Understanding Responses to Ghosting in Job Searches

An office space filled with workstations, either during office hours or when staff is on holiday break.

You may find yourself in a situation where you’ve invested time and effort into multiple job interviews, only for the potential employer to vanish without notice—a phenomenon commonly known as ghosting. However, it’s not exclusive to employers; job candidates are equally guilty of disappearing from the interview process. This silence often causes more harm than good, leading to a ripple effect on both parties.

Let’s explore why professionals engage in ghosting and how this workplace phenomenon can be mitigated.

Job Seekers’ Actions

Surveys with thousands of job seekers and employers shed light on ghosting trends. The Ghosting in Hiring Report delved into insights from 4,516 job seekers and 4,517 employers, unveiling the reasons behind this prevalent workplace behavior.

According to surveys for job seekers

Approximately 61% of job seekers and 37% of Canadian job seekers have ghosted two to four employers in the past year.
Surprisingly, 70% of job seekers consider ghosting “fair,” but 59% regret it, while 23% feel empowered.
Shockingly, 62% of job seekers plan to ghost in future job searches, a significant increase from 56% in 2022 and 37% in 2019.

Employers’ Responses

While ghosting might offer a temporary advantage to job seekers, it adversely affects employers. Surveys with employers found that 89% consider it a problem when job seekers drop out or don’t show up for the first day.

The frustrations for employers include

38% feel the time invested in a candidate could have been used productively elsewhere.
33% miss out on other quality job applicants.
30% have already started onboarding planning, and an additional 30% report increased work and stress for recruiting and hiring teams due to ghosting.
Moreover, 26% of employers keep track of job seekers who fail to show up, potentially impacting future applications from these individuals.

Reasons for Ghosting

Job seekers and employers may not always align on the reasons for ghosting. Top reasons cited by employers include receiving another job offer, the job not being the right fit, discomfort in communicating decisions, uncertainty about withdrawing from the hiring process, and low pay offers.

Contrastingly, job seekers’ top reasons for ghosting include the job or company not being the right fit, inadequate pay offers, lack of benefits, and receiving another job offer. Surprisingly, poor communication is only cited by 23% of job seekers as a motivator for ghosting.

Preventing Ghosting

Improved communication and transparency are crucial in preventing ghosting, as stated by 54% of employers. Other preventive measures include reducing the hiring process length (43%) and offering flexible schedule options (36%).

Job seekers have their perspectives on anti-ghosting strategies

42% believe offering higher pay would prevent them from ghosting.
41% advocate for better pay transparency, such as providing an upfront salary range.
38% note that improved benefits would encourage them to stay in communication with an employer.

Coping with Ghosting

With both job seekers and employers experiencing negative impacts due to ghosting, it seems this trend is here to stay. 77% of employers state that ghosting became more common among job seekers in 2022. Job seekers, however, feel that 46% of them think ghosting has increased in the past 12 months.

For job seekers who have been ghosted, the advice is to move on and pursue other opportunities if communication ceases. Employers can take proactive steps to engage job seekers, with strategies such as showing support, fostering open communication, managing employer branding, utilizing data for prevention, breaking the ghosting cycle, and prioritizing work wellbeing.

In conclusion, while ghosting poses challenges, understanding its dynamics and implementing effective strategies can contribute to a healthier recruitment and hiring process for both job seekers and employers