Tackling Recruitment Ghosting: My Reflections

After weeks of searching, I finally extended an offer to my dream candidate. When he accepted, I was thrilled. But when he didn't show up on his first day, my team was left scrambling, and all our onboarding preparation went to waste. Unfortunately, my story isn't unique—it's becoming a common headache in tech recruitment.

Hiring new employees is crucial for any organization, but what happens when a candidate accepts an offer and then doesn't join? This issue often referred to as "ghosting," is increasingly common and has significant consequences for everyone involved—from employers to other job seekers and the overall economy.

At Fresh prints, we face this challenge head-on. We engage with candidates continuously from the offer rollout to their joining date, keeping communication open and addressing any concerns. Despite our efforts, we still experience a high number of no-shows. Many of these candidates join other companies after accepting our offer without informing us, wasting critical time.

Complicating matters further, some employers seek candidates with short notice periods while enforcing long notice periods for their employees. These companies often extend offers to individuals who have already accepted other positions. While this strategy might work in the short term, it causes long-term harm.

To mitigate this risk, some companies extend double the number of offers, knowing they can't honor all of them. This practice leads to a vicious cycle of uncertainty and mistrust in the job market. We at Freshpsprints refuse to revoke offers just before joining, but we also can't afford to hire more people than we need.

One of my ex-bosses suggested taking no-show candidates to court, creating a deterrent through fear. However, I don't believe this is a feasible solution.

Instead, I propose a more constructive approach. Imagine a platform where a candidate's accepted offers are listed. Prospective employers could use this data to make informed decisions. By maintaining a candidate's offer history, we could create a score similar to a credit score in the banking sector. For this to work, employers would need to report offers on a common platform.

While no solution is perfect, raising awareness about this issue is a step in the right direction. That's why I decided to write this post. Please share it to help us create a healthier job market. Together, we can work towards more transparent and reliable hiring practices.