Ghosted by a recruiter!

16 Comments

1. AnonymousMarch 10,2022 at 12:35PM UTC

   Chances are that this recruiter does not have agreement from the company to place candidates for the job. Some external recruiters just scavenge the market and inundate companies with bids of candidates without agreement to get paid by the companies for placements.

   If you haven't sign an agreement, you are within your rights to approach the company yourself. Especially given the unprofessional behavior of the recruiter.

2. Leader754040March 10,2022 at 1:09PM UTC

   I've had that happen. They seem to find others they are more interested in and telling you to go bite it! I'm so tired of that!!!!!!

3. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 1:36AM UTC

   It’d be nice if they’d tell me to bite it. At least that would be communication.

4. Peggie Arvidson * Career Consultant | Adoptee Advocate | RecruiterMarch 10,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

   As a recruiter - I can tell you - our clients keep on us to keep a req open until their person starts the job - because - people do people things and not show up on their first day of work.

   All recruiters don't feel / have the agency to be able to tell you in full transparency what's going on.

   If she said they are wrapping up this week - that likely means she has 2 or more candidates in play who were in line before you - and the client is going to (or already has) made an offer to their first choice and they're waiting to see what the candidate says. Then they'll go down the line of their top 3.

   If none accept the offer then she's back to square one. So she doesn't want to completely tell you "no" but she doesn't want to lead you on either.

   There's also the possibility that the client is completely changing the specs and she's got to start over from scratch and the role may no longer be of interest to you....

   So offer to keep contact, check in once in a while and you'll be top of mind when something ideal comes along.

   The fact that she hasn't responded within a couple of days isn't what I'd call ghosting - many recruiters are carrying 20-30 reqs right now and the target is always moving.

   Definitely don't set your heart on this but keep in contact.

5. Peggie Arvidson * Career Consultant | Adoptee Advocate | RecruiterMarch 10,2022 at 2:25PM UTC

   Oh, and don't reach out the CEO/CAO directly - you'll burn bridges in a big way and if it's a small company and industry, you'll be known as the person who tries to circumvent the system. At small companies, they commit money to recruiting firms (provided this recruiter is with an agency) because they DON'T HAVE TIME to do the initial leg work and sort through every call/inquiry - because they are running their company.

6. Andrea Macek, Career Change Coach for Professional WomenMarch 10,2022 at 4:13PM UTC

   As a former HR business partner, hiring manager, and now career coach for women, I would 100% agree with this!
   Thank you @Peggie Arvidson for sharing such valuable insight as to what happens "behind the scenes" in your previous reply. Recruiters can get a bad rap and in many cases, it's not valid. I know I may take some heat for what I'm going to say here: but I want people to keep in mind that recruiters are people too. I'm not saying you should dismiss rude or unprofessional behavior, but as you shared, there are a lot of moving parts that are often out of the recruiter's control. We all have times where we've dropped the ball and forgotten to reply to an email or text. I've also found that right now, recruiters are slammed with the number of roles that the company wants to fill and are working short-staffed to meet the damnd and get great candidates hired. Many job seekers are leaving their roles because of demanding workloads and a lack of resources, which is what many recruiters are working with. All jobs/roles have "bad apples", but that doesn't mean every recruiter is one of them. Make sure you're doing your part as the job seeker to help the recruiter help you. Stay in touch and remind them you're still interested. If you're not in alignment with the communication style and process, that is something to consider and you may want to keep your options open.

7. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 1:41AM UTC

   I’m pretty sure I’m doing my part. I scheduled as requested, took time away from work, located a private, offsite conference room and then sat and waited for the call. I followed up when they didn’t call and was understanding about their unexpected conflict. I offered my availability to reschedule (at their request). Some of those times have come and gone without so much as an acknowledgment. I find it incredibly unprofessional. Apparently, I need to adjust my expectations or just pass on this position.

8. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 1:31AM UTC

   I understand, but I don’t think their investment is very worthwhile if their recruiter stood up a well-qualified candidate (to be clear, the recruiter invited me to meet, I didn’t request it). I’ve been on the other side, hired a search firm, and I would be concerned to learn of this behavior. I understand I may not be a finalist, but my time is valuable and I deserve the respect of clear communication. This is a small industry and bridges go both ways.

9. AnonymousMarch 10,2022 at 3:35PM UTC

   The recruiter didn't call at the time the person had set aside for a conversation, and hasn't responded to follow-up offering times to reschedule.
   If that's not technically ghosting, it's still rude and disrespectful. I'm not sure I'd want to be "top of mind" for a person who treated candidates that way.

10. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 1:49AM UTC

    To clarify, she said they’re finalizing the slate of candidates this week (not finalizing the search). She requested that I schedule early this week for that reason. Thank you for providing more information about what goes on behind the scenes. I haven’t worked with a recruiter (at least as a candidate), so I assumed the communication and process was more transparent.

11. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 3:34AM UTC

    Unfortunately, some recruiters still believe they hold all of cards.
    That’s not the case these days. If you have solid qualifications, there are other people out there who would like to meet you. I’d make a mental note not to work with this recruiter again, and move along.

12. AnonymousMarch 11,2022 at 1:32PM UTC

    I know as a hiring manager I would be pretty discouraged to hear our recruiter treated someone this way. It could be there is an offer in the works to another candidate and they are just stringing you along until they see if that works out. But they should be upfront, I had the same thing happen to me when I was searching a year ago. I withdrew my application from one company as they wasted my vacation time only to not show up to the virtual meeting they set up and had a lame excuse that an emergency came up … and it sounded like the owner of the company wrangled the HR persons time last minute. However they did not notify me and knew how to contact me. So I prepared and sat waiting wondering what was going on. To me that was a red flag about respecting your employees time. There were other red flags with reviews online etc but they had head hunted me and I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt but also ask about the culture problems in my interview. I just moved on and honestly found something much better.

13. Marjorie KalomerisMarch 11,2022 at 3:28PM UTC

    I agree with Peggie, keep in contact but also make sure you're speaking with other companies and diversifying your job search. But don't be afraid to check in around once a week with the recruiter and see if they're still interested.

    Make sure they know you have other interviews going on, and that might help accelerate this process. I would definitely not reach out to the CEO directly, I don't think that's a great way to start off with a new company.

    Overall, I find that it's best to go wherever you really feel wanted and valued as a candidate! Good luck :)

14. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistMarch 11,2022 at 6:12PM UTC

    A job search is a marathon, not a sprint.

    My recommendation is to not get too invested until you are much farther into the process with any given company. You've just started looking. If you keep this up, you will make yourself crazy.

    I am a recruiter. I do not ghost my candidates. It's rude and it's unprofessional. I get ghosted all the time. Personally, I don't get too invested until we're looking to schedule a second interview.

    Just me, but I would not reach out to the CEO or CAO.

    Please let me know if you have any questions.

15. AnonymousMarch 12,2022 at 2:30AM UTC

    That’s helpful, thank you.

16. AnonymousMarch 12,2022 at 2:20AM UTC

    Update: The recruiter finally did respond (2-3 days after the missed meeting).
    She apologized and explained that they have 2 strong candidates who have been fast-tracked because they’re in consideration for other positions. She said she didn’t want to introduce other candidates before they decided on these two. But she also said she would be in touch if they didn’t work out. So, at least now I know what happened. I also submitted my material on the last day of the posting. Coming from the public sector this never mattered, but I realize that showing my interest sooner is probably a good idea. In any case, I appreciate all of the feedback. This is a new arena for me, so I have much to learn.