Ghosting must stop!

Before November 2022 I hadn’t heard of ghosting in a recruitment context, I was very aware that sending your C.V. to a job advert was often like sending it into a black hole but that’s been the case since the online job advert was first online and is something that needs to change.

In the four months from November I realised that ghosting in recruitment had become a significant problem, with more and more applications and interviews going unanswered without any explanation.

What is Ghosting in Recruitment?

Firstly, lets agree a definition of ghosting.?Yes, sending your C.V. to a job advert and not getting a response is horrible and demoralising and needs to improve but, in my opinion, it pales into insignificance when compared the worst and in my eyes the rudest form of ghosting and that is not receiving any feedback following an interview.

Imagine you’ve had a good screening call which you prepared for, you studied the company website, the company’s financial reports, share price ect, ect.?You get through two or three interviews and things seem to be going well, you spend hours preparing, you’ve put together some great questions or a couple of slides and your confidence builds and builds as you go through the phases.?

Then you wait.?You send a courtesy follow up e-mail after your interview then a chasing e-mail two days later, no response.?You send a linked in message 5 days after the interview and no response, as a last resort you send a whatsapp and message the TA that you first spoke to and still you don’t hear anything.

As an isolated incident its rude and unprofessional however take a moment to look at things from the candidate’s perspective.?The candidate has applied to tens if not hundreds of online job adverts without receiving a response, they have mortgages, utilities, childcare, food and other bills hanging over their head which is putting them under unspeakable pressure and having a detrimental impact on their mental health then a chink of light opens up that could solve all their problems and release the pressure.?The candidate prepares for between 2 - 5 hours per interview and then hears nothing.

There are many reasons why companies might ghost candidates, ranging from, the role not being signed off, ambiguity about future demand or simple disorganization to a lack of resources or a change in hiring priorities.?However, there is no excuse for not responding to someone who has invested time and effort in working for you.

From a business perspective, ghosting candidates can also harm the company's ability to attract top talent. Candidates who have been ghosted won’t apply for future positions and more importantly they are very likely spread the word among their colleagues and associates and may even post a comment on social media resulting in a serious damage to your brand.

Again, take a moment to look at the situation from the candidate’s perspective.?They will be wondering what they did wrong, what they lacked and more importantly they still have bills and pressure mounting up.

In the age of increased mental health awareness and employers bragging about their employment awards isn’t it time that they ensured that unsuccessful candidates receive a decent candidate experience.

It's important to create a positive candidate experience throughout the recruitment process not just to successful candidate but to candidates who have been unsuccessful.

To conclude

Ghosting in recruitment is a growing problem and in challenging economic times with increased applicant numbers standards and decency have slipped and I for on think its time it was stopped.?