3 Weeks Post-Loop at Microsoft: Auto-reject on a holiday, ghosted, then a sudden recruiter handoff. Team match or delayed rejection?
Hey everyone, hoping to get some brutally honest reality checks from folks who have navigated Microsoft's ATS and HR chaos.
I recently finished a final loop for a Software Engineer II role. I thought it went well, but the post-loop communication has been a complete rollercoaster. Here is my exact timeline:
• Thursday, Feb 12: Completed my final 4-round interview loop.
• Monday, Feb 16 (Presidents' Day): Received a generic, automated rejection email from the system saying they are not moving forward with my specific Job ID. My Action Center portal flipped to "Not Selected."
• Tuesday, Feb 24: Emailed my primary recruiter just asking for a standard status update and feedback from the loop (I ignored the automated email). Absolute silence.
• Tuesday, March 3 (3 weeks post-loop): Sent a final follow-up email to my primary recruiter, but this time I CC'd the initial sourcer/recruiter who did my very first phone screen.
• Same Day (A few hours later): The initial sourcer finally replied with this exact wording: "Adding my colleague [New Recruiter Name] who is now managing this req, she will update on the feedback."
My questions for the sub:
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Has anyone experienced this exact "Recruiter Handoff" scenario after a holiday auto-reject?
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Does the fact that the sourcer specifically said the new recruiter will "update on the feedback" mean my loop scores were positive and I'm heading to Team Match?
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Or is this just a classic case of a dropped ball, and the new recruiter is just going to open my file and confirm the automated rejection from 3 weeks ago?
Posted Mar 4, 2026, 7:21 AM UTC