👋 Hello Friends!

Welcome to Never Finished — the newsletter for professionals who are done applying to 200+ jobs and getting ghosted.

Each week, I share 3 short ideas to help you land interviews on demand — no résumé roulette required.

Let’s get you moving again.

You weren’t ghosted.

You were dismissed politely.

And you helped make it easy.

Read the last line you sent the recruiter.
Not the smart part.
Not the relevant part.

The polite part.

“Just checking.”
“No rush.”
“Happy either way.”

That wasn’t professionalism.

That was you telling them:
“This decision doesn’t matter yet.”

So they agreed.

They saw it.
They flagged it.
They moved on.

Not because you weren’t qualified.

Because there was no reason to reply now.

Most people think follow-ups fail because:

• The recruiter got busy
• The timing was off
• They waited too long

That’s not what happened.

Follow-ups feel awkward when the first message said:

“You can decide whenever.”

So when you follow up,
you’re not continuing a conversation.

You’re reopening a choice
you already told them they didn’t need to make.

That’s why it feels needy.
That’s why it feels like you’re bothering them.

Look at how most messages end:

“Let me know your thoughts.”
“Happy to chat if useful.”
“No rush at all.”

Different words.
Same outcome.

You postponed the decision.

And once a decision is postponed,
no follow-up feels clean.

Because now you’re asking someone
to do work they were never asked to do in the first place.

Nothing went wrong.

You didn’t wait too long.
You didn’t say the wrong thing.

You simply trained them to delay.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Recruiters don’t reply because messages are good.
They reply because messages make the next step obvious.

The candidates who get replies aren’t better writers.

They’re better closers.

I noticed this watching two people message the same recruiter.

Same role.
Same company.
Similar background.

Candidate A ends with:
“Let me know if this makes sense.”

Candidate B ends with:
“Are you open to a 15-minute call this week to see if my background fits?”

Same content.
Different ending.

Candidate B got a reply in 48 hours.

Not because they were more impressive—
but because deciding took less effort.

The recruiter didn’t have to think.
Didn’t have to plan.
Didn’t have to guess.

The work was already done.

Clarity beat charisma.

This is the exact framework candidates use when replies suddenly start coming in.

Not more follow-ups.
Not better resumes.

Cleaner endings.

Before typing a single word, decide:

What do I want them to do next?

One action only.

• Reply with interest
• Say yes or no
• Book a call

If you don’t decide this first,
your message will wander.

🧠 Try this:
Before writing, finish this sentence for yourself:
“When they finish reading this, they should ______.”

Once the action is clear, write one sentence that points to it directly.

Not politely.
Not vaguely.

Directly.

Examples that work:
• “Are you open to a 15-minute call this week to see if this role aligns?”
• “Would it make sense to discuss this on a quick call before Friday?”
• “Can you let me know if this is a yes or a no?”

Notice what’s missing?

No fluff.
No apology.
No emotional padding.

🧠 Try this:
Replace “Let me know” with a specific action + time.

This is where most people mess it up.

They write the clear action…

And then ruin it with a soft exit.

“Happy either way!”
“No rush at all.”
“Whenever works for you.”

You just removed urgency.
Again.

When the action is clear—
stop.

End the message.

Silence does the rest.

🧠 Try this:
After your action sentence, delete the last line.
Yes—the polite one.

Clean endings feel uncomfortable.

Good.

That discomfort is clarity doing its job.

You’re not being rude.
You’re being efficient.

Recruiters don’t resent clarity.
They rely on it.

🧠 Try this:
If your message feels slightly “too direct,” it’s probably right.

Clarity feels uncomfortable in the moment.
But confusion is what actually wastes people’s time.

If this changed how you think about follow-ups—

Forward it to one person who keeps waiting instead of deciding.

What’s the next step you’re going to ask for next time?

Reply and tell me.
I read every reply.

Keep going. You’re Never Finished.

— Ajay