How Can Job Candidates AND Employers Avoid Being Ghosted?
by Pauline Fournier
In each edition of our Insights newsletter, Senior Career Consultant, Pauline Fournier responds to career questions that have recently come her way from people with whom she is working. In our Winter 2022 edition, Pauline tackled the issue of “ghosting” during the employment process – both on the part of job candidates and employers – and what to do about it.
QUESTION: I’ve found recently that I’m being ghosted more and more throughout the job seeking process, even after having initial conversations with hiring managers. What can I do to avoid being ghosted?
ANSWER: I’m going to take a two-part approach to answering this question since studies show that ghosting is happening on both sides of the table during the hiring process.
For the job seeker: In a 2021 study by Indeed, about 77% of candidates reported having been ghosted by employers and only 27% of employers reported not having ghosted candidates. According to the study, “this is a clear sign that ghosting has become standard practice in the hiring process”. What can you do to avoid being ghosted?
- Patience – you may not get a response right away. A job seeker’s time is typically measured on a clock whereas an employer’s time is measured on a calendar. Avoid counting the hours since you’ve sent in that resume and application. Ask about next steps at the end of an interview to get a sense of the employer’s timing.
- Persistence – you must follow up! The onus is on the candidate to follow up when not hearing from the employer. Show that you are interested by sending a professional email asking about the status of the role and telling them what you’ve learned about them while doing research. Don’t forget to mention the value you can add. Reiterate your interest and let the employer know you will reach out in their timeframe. Stay in touch! Don’t stop at one outreach.
- Perseverance – keep at it! Fill the opportunity pipeline. You want to have several opportunities at the same time so that you can remain active and confident that the right role is out there for you. If you aren’t hearing after several outreach attempts, move on. Keep moving forward!
For the employer: The same Indeed study notes that, “more job seekers are ghosting than before […]. Ghosting seems to have grown in popularity amongst job seekers over the past year: 28% have ghosted an employer, up from only 18% in 2019.” So, what can you do to avoid being ghosted as an employer?
- Communicate – keep the lines of communication open and relevant. Candidates tell me that they don’t hear for weeks then all of a sudden start hearing again. If you are interested in a candidate, keep them apprised of what is happening. Most candidates would prefer to hear ‘no thanks’ than to be ghosted, especially after interviewing.
- Process – review your hiring process. If one company acts quickly and gets an attractive offer to a candidate while you are still in the interview stage, you could lose out on a really good candidate. One candidate reported receiving an offer in two weeks from one company and was in round 6 of interviews with another. He took the offer.
- Stay connected – communicate with the candidate after the offer has been accepted and before they start working. This can be done by the hiring manager and is to prevent no-shows on day one. Sometimes ghosting happens when it feels too hard to say no. Ensure they are ready to start so there won’t be any surprises.
