If You're Ghosting Job Candidates, Your Recruitment Workflow Is Broken

The massive number of open jobs in the U.S. and the difficulty finding talent for these openings have filled the headlines for months. At the same time, I’ve heard consistent anecdotal feedback from individuals actively seeking new roles describing how they’ve been ghosted during the recruitment process. LinkedIn and Glassdoor both report a serious increase in ghosting over the last two years.

Why So Hot and Cold, Recruiters?

Ghosting isn’t new. It's been around for decades, long before the term came into being.

For those unfamiliar with the term, ghosting is the practice of initially demonstrating interest in another person, followed soon after by completely cutting off all communication and treating them like they don’t exist. In talent acquisition terms, it looks like engaging with a candidate, exchanging emails and texts that express interest about a potential working relationship, hosting interviews to learn more about the candidate, and then suddenly — and with no explanation — ceasing all communication. If companies are in such desperate need of talent, why is ghosting on the rise for talent acquisition teams? Surely the workplace can aspire to an experience far superior to dating apps, known for half-truths, misleading information and a lack of transparency.

The candidate at first rationalizes that something perfectly understandable has happened and recruiting will be back in touch soon. Perhaps the recruiter is out sick, or there’s been an unexpected death/illness in the family, or a new boss has taken over everyone’s calendars? The candidate reaches out multiple times, hoping to jumpstart the conversation again, as there was clear interest just a few weeks earlier. Eventually the candidate gives up. If they’re lucky, they might receive a generic “thanks but no thanks” email long after interest has faded.

What Social Science Tells Us About Ghosting

The average 15-year-old probably could predict with 99% accuracy how a ghosted candidate might feel. Simple phrases like “you hurt my feelings” or “you’re rude” quickly come to mind when describing the person or organization doing the ghosting. Imagine what a professional with over 15 years of work experience might say?

I was genuinely interested but I was treated disrespectfully in return.
I should be glad they showed their true colors early. If this is how they treat people during recruitment, imagine how they treat people once you’re inside?
I’m telling my friends what happened. I don’t want anyone else to experience what I did.
I posted on Glassdoor to warn others what to expect. I bet I’m not the first.
I’m interviewing with one of their competitors next week. I’ll be sure to let them know.
For all their talk about their values and caring for people, they sure did a lousy job of showing it.
It makes me question their integrity.
I’ll definitely avoid buying from them and choose a competitor instead.

All negative responses and all share one common element: being ghosted felt personal. Here’s what ghosting means through the lens of social science:

Ghosting is a form of avoidance and a sign of emotional immaturity. Individuals choose to offer no communication because delivering “bad news” to a candidate makes them uncomfortable.
At a minimum, ghosting is the complete opposite of empathy. It demonstrates a lack of caring and compassion, and an inability to appreciate the emotions of others.
At its worst, ghosting has many of the core traits of narcissism, particularly when the bad actor holds a position of power. It can be a form of manipulation, causing recipients to doubt themselves, giving the ghost the upper hand — something narcissists crave.
Ghosting can trigger a broad range of negative emotions: low self-esteem, self-doubt, vulnerability, even loss and abandonment. It actually harms the candidate’s emotional state.
Memory research indicates that recency plays a strong role in recall. Since ghosting is typically the last experience a candidate has with an organization, it becomes the predominant memory, overriding any positive experiences they may have had earlier in the recruitment process.
Ghosting interferes with closure, making it more difficult for candidates to “move on” in search of other opportunities.

Find the Moments That Matter

Given our digital world, opportunities and candidates are widely visible, making the job search game more sophisticated, even overwhelming. Invest the time to revisit your recruitment workflow and identify the candidate communication moments that matter. A few focus groups of recent hires could help you identify what candidates expect and how you should adapt to meet those expectations.

In design thinking, the work begins with empathy for the candidate. In this crazy labor market, the rules of employment are being rewritten by the workforce itself. Imagine your organization’s recruitment approach being described in social media as compassionate, transparent and respectful … how cool would that be?