A candidate ghosted you! First time? Or are you used to it? Don’t worry. You are not the only one who's facing this. Dropping out of the hiring process suddenly is not a new phenomenon. It’s just that people have started calling it ghosting, the term mostly used by Gen-Zs when one leaves their partner hanging without any communication. But here, we’re talking about ghosting faced by HRs during the hiring process.
It’s an issue that’s making the life of HRs difficult and is costing companies valuable time and money. Ghosting can be scary! Picture this: You’ve got the perfect candidate for a role and everything is set to get them on board. Suddenly, they stop responding, just radio silence. Now, the pressure’s back on you to get someone of similar caliber in less time.
Now for the good part. By the end of the blog, you'll know the ways to spot such “ghosts” from a distance!
Ghosting in Recruitment
In terms of recruitment, ghosting happens when a candidate cuts all communication with you. Think about those candidates with whom you’ve shared an offer letter, and then they’ve decided to ghost you. The lack of clarity could get frustrating as you don’t know whether to proceed with them or not.
Post-COVID, this trend has been popular amongst job seekers. As per reports, 28% of jobseekers have admitted to ghosting an employer. And the percentage for employers is significantly higher. An astounding 76% of employers have admitted to being ghosted in a year's timespan. The hiring process in general is taxing and when a candidate, whom you are interested in, gives you the silent treatment, things could get irritating.
Reasons for Ghosting
Several industry veterans and experts believe the rise in ghosting is because of a change in power dynamics. There are jobs for almost everyone in current times, and the importance of landing a job at a particular company has reduced significantly.
It’s possible that while being in talks with you, the candidate might have spotted another opportunity at a different company that suits their interests better. A candidate can also ghost you due to reasons they aren’t okay sharing with you. There have been cases where the candidate has stopped replying due to a bad employer brand too. For instance, if there are negative reviews about your company on platforms like Glassdoor and AmbitionBox, the candidate may just lose interest in your company.
How Can You Spot These “Ghosts” Coming?
You can spot them beforehand if you’re alert about the patterns that might be emerging. You must have watched detectives in movies boasting about how they got a hunch based on someone’s voice, tone, and way of talking. It’s time to put all of those learnings to use!
Keep an eye out for things like the amount of time a candidate is taking to reply to your messages, dip in efforts put in by them, missing interviews, and not showing up for scheduled catch-ups. If they’re getting vague with their responses and hesitating to commit to something, then that should be a big alarm for you. While conversing, if they aren’t showing much interest in knowing about the company or the role, you should lower the curtains on such candidates. Not providing references or lack of follow-up is also an indicator.
Here’s an example of a conversation between an HR and an uninterested candidate:
HR: Hey, can we schedule the final interview this week? Candidate: Cool, I guess. HR: Are you excited about this interview, do you have any questions for us before the interview? Candidate: Yeah, a bit. I know enough at this point. Don’t have any questions. HR: Before scheduling this final round, can you provide us with some references to cross-check a few things? Candidate: I don’t think so, but we’ll have a word about this later if you want. HR: When can we expect the review assignment to be completed? Candidate: I’m not sure if it’ll be possible for me to submit the assignment by your deadline. I have a game scheduled for that day.
From the above conversation, you can see that the candidate isn’t interested in getting the job. There’s no enthusiasm in the way they are responding, and the answers given are vague too.
Strategies to Reduce Ghosting
To be honest, it’s difficult to avoid being ghosted, but you can surely minimize it. As an HR, the best thing you can do is remain polite, and professional, and avoid pressuring candidates for a response. Be firm with your end goal and provide a proper deadline as to when you expect a reply.
Another way to reduce the chances of ghosting is by asking the candidate directly about their feelings and thoughts regarding the opportunity. This will help you get a closer look into what the candidate might be thinking and help you lay out a plan for the next part of the procedure. A few more things that you can do are:
1. Keep Things Clear
Right from the start, clearly outline what are your job’s specific requirements and benefits. This way, you’ll mostly attract those who are genuinely interested in applying for the role.
For example, if you are looking for individuals to work from the office full-time, then state it clearly. Keep no room for doubt in the candidate’s mind. It’ll help you get the most relevant applicants right from the start. And, one of the best ways to get the right candidates to apply is stating your salary bracket clearly. This helps to filter out the ones who may meet the other criteria but not match the salary amount.
2. Open Communication
The first call with any candidate is crucial in terms of laying out a foundation for the entire process. On this call, make the rules clear for the recruitment process. Ask them to be frank with their expectations from this conversation and vice versa.
Handling Ghosting When It Happens
As much as it sucks to be ghosted by a potential recruit, it’s also something that can help you get insights for reviewing and evaluating your entire interview process. You may find issues like your process being outdated, there's a lack of clarity and communication from your end, or the interview process is simply too long.
One of the best ways to spot such issues in your process is by taking feedback from new recruits. Consider using greytHR to collect feedback from these employees to get apt responses. It lets you create polls and surveys where you can ask pointed questions about their experiences and get their views. Using this actionable data, you can tweak your interview process to be more structured, engaging, and collaborative.
Once ghosted, do not spend extra time trying to reconnect with them; it may cause you to miss out on someone genuinely interested in working for you. It’s important to know when to stop to keep the hiring process going and give fair chances to every candidate.
Letting go of those who aren’t interested helps you build a stronger and positive relationship with those who are eager to join. Finally, if the candidate has ghosted after negotiating too much and taking a lot of your time, consider blacklisting them from your company.
Conclusion
It’s very difficult to predict when you’ll be ghosted in relationships! But in professional settings, it’s possible to see it coming and tackle it too. Such cases could cause financial and reputational damages to the company. That’s why it is necessary to be empathetic and transparent about the processes as an HR.
FAQs
How to Deal with Candidate Ghosting?
Some ways one can deal with ghosting is by moving on as soon as possible and not lingering on the candidate. The more time you spend on such a candidate, the more you’ll ignore a deserving and interested candidate. Practicing this will also help in building better relationships with the hired ones. If you have a strong reason, blacklist the candidate from your company.
What Is Ghosting in the Hiring Process?
Ghosting in hiring means that one of the parties stops responding to calls and messages. Such behavior mostly comes when there’s a lack of interest and communication from one party.
What to Do If Someone Ghosts You Professionally?
If your colleague ghosts you, avoid sending aggressive emails or making calls. Consider the situation from their side too and give them the benefit of the doubt. Try communicating with different channels if needed. If the issue needs to be addressed immediately, inform your direct superior and ask for a solution. Still, if nothing helps, take the steps you feel are necessary and record every communication attempt you tried.
