Is getting 'Ghosted' haunting your job search?

In the context of job searching, "ghosting" refers to a situation where a potential employer or recruiter doesn’t respond to a candidate's communications or goes silent after an interview or during the application process. It can be frustrating and disheartening for job seekers, as they are left without any feedback or closure about the status of their application.

Ghosting has become more common in today's digital job market as many communication processes are conducted through email or online platform such as LinkedIn. This article explores some stages of ghosting in job searching and tips on how to not get spooked!

Applications

After applying for a job online, a candidate might not receive a response from the company, not even an acknowledgment that their application was received. I know, poor customer service, right? In a transactional job market, some vacancies attract 100s of applications. ATS software reject CVs if they are not tailored or compliant with the job specification, so you may find your CV hasn’t reached the end user.

Where possible, try to identify a recruiter or hiring managers name and follow up with an email or phone call to confirm your application has been received. Don't let one instance of ghosting stop you from continuing your job search. Keep applying to other job opportunities and stay active in your job search efforts and have a healthy job search pipeline in place.

Interview Stage

Ghosting can also happen after the application phase and during an interview. Often this is where a candidate has had one or more interviews with the company, but the employer fails to follow up with feedback or information on whether they have been selected or not. This can be extremely frustrating for especially if candidates have undertaken multiple interviews and invested extensive time into the preparation.

It may be worth agreeing with the recruiter or hiring manage up front how they plan to communicate throughout the recruitment process and understand time frames to manage yours, and their expectations. If you haven't received a response after a reasonable amount of time, it's acceptable to send a polite follow-up email or LinkedIn message to enquire about the status of your interview and demonstrate your continued interest in the position.

Job Seeker Ghouls

Often job seekers ghost contact recruiters or hiring manager without realising it. They ignore, delete or respond rudely to communications. I often hear jobseekers say they were inundated with irrelevant jobs but don’t follow up on these approaches to understand why the recruiter approached them. With social recruitment on the rise, you may find the number of connection requests you receive on LinkedIn significantly increases based on your LinkedIn activity. If your CV is uploaded to a job board, recruiters and hiring managers may be proactively looking ahead to their future recruitment needs.

So don’t be a ghoul! If you are approached for an opportunity that doesn’t hit the mark, don’t ignore it. Acknowledge and engage in the opportunity as there may be other unadvertised roles, they are considering you for too!

Final thoughts…

To cope with potential ghosting during your job search, try to maintain a positive outlook, continue applying for other positions and focus on companies that show professionalism and good communication throughout the process.