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I was sitting in the dining hall with my new colleagues a few months into my first job out of graduate school when I started to chuckle at the recent email that just came through. I announced sarcastically to the group that, unfortunately, I just read that I didn’t get the other job that I applied to eight months prior. Another colleague shared that from their experience, I was lucky to hear back at all.
The recent job market revolution has presented a new set of rules for both recruiters and job seekers, but one persistent and unfortunate trend seems determined to outlast other outdated norms. When a recruiter or job seeker suddenly discontinues communication about an open position with the other, this disappearance is appropriately referred to as “ghosting.” Unfortunately, this action (or inaction) is a pervasive trend observed on both sides of the recruiting dynamic. Let’s examine some of the reasons for ghosting and how employers and candidates can work together to avoid this frustrating experience.
Haunting Clues
Some reasons are shared between both candidate and recruiter, such as conflict avoidance. After three rounds of interviews and a referral from a current employee, neither party wants to give bad news. Similarly, both sides may try to strategically balance multiple options by not officially withdrawing in order to keep a safe back-up option as their second choice.
On the institutional side, ghosting can stem from staffing concerns, budgetary or bureaucratic changes, and the notoriously glacial pace of college operations.
Kelsey Gregory, compensation analyst at Gonzaga University, shared that sometimes recruiting is bombarded with expectations for “assisting hiring managers with creating postings, providing updates to search committees, updating candidate status, opening/closing postings, advising on offers, screening and sourcing, and cross-posting on different job boards” to name a few. Gregory added, “It can be easy to focus on finalists or selected candidates and let follow-up with other candidates fall off the radar.”
With many colleges understaffed due to budgetary reasons and continued issues with employee retention in higher education, recruiting teams have their hands full trying to keep positions filled.
Anna Raghavan, senior tech recruiter at UCLA, shared that poor communication is a common cause of ghosting.
“Oftentimes, hiring managers do not communicate feedback with recruiters, creating a holding pattern where the candidate is left stranded,” Raghavan said.
According to a recent survey on ghosting by Indeed, this trend is getting worse, with 23% of U.S. job seekers in 2023 indicating that they have ghosted employers due to poor recruiter communication, as compared to only 5% in 2020.
Two of the top four strategies that U.S. job seekers say would prevent them from ghosting employers were communication-related, with 41% desiring better pay transparency and 34% citing a need for better communication with recruiters and managers. Another motivation for candidate ghosting is a missing sense of belonging or connection.
Indeed’s report found that the top two reasons job seekers ghost employers were related to feeling like the job or company was not right for them. With many applicants applying for dozens of positions in one job search, it’s easy to start comparing campus cultures and administrative processes to find gleaming differences.
If every other second-round interview for a mid-level search is a one-hour virtual session, and your campus requires an all-day on-campus interview with a presentation, this might raise some flags. When candidates don’t feel connected to the organization and its people, they also may feel that ghosting is a reasonable option.
Ghostbusting
The impact of ghosting is often long-lasting and significant. Jen Rumain, lead talent acquisition partner, academic leadership at Thomas Jefferson University emphasized how important it is for institutions to consider the impact of their brand and practices. “People talk, and you don’t want to develop a rep for not giving candidates closure,” said Rumain. “It’s a job seekers’ market, and they have sway and a voice that sites like Glassdoor have given a platform to air.”
In such a small and interconnected field, burning bridges can have a challenging effect on reputation, and a candid conversation with a colleague about their experience with an institution or candidate can be damaging. So how do we fix this?
What Job Seekers Can Do to Prevent Ghosting
- Review the job description thoroughly to ensure an early understanding of possibilities and what questions you need to ask. If you can only work remotely, but the position is listed as in-person, ask about that possibility early to determine viability.
- Create a list of your values and non-negotiables, and frame your questions around those values to get an early sense of whether or not an organization fits your priorities.
- Be honest, transparent, and open when possible. Rumain says, “Humans can be just as complex and nuanced as large matrixed institutions, as in higher ed. As with any new relationship, being receptive to each other’s questions and concerns goes a long way towards establishing a baseline of trust and respect.”
How Institutions Can Prevent Ghosting
- Review your brand and create opportunities for candidate/employee feedback. Look for flags in the recruiting process like asking intrusive questions or providing answers that seem rehearsed or disingenuous.
- Invite opportunities for authenticity — 80% of candidates are more likely to decline on an offer if they didn’t feel a genuine connection to an employer
- Ensure that position descriptions are clear and detailed to avoid confusion, and create chances for clarifying. To help determine a candidate’s interest, Gregory suggests “a screening call to talk through salary and verbally confirm the candidate’s expectation, followed by a simple yet direct follow-up about what is budgeted.”
- Reduce wait times and eliminate unnecessary steps. Panel interviews maximize facetime with multiple parties. Offer training, set expectations, and communicate about scheduling obstacles so committee members can help to meet intended timelines.
- Raghavan suggests that HR teams and recruiters “schedule weekly touch base meetings with the hiring teams to obtain feedback and communicate it back to the candidate.” She says, “As a recruiter, if I do not hear back from a hiring manager, I make it a point to reach out to the candidate and let them know that I am waiting on next steps and that I will circle back once I hear of any developments.”
What Both Parties Can Do
- Communicate early and often. Proactively plan for different scenarios to help you through steps of a recruitment cycle and keep the other party informed. Proactively setting clear expectations about timelines can help you to make an empowered decision.
- Sharing a delayed update once you have a firm commitment is better than completely ghosting. When the position has been filled, or if you’ve already accepted another offer, it’s easier to say no, so at least send an update as a courtesy (and to help your reputation).
Job searching is a two-way street. A positive experience requires effort from both candidates and employers — including being honest and upfront when you are no longer considering one another.
