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“Ghosting” during the hiring process
Pattie Hunt Sinacole shares different perspectives on the hiring process when a candidate disappears
Q: I was just nominated as the hiring manager. We are having trouble hiring engineers. I am in central Massachusetts. Applicants sometimes need to be sponsored, which is a non-starter for us. So our applicant pool is smaller. I have started the policy of any interested applicant is required to interview here at our office at least twice. I also want an applicant to participate in a panel interview. It seems that we have many applicants who have accepted other jobs, or “ghost” us and never show up to the panel interview. No call. No email. Nothing. Just vanish. Is this normal? In my day, this never occurred. Even if you weren’t interested in a role, hours onsite, meeting with several of our managers, then you would call, email, text, leave a voicemail. Bad manners in my book.
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A: “Ghosting” is a growing problem. It is frustrating. There are a number of reasons it is becoming more common.
First, I think some employers expect a lot of time from candidates. If a candidate is interviewing, it is a challenge to return to an employer’s location more than twice. The candidate may be interviewing elsewhere, and it may be difficult to take time from their current job. There are only so many excuses which permit a candidate to leave their current employer during the workweek. Additionally, the candidate likely has to build in time for travel. Essentially their three-hour commitment to the interview process may be a five-hour commitment with travel time included. Once a candidate has invested more than 10 to 12 hours in a selection process, some candidates begin to get antsy. Senior-level roles may require additional interviews. I am not condoning ghosting but I am sharing what I think is a realistic picture of the time commitment sometimes involved in the interview process.
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Second, I think some candidates struggle with expressing their current situation. They may not be interested in the role or the company. However, they do not know how to verbalize this message. Or, they may have another offer. Some candidates are unable to articulate this information, so they disappear.
Third, I think some candidates and employees feel like loyalty, specifically in the employer-employee relationship, has evaporated. Employees have witnessed downsizings, rightsizings and layoffs. Some employees regard the employer with suspicion. Some employers talk about transparency, but it seems less than authentic.
Four, some hiring professionals (e.g., hiring managers, placement firms, etc.) still do not update candidates, OR ghost the candidate. This is the number one complaint I hear from candidates. My rule of thumb is that a company does not have to respond to the one hundred plus candidates who apply to an online job posting. However, if that candidate invests time in the interview process, then they 100% deserve updates along the way, including a final update even if they are not selected for the role. I have repeated this many times: to a candidate a day feels like a week. If you are a job hunter, this is likely one of the most critical issues in your life at the moment. Friends and family may be repeatedly asking you “Have you heard back from ABC Company yet?” Giving realistic timelines to a candidate helps. For example, “We expect to have a final decision by mid-May.”
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Fifth, engineers are in demand! I am uncertain as to what type of engineer you are hiring, but virtually almost any type of engineer is a challenge to recruit. The unemployment rate continues to be low. Right now, the unemployment rate is just about 4%. That is higher than it has been the fall of 2021, but it is still very low. This tilts the power to the candidate. If the unemployment rate was 10% or more, the employer would be driving the boat.
Finally, I view this behavior as immature and unprofessional. Leave a voicemail or send an email if you do not want to be questioned about why you are not interested in a job. It is a small world. I have worked with candidates who have “ghosted” an employer and then the candidate has re-surfaced several years later and asks us for help with their search. We say “no thanks” to that candidate. Both the employer and the candidate should strive to do the right thing.
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