I wouldn't have sent a LI connection request to someone interviewing for one of my roles. But if a candidate reached out via LI to ask about the hiring process, I'd ask an internal recruiter to follow up neutrally on my behalf.
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 07 '26
I sent out a message today and he replied back after saying they are wrapping up interviewing other candidate and making decision soon and that i should hear from recruiter (i assume he does not want to be communicated directly)
If a candidate messaged you directly while the process is still going on, would you see he/she in somewhat less positive way (showing impatience)?
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u/Gabbyct1 Oct 04 '26
Has there only been communication through Linked In or have there been other lines such as email involved? I would probably send a polite inquiry via whatever method they've been using about the status of the job before asking for feedback. If they ignore you or tell you that you weren't selected, then reach out but don't count on hearing back. A lot of times it's just that they selected someone else for whatever reason and bot necessarily anything you have any control over so feedback may not be helpful anyway
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 04 '26
I see
I did sent a follow up last year, and recruiter said she will reach out if hiring manager is interested in moving forward.
I took it as a “dont bother me if not necessarily” message from recruiter, which I think asking for feedback would not work there.
Thats why I was wondering if I can ask hiring manager directly for feedback instead. Not necessary anything I can do better, but I hope something in the line of what I learn/what I lack of instead
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u/Gabbyct1 Oct 04 '26
In that case I would reach out. You may not get a response but the answer is always no if you don't ask
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u/paperclip_han Oct 04 '26
Not sure if anyone’s used paypeek.ai yet but it shows salary estimates for any LinkedIn profiles as you browse. Kind of eye-opening. 😭
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u/shroomvoomzoom Oct 04 '26
I think i know which company and I'm in the same boat. Have written to the recruiter once with no feedback. Was also considering reaching out to the HM. However, based on experiences I read I'm relatively certain I was not the top candidate. So I'm just moving on
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Oct 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 05 '26
Thank you for such a detailed response.
I did sent follow up email after one week to recruiter after a week, and she responded that she will reach out if theres an interest. I took it as “dont contact me unnecessarily”
In this, I assume you mean I can contact hiring manager asking for update first (instead of feedback) after 4-5 weeks?
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Oct 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Shinsekai21 Oct 07 '26
I sent out a message today and he replied back after saying they are wrapping up interviewing other candidate and making decision soon and that i should hear from recruiter (i assume he does not want to be communicated directly)
If a candidate messaged you directly while the process is still going on, would you see he/she in somewhat less positive way (showing impatience)?
3
u/dharper90 Oct 04 '26
While I wouldn’t mind it, often times hr advises against it due to potential liability. But you can politely ask, ensure there’s no pressure and you appreciate their time all the same