Ghosting is a term typically used in the dating world, but it’s now sneaking its way into other worlds –– like job recruiting. Ghosting in job recruiting is when recruiters go through the interview process with a candidate who seems extremely interested, everything seems great, maybe you even send an offer letter, and then boom –– your candidate disappears. They stop responding to emails and answering their phones. They vanish like a ghost.
Candidate ghosting is becoming more frequent in the workplace. In fact, according to research from Recruiting Daily Advisor, 58% of respondents report they have been ghosted by a candidate. Not only could the company have missed out on their top candidate, but this also leaves organizations feeling confused and frustrated. The candidate may have accepted another job, realized they did not enjoy the job or the interview process, or relocated, but the unfortunate fact about ghosting is: we don’t know.
So, how do recruiters move on from this? How do they ensure they don’t fall victim to another candidate ghosting situation? In this blog post, we will share ways to prevent these candidate ghosts from sneaking into your workplace.
Stay Connected
To ensure the candidate keeps your company top of mind, stay connected with them. For job seekers, it is likely they are applying to multiple positions. If other companies are reaching out more or communicating more often with the candidate, your organization may begin to slip their mind and, inadvertently, these candidates may ghost you.
To prevent this, start by laying out the hiring timeline and stick to it. This will inform the candidate of what to expect throughout the process. Additionally, it is important to reach out periodically, give the applicant updates and stay as transparent as possible. According to Glassdoor, 90% of job seekers claim company transparency is important when job searching. Many reasons candidates ghost companies – either intentionally or not – is due to lack of communication or updates about where they stand in the process. Try sending out a weekly email to inform candidates of the status of their application and when they can expect another update.
Customize the Process
Candidates want to feel like their interview process and candidate experience is unique. They want to feel like they are more than just a number or a resume. When companies utilize basic interview processes, such as mass emails and pre-recorded videos, a candidate can begin to feel unmotivated to continue with the hiring process.
Instead, incorporate as much face-to-face physical or virtual conversation as possible, provide ways for candidates to talk with other employees and send out personalized emails. Another way to personalize the process is to incorporate their career goals and needs into the conversation. It may seem like the hiring process should center solely on the job position, but we, as recruiters, often overlook the candidate’s needs. Overlooking these conversation points can lead a job seeker to feel invaluable and unimportant, causing them to disregard your organization moving forward.
By customizing the hiring process with these tactics, you will not only improve the overall candidate experience, which can assist in preventing candidate ghosting, but also lets your applicants build meaningful relationships to your organization and employees beyond the recruiter. This reduces the likelihood of the candidate vanishing during the hiring process.
Be Timely
If your organization interviews a candidate in March, and does not communicate with them at all until you send an offer letter in July, you really can’t blame them for ghosting your company. To alleviate the ghosting threat, be transparent, communicate often and effectively about their application status and where your organization is in the process.
And do not wait until the last minute to send the offer. A recent Ripplematch survey reported over 50% of survey respondents accept their first job offer. By waiting to inform the chosen candidate, your company may lose them to another organization with a more timely hiring process. To speed up the process, first provide them a verbal offer, followed by the written offer. This gives you breathing room to prepare the full offer, inform your team and assemble a plan of action. Meanwhile, your candidate knows they have been offered the position and do not need to look elsewhere, decreasing the chances of them accepting a different offer and ghosting your company.
Although most cases of candidate ghosting remain a mystery, it is important to prevent this scenario as much as possible by making it difficult for an applicant to forget about you. By connecting with the candidates regularly, staying transparent, personalizing the candidate experience and ensuring timeliness is a top priority throughout the process, your organization can scare away the candidate ghosts and ensure your best prospects keep your company top of mind throughout their job search.
To learn more about hiring in a digital-only environment, check out our blog on Virtual Hiring is Here to Stay: 3 Tips on How to Make It Successful!
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