Had a great final round, recruiter said next steps by end of week, that was ten days ago. Sent one polite follow-up, nothing back yet. Logically I know this happens constantly and probably isn't personal, but I keep refreshing my email like it'll change something. What actually helps you not spiral during this part?
The circle back email is almost worse than a rejection because at least rejection is a full stop. I've started just assuming silence past two weeks means no and moving on emotionally, if they come back later it's a pleasant surprise instead of a resolution I'm waiting on.
The waiting is honestly worse than a straight no for me. At least a rejection lets you close the tab mentally and move on to the next application.
Ten days isn't even that long honestly, most of my worst waits ended up being closer to three weeks before I heard anything either way. The silence itself doesn't mean much, recruiters are just juggling a lot.
Following up because this happened to me too, and I ended up getting the role a full three weeks after "circling back." Company processes are just slow sometimes, not necessarily bad news.
Ten days isn't unusual unfortunately, internal approvals move slower than recruiters want them to half the time. Doesn't make the waiting easier though.
I try to treat "we'll circle back" as a soft no until proven otherwise, keeps me from spiraling while still applying elsewhere in the meantime.
