Season 4, Episode 9:

When Candidates “Ghost” Recruiters

This week on Recruiter Fuel, A special Halloween episode of Recruiter Fuel all about…”ghosting.” The terms “ghosting,” “catfishing,” and “no show” are mostly used in the dating world. However, these types of behaviors have become typical in recruiting situations lately due to the candidate-driven nature of today’s hiring market.

Ghosted

Ghosting is defined as ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly withdrawing all communication without any explanation.

Another perspective

While this practice that has become more and more prevalent is concerning and unacceptable, recruiters and HR professionals should also consider some context for its rise. A candidate-driven market means that candidates can be more selective about the interviews and offers they take. Candidates are getting more and more offers and so they may have received a more attractive offer to interview in the interim between your correspondence.

A Couple of Questions To Think About

•What percentage of candidates do you expect to actually show up for interviews given the trend in ghosting?
•Where do you see the most ghosting happening? First Interview? After the offer? On day one when they are supposed to show up?
•What do you do to keep ghosting to a minimum?
•What advice do you provide hiring managers to avoid the potential for ghosting?
•Has today’s automated processes potentially had a negative impact on candidates – Is so easy to apply for multiple jobs at the same time.
•If ghosting is often caused because we don’t have real relationships with candidates, what do you suggest?
•Should employers have a new website – www.ghosted.com where all of the candidates who ghosted them are listed? What would that cause?