Workplace ghosting in the context of the hiring process refers to that awkward moment when a recruiter suddenly cuts off communication with a potential recruit midway through the recruitment process.
Have you ever applied for your dream job, attended several interviews, negotiated for a salary and suddenly the recruiter cut off communication? Well, in case you didn’t know, you were ghosted! Workplace ghosting in the context of the hiring process refers to that awkward moment when a recruiter suddenly cuts off communication with a potential recruit midway through the recruitment process. Even though this unprofessional behavior is not expected from reputable organizations, candidate ghosting is a growing trend among employers.
Nearly all job seekers have been ghosted at one point in their career life. A lot of times, candidate ghosting leaves job seekers frustrated and devastated. Often, ghosting has got nothing to do with the candidate’s incompetence and should never demoralize or stop job seekers from pursuing other job opportunities. It is simply a bad practice by recruiters.
What makes employers ghost candidates?
There are countless reasons as to why employers ghost candidates. In most cases, job ghosting is influenced by the mechanization of the hiring process that has eliminated the human approach in the recruitment and selection process. Outlined below are some of the reasons why recruiters ghost candidates.
1. You did not meet the selection criteria
The labor market has a surplus of job seekers because poor economic conditions have rendered many jobless and increased unemployment rates. As such, employers receive too many applications and are not able to respond to all applicants. As they rightfully put it, "only successful candidates are contacted". If you have not heard from a recruiter it could be that there were more qualified candidates and your interview was not successful.
2. The company practices transactional hiring
The key objective of the hiring manager is to recruit the best candidate in the shortest time possible and at the lowest cost possible. The reason you have not heard from a recruiter could be that responding to job applicants is too expensive for the company. The goal of the manager is to minimize the amount spent on recruiting for each vacant position. One of the ways to reduce cost is to cut communication by simply not contacting unsuccessful candidates.
3. The recruiter found an alternative candidate
Employers may ghost a candidate if they choose to work with a referral. In some instances, external hiring may prove to be time consuming and expensive. If this is the case, some companies may choose to abandon the process and get a quick hire from within or through a referral. In this case, a recruiter may silently stop the recruitment process without informing the candidate.
4. The position was hired for internally
There is a growing trend among organizations to use cheaper hiring processes to fill positions within the company. One such method is through internal recruitment. This guarantees a shorter and less expensive recruitment process. In most cases, therefore, jobs are only advertised externally to comply with fair hiring practices requirements. In such cases, advertised positions are not available to external candidates and no matter how many interviews are conducted, no job is offered.
5. The recruiter does not want to communicate the truth
Sometimes a recruiter may suddenly cut off communication with a candidate after unearthing negative feedback from referees or confidential background checks or on detecting canvassing from the candidate. In this case, the recruiter may not be comfortable discussing the details with the candidate thus the decision to cut off communication.
6. The organization could be experiencing a hiring freeze
Organizations that depend on donor funding occasionally experience budget cuts or withdrawal of funding which may lead to a freeze in the hiring process. In such instances, the recruiter may be forced to pause or abandon the recruitment process. It may not be possible to communicate this information to candidates leading to candidate ghosting.
These are some of the reasons why recruiters ghost candidates. Even though being ghosted by your dream employer can be emotionally draining, candidates should not take the blame for this experience but should make an effort to reach out to the recruiter through phone calls or emails. Most hiring decisions are concluded within three months and it’s advisable to let go and explore more job opportunities after this period.
About the author
Getrude Budambula is an Independent Human Resource Professional and a Freelance Writer. She enjoys sharing knowledge as a Content Writer and has authored several professional articles.
