I interviewed a while back for a SETI role, But decided not to go down that path. Out of the blue not too long after I joined MS a recruiter chats me up and says, "Hey I'm you're point of contact in Google and wanted to keep you up to date on engineering projects and tech we're working on!" They always ask what I'm up to and we chat every once in a while. With as many applications and recruiting they have going on and recruiters always seeming like they have took many candidates and not enough time for follow-up it seems like an odd thing. But Google never does the usual thing in recruiting. I don't mind it and I know it doesn't make me special, but most companies drop you in a New York minute after you walk away from the hiring process/offer.
Their applicant tracking system rewards โownershipโ of a lead/applicant if they contact that lead/applicant, and even more so if there is a conversation.
I suppose thatโs true if itโs a staffing agency recruiter because they are paid bonus for the candidate portion of a placement. But I wouldnโt expect an in-house/corporate recruiter to need to do that.
Sounds like a good recruiter to me.
It's also not the same one since the previous interview.
Take it as a compliment. Clearly you have a Follower. Sounds like you dropped them before they dropped you. They want to keep in touch with you in hopes to scoop you up sometime in future.