Serious question, why are we ghosting? This unfortunate habit which surfaced through the abandonment of dating your newest Tinder interest has changed course in the business world and it’s coming in with a bang. People would rather cower to their disagreements than speak the truth and the worst part is that it comes from all directions. I am not just singling out candidates who are ghosting interviews or job offers, I am also shining a light on companies who are ghosting candidates post-interview with no reason as to why they do not want to move forward. The question is why is this happening? It is due to people wanting to avoid disputes, which in today’s world could be understandable? It could be due to simply not dedicating the time it takes to tell someone “no,” or even due to the increase of options that are available to candidates today. Regardless, the business world is no place for this distasteful act and if you are someone who has committed the crime, please refrain from moving forward.

Studies show that 46% of candidates will simply not show up for their interview, and 7% fail to appear on their first day. Any of our recruiters would certainly confirm those statistics to be true. Sadly, we have candidates who ghost their interviews as well as our follow-up attempts. In most cases, we assume that the candidate may have accepted another job offer which Is totally normal and okay. What we’re not sure about, however, is why the candidates feel they cannot let us know via a phone call or email. The person who is interviewing has likely already asked if you are applying to other places, so they can have an idea of how active you are in your own job search. Being active in your job search is not a negative thing! I can speak for our recruiting firm (and all others) when I say nowhere on our application does it ask for collateral should you not accept an offer from one of our candidates. So why are people so afraid to tell us they have accepted a different offer? We will simply congratulate you and move on. I also want to touch on the fact that you never know where life is going to take you. We have people reach out, who have found themselves in an unexpected job search, who may have ghosted us in the past. We are firm believers that life happens, and everybody deserves a second chance but not all companies feel the same. Keep in mind, that though you think they will not remember the time you did not show up for your interview, they will, and life has a funny way of coming full circle. If you find yourself in a position where you have an interview scheduled and have also just accepted your dream job offer, pick up the phone or send an email explaining that you have found and accepted a position and are no longer in need of an interview at this time. Thank them for their time and apologize for any inconvenience and your golden. A heads up comes extremely appreciated.

Now, on the other hand, we see that employers are ghosting potential candidates. Not so much from our perspective since we will hound them until we get our answer, but many of our candidates have recently been ghosted in their job search. Ultimately, it is expected that the employer should be setting an example and embodying their company culture in each interview. So what message are you sending to a prospective candidate by ghosting them? On top of the fact that you likely just lost a qualified candidate, people love posting their experiences (Specifically negative) on social media to let others know of their dissatisfaction, and you may likely lose the opportunity to receive applications from other qualified candidates. Studies show that 75% of job seekers have been ghosted by a company after a job interview. Is it because you feel like you’re exempt from having to spend the extra 5 minutes telling the candidate, no? Or are you unsure of how to let them down easily? If you have time to interview them, you need to make time to tell them it’s not going to work out. It’s a level of respect that has gotten lost but can easily be found again.

If you’re experiencing candidates ghosting your interviews, or you’re being ghosted yourself, give us a call at (518) 275-4816 where we are dedicated to both finding your perfect job fit as well as finding qualified candidates for your open roles!

 

 

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