No one likes to be ghosted. A term typically used in dating has now become a hot word in the hiring and job searching process. What is it exactly? Essentially, it is disappearing with no reason or context. The engagement between the candidate and the company just stops for reasons left unknown to the other party. For example, this could be when a company never reaches back out to a candidate after an interview and does not explain why they are not moving forward in the process. Or, this could look like a candidate agreeing to an interview and not showing up and no longer responding to the company. However, this is not a good look for candidates or companies.
For Candidates:
You never know who you will run across in your career path and who you may network with again in the future. Think of the hiring team and the position they may be in while searching for candidates. If you are several interviews in, they may have already turned down other candidates who they may not have otherwise turned down. This could set their hiring process back to square one. Things in life happen that can cause career opportunities to not work out. That could be unexpected life events or you may have received an offer from another opportunity that you are choosing to take. Hiring managers will appreciate transparency.
For Companies:
It is not a good look for a company’s image to ghost candidates. This does not reflect well on the company brand. When there are several people involved in the hiring process, it can be lost on who is responsible for giving feedback to the candidate when they are not moving forward in the process. Candidates are likely interviewing with other companies, so the feedback could be crucial to their decisions and also could help them learn what to do better the next time they interview. Don’t leave a candidate hanging wondering why they never heard back after the interview. Develop an internal process that establishes who is responsible for this type of feedback.
In chemical recruiting, we often hear appreciation from candidates and clients when they receive feedback on why the other party is not interested in moving forward. This often provides some clarity for the hiring manager or candidate and sometimes can offer ideas on how to improve the interview process. People appreciate transparency and closing the lope at the end of a process. A phone call or at least an email can be a quick and easy way to do this. Rejection can be uncomfortable but the moments taken to have the conversation will be worth it for each side. Whether you are a candidate or a hiring manager, let’s make ghosting a thing of the past.
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