> This is the markdown version of https://www.classet.ai/blog/indeed-applicants-not-answering > Learn more at https://www.classet.ai ![Low-poly illustration of a ringing phone with sound waves breaking apart](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fblog%2Findeed-applicants-not-answering.png&w=3840&q=75) # Why Indeed Applicants Don't Answer When You Call You call twelve Indeed applicants and two pick up. They aren't flaky. Your call looks like spam, arrives after they've applied to ten other jobs, and lands during their shift. [![Paul Jones](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.basehub.com%2Fe0b5701f%2F6599306507912123f90f150a8bfaaf6c%2Fscreenshot-2026-01-28-at-10.53.16-am.png%3Fwidth%3D100%26height%3D100%26quality%3D100&w=96&q=75) Paul JonesHead of Growth at Classet ](/blog/authors/paul-jones) October 1, 2026 Guides & Insights, Hiring Tips Tuesday, 9:40am. You block off an hour to call the twelve people who applied to your Indeed post over the weekend. Two pick up. One of them asks, "Sorry, which job was this?" You leave ten voicemails, and by Thursday three have called back. It's tempting to conclude that nobody wants to work, but the survey data points to something duller: your call looks like spam, and it lands in the middle of their shift a day after they applied to a stack of other jobs. Quick answer Most people no longer pick up calls from numbers they don't recognize: Hiya's 2025 survey found 48% never answer unidentified calls and about a third more rarely do. Easy-apply tools also mean applicants may not remember your job, and hourly workers who apply after hours are at work when you call back. Reach them within minutes, text first with your name and the job, and leave a voicemail that says both. ## Why don't Indeed applicants answer recruiter calls? Most applicants don't answer because the call comes from a number they don't recognize. Hiring managers think of a callback as good news, but on the applicant's screen it's an unknown number. [Hiya's State of the Call 2025 report](https://blog.hiya.com/survey-voice-calls-are-critical-for-businesses-and-consumers) surveyed more than 12,000 consumers. 48% said they never answer unidentified calls, even from legitimate businesses, and another third said they rarely do. Hiya's conclusion is that about 80% of unidentified calls are unlikely to be answered. Hiya also found that 77% of consumers are more likely to answer when they know who's calling. The voicemail still matters. [Pew Research Center found](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/12/14/most-americans-dont-answer-cellphone-calls-from-unknown-numbers/) that 67% of Americans let unknown calls ring through but do check the voicemail, and only 14% ignore voicemails altogether. A voicemail that says "This is Dan from Northside Plumbing about the service tech job you applied to on Indeed" gets returned. "Hey, give me a call back" doesn't. ## They may not remember applying to you Applying to a job on Indeed takes a couple of taps. Greenhouse data cited by Indeed's CEO in a [September 2026 interview](https://fortune.com/2026/09/21/indeed-ceo-hisayuki-idekoba-broken-hiring-process-ai-fake-applicants-recruiter-struggles-cant-find-right-talent/) shows applications per job rose 111% between 2022 and 2025, while the number of recruiters fell 56%. When someone applies to fifteen jobs in one evening, your company name has to do a lot of work the next morning. Indeed pushed this further in July 2026 with a limited test of [Apply For Me](https://www.indeed.com/news/releases/indeed-tests-apply-for-me-job-search), an AI tool that drafted applications and, in one mode, submitted them automatically. Indeed's terms said an auto-submitted application could count as a started application, which is the event Indeed bills for on many sponsored jobs. Employers pushed back, and on August 4, 2026, Indeed paused the automatic mode. The review-first mode, where job seekers approve each drafted application, is still being tested. So a few of the people who didn't recognize your call never chose your job, though that's a small slice of applicants today. Since applying now takes seconds, it's on you to make the job recognizable when you call. ## You're calling while they're at work Classet's data shows 64% of candidates apply after hours. A warehouse associate applies at 10pm after a shift, then clocks in at 6am. Your 9:40am call lands in the middle of their shift, when they can't answer even if they want to. By the time they're free, it's after 5pm and you've gone home. Classet's data also shows hires drop 50 to 70% for each day an employer waits to respond, which means the Tuesday call to a Saturday applicant is already three days late. Our post on [time to hire for hourly roles](/blog/time-to-hire-hourly-roles) covers why time to first contact is the number to watch. ## How do you get Indeed applicants to answer? Five changes raise contact rates, and none of them needs a bigger Indeed budget. 1. **Reach them within minutes.** The best time to call an applicant is while the Indeed tab is still open on their phone. They still recognize the job, and nobody else has called them yet. 2. **Text first, with a name.** "Hi Maria, this is Dan at Northside Plumbing about the service tech job you applied to on Indeed. I'm calling in two minutes from 555-0142." When you call two minutes later, they know who it is. 3. **Leave a voicemail that does the job of a text.** Your name, the company, the job title, and a callback window that includes evenings. 4. **Offer a time that works for shift workers.** Early morning before a 7am start, lunch, or after 5pm. Let them call back when it suits them. 5. **Stop counting silence as a no.** Follow up twice over 48 hours, by text and by call, then close the application. Track how many applicants you reach as well as how many applied. Our [candidate ghosting guide](/blog/candidate-ghosting-guide) covers what happens after first contact. And if you hire in the trades, [why phone calls beat texts for trades candidates](/blog/phone-calls-beat-texts-trades) explains why the conversation itself should still be a call. ## Where Classet Hiring Hub fits For a shop without a recruiter, the hard part of that list is the first item. A service manager isn't calling anyone at 10pm on a Saturday. [Classet Hiring Hub](/hiring-hub) is an applicant tracking system built around that gap. You connect your own Indeed account and applicants land on a board for each job. Joy, Classet's AI interviewer, calls them within minutes of applying, at any hour. Joy asks your screening questions and answers questions about pay and schedule from your FAQ. When someone misses the call, Hiring Hub sends text and email follow-ups and retries at the times hourly candidates pick up. You get a summary and a recording on each candidate's card, and you decide who to call back. Across 10,167 post-interview ratings, 88% of candidates rated their Joy interview positively. Pricing starts at $249 a month billed annually ($349 month-to-month), and your first 20 interviews are free. If you're weighing Indeed's own screening tools, we compared them in [Classet vs. Indeed's AI screener](/blog/classet-vs-indeed-ai-screener). ## Common questions Why don't job applicants answer their phones? Most people screen calls from unknown numbers. Hiya's 2025 survey found 48% never answer unidentified calls and about a third more rarely do. Hourly applicants are also often at work when employers call. A text first with your name and the job, and a call within minutes of the application, both raise answer rates. Should I text or call Indeed applicants first? Text first, then call. A short text with your name, the company, and the job title makes your number recognizable, and Hiya found 77% of consumers are more likely to answer when they know who's calling. Keep the screening conversation itself on the phone. How many times should I follow up with an applicant who doesn't answer? Two follow-ups over about 48 hours, mixing text and a call, is a reasonable limit for hourly roles. After that, close the application politely. Track your contact rate so you can tell whether the problem is applicants or your timing. Did Indeed's Apply For Me apply to jobs for candidates? In a limited US test that began in July 2026, Apply For Me drafted applications and, in one mode, submitted them automatically. Indeed paused the automatic mode on August 4, 2026 after employer feedback. It is continuing to test a mode where job seekers review each drafted application before it's submitted. Can software call Indeed applicants for me? Yes. Classet Hiring Hub connects to your Indeed account, and Joy calls applicants within minutes of applying, asks your screening questions, and sends text and email follow-ups when a call is missed. You review a summary and recording for each candidate and make the hiring decisions. ## Key points - Hiya's 2025 survey found 48% of people never answer unidentified calls, so an unannounced recruiter call usually goes unanswered. - Applications per job rose 111% from 2022 to 2025, so applicants may not remember your job by the next morning. - Hourly candidates apply after hours and are at work when most employers call back. - A text with your name and the job before the call, plus a voicemail that says both, turns an unknown number into a known one. - Reaching applicants within minutes does more for answer rates than any change to your Indeed budget. [Try Classet Hiring Hub with 20 free interviews](/hiring-hub) and have Joy reach your next Indeed applicants while they still remember applying. [![Paul Jones](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.basehub.com%2Fe0b5701f%2F6599306507912123f90f150a8bfaaf6c%2Fscreenshot-2026-01-28-at-10.53.16-am.png%3Fwidth%3D100%26height%3D100%26quality%3D100&w=128&q=75) Paul Jones Head of Growth at Classet Paul comes from an operator background running an Alpine-owned company, and brings firsthand experience with the hiring challenges Classet was built to solve. He's driven by a belief that the right technology can make meaningful work more accessible. ](/blog/authors/paul-jones) Follow Classet in Google Add classet.ai as a preferred source and our hiring research is more likely to show up in your Top Stories and AI Overviews. 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