Ghost Recruiters and Why They Exist

So, you had an interview and then never heard from the Recruiter or anyone in the company about the role. Or you received a rejection email to which you replied asking for more information about why the company decided to not move forward with you but you did not hear back. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? So familiar, in fact, that the recruiting profession earned a bad name. Hopefully, the below will give you some clarity.

But first a bit about what may be on a Recruiter’s desk:

• As much as I and my colleagues would love it to be true, looking through applications and plugging people into requisitions is not all we do. There is a whole recruiting process, relationships with Hiring Managers and HRBPs, branding, reports, meetings, ATS, priority changes, new colleague training or mentoring, etc. to manage and maintain.
• As anything that revolves around human beings, there are more variables involved in the recruiting process than can be account for. Rarely a day goes by that we don’t have a fire to put out, a wrench to dislodge from the recruiting process or change gears altogether because of a priority shift.
• There is always too much work. Always.

Back to why you didn’t hear about the role again. The most common reasons tend to be:

• The volume of work the recruiter has in hands. It is not uncommon to receive hundreds of applications per requisition. Imagine communicating with all those candidates as well as fulfill all other duties a Recruiter has.
• The rejection email went to your Spam email folder. This happens so often that I wrap up every single call with candidates asking them to also check this folder for communication about the role.
• Recruiting for the role is pending or delayed. Since a decision was not made, you heard nothing about the role yet.
• The rejection email already contained the answer. For example, “We decided to move forward with a candidate whose qualifications best fit the requirements of the role.” Therefore, the company does not feel additional explanation is required or does not have the bandwidth to reply to every follow up request.
• The Recruiter does not have an answer. It is not unheard of Hiring Managers telling the Recruiter which candidate they want to hire and provide no other feedback whatsoever.
• The Applicant Tracking System does not allow for efficient or effective communication with candidates.
• The company did not develop good practices for a good, holistic candidate experience.

Truth is, Recruiters don’t control the recruiting process. We manage it, work with it, adapt to it, suggest improvements, do our best to get all relevant parties to follow it but we don’t control it. At times, this means that you won’t hear from us for a long time or at all.

My advice is: move on. In my career coaching practice, I often tell my clients to not allow someone else to decide their lives. That advice also applies here. It would be nice to hear about that role. Particularly because the interview went so well. Or because you really need a job right now. But you didn’t. Your choices now are to mill over the many reasons why that could have happened and eventually see your bile grow from the negativity of this exercise or move your job search along with determination and motivation. It really is up to you.

#jobsearch #jobsearching #jobhunt #keepkeepingon