What helps
'Any news?', an unasked offer, a contact 'who might help': it looks like help and it lands like a status meeting. They do not have to keep you posted for the bond to hold.
If they ask you to look at something specific, you answer that. Otherwise a sign outside the search — a moment, a sentence — reminds them you see them, not their application board.
Duration does not give you the right to a review. 'You should have found something' does not help. Each month, a presence. Not a follow-up.
Concrete example
"Thinking of you — not to talk about the job."
Key takeaway
- You do not recruit on their behalf.
- A question about applications is not a mark of attention.
Try next time
The next message is about something other than the search, unless they open it.