Ghosted Again? What Now?

Do you see a ghost recruiter or a ghost candidate?

The modern-day job market continues to be competitive. Several years ago, it was a candidate’s market with too few candidates for too many jobs. Today we are in a full-blown employer’s market. Each market has its pros and cons depending which side of the job application you are on.

This market is slowly rebounding from a global downturn where many companies laid off employees to stay financially sound. In 6 to 8 months the market will be in recovery and companies will return to their hiring binge habits again.

Unfortunately, during these heightened market trends, the rate of “Ghosting” becomes far too common. If you have never heard the term before, Ghosting refers to the situation where the communication between a candidate and a prospective employer stops abruptly. This can happen at any point during the hiring process and is far more common than you think. You have probably experienced it.

Based on a 2024 survey conducted by software company Greenhouse, 75% of job applicants reported a prospective employer ghosting them after being interviewed. Conversely, a 2024 survey conducted by Indeed revealed 77% of jobseekers surveyed admitted to ghosting between one and four companies in the past 12 months. So, ghosting is obviously a complex problem that covers the extent of the hiring industry.?

The Impact of ghosting has significant repercussions on both sides of the hiring process, but For candidates, it can lead to feelings of rejection, and lost career opportunities. After investing time and effort to apply to a job go through an entire interview process with a company, candidates are left in a state of uncertainty. The ultimate poor candidate experience.

When candidate is ghosted by a prospective employer it is because of one or a combination of these conditions.

High Volume of Applications: Companies with job postings that get a high volume of applications will be challenged with providing responses to every candidate. The average corporate job opening gets 250 resumes. On average, only 4 to 6 (2%) will get an interview. Some resumes may never even be reviewed increasing the possibility of highly qualified candidates never being considered. ?The “Easy Apply” button on LinkedIn does help speed up the process, but also encourages sometimes “less qualified” candidates to apply.

Poor Communication: With only a small percentage of applicants getting interviewed, many candidates will only receive a confirmation of their application. Internal obstacles or long, complicated hiring processes can lead to candidates being left in the dark for months waiting on their application status. Many times, never hearing back again. If busy or overburdened recruiters are not mandated to maintain 100% communication with candidates, ghosting is inevitable.

Lacking adequate technology: Many companies manage their hiring process through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that are increasingly more efficient, intelligent, and expensive. Most ATS can send automated emails as candidates progress through the hiring process. Companies without the funding for an ATS or the budget to customize them will still relay on manual processes and are prone to mistakes and capacity challenges.

Fear of Delivering Bad News: Candidates who are successful in getting an interview face the challenge of receiving feedback. The fear of a candidate’s reaction often leads to hesitation in providing honest, constructive feedback. This fear can stem from a lack of training or experience in effectively delivering feedback to candidates who can benefit from it.

Changing Priorities: Sometimes, employers may shift their focus or reevaluate their hiring needs, leading to a pause or halt in hiring for a role. Professionals understand that things can change, but not communicating the change in hiring status with candidates should not be tolerated.

Candidates are taking note and are consciously deciding not to apply to the same company again. So, if ghosting has such a negative and long-term impact on hiring and corporate brands, why does it continue to happen? And most importantly, what can you do about it when you are job hunting?

Understanding the contributing factors that cause ghosting will help you determine how to conduct a better job search. With little to no control over a company’s hiring process or their decision to ghost or not to ghost, why do we spend so much time applying and waiting for companies to respond.

There is a better way. Take control of your job search. Get connected to the right people and put your resume in the right hands. All you have to do is ace your interviews. All the statistics are in your favor. 82% of employers rate employee referrals above all other sources of hires. Referral hires are cheaper as the overall time to hire and onboarding is shorter. AND referred employees stay longer.

Take the path of least resistance. Use the power of networking in your job search to your advantage and never experience ghosting again. Be proactive and take the first step to cultivating lifelong habits that will propel your career path forward.

Go to https://www.meetup.com/career-pathfinder/ and seize control of your career with effective networking and interview strategy workshops that ensure sustained success.