I have been interviewing for the past few months off and on.

Anonymous

March 18,2022 at 12:25PM UTC

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I have been interviewing for the past few months off and on. With the job market turning in our favor, getting amazing interviews that seem promising and have been advanced to the next stages of the process. One went as far as three interviews and even asked for references. Then nothing.

My references even contacted me and told me they never got a call or email. Fortunately, I was later hired for another position and actually received an official offer which I accepted. My question, what is going on with all this repeated ghosting? The positions are mid to senior management level, some requiring MBA's. Can someone please tell me when professionalism went out the window?

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AnonymousMarch 18,2022 at 1:47PM UTC
I have read a few studies on this as I was curious....
Generally speaking employers ghost anywhere from 50% - 75% of the time.
Employers have NEVER ghosted one candidate was between 20%-30%
On the flip side though, candidates polled said they have ghosted at least one employer 60%-80% of the time.
Most of these studies only have 500-2000 candidates or employers so not a full picture of how people react and most studies aren't but I found it interesting that professionalism has kind of gone out the window on both sides. I would like to think we get out what we put in but we know that is not always the case. I am sorry you got ghosted, I hate that it happens more than it should, but I am happy that you have found a position that you feel good about.
AnonymousMarch 18,2022 at 3:27PM UTC
The jobs are either not fully approved or the companies don't have the budget.
They are posting positions that are not really available.
AnonymousMarch 18,2022 at 4:12PM UTC
Unlikely with 3 interviews!
AnonymousMarch 19,2022 at 2:08PM UTC
Exactly my thought.
BethBMarch 19,2022 at 1:19PM UTC
While that could be true, it’s also possible that there are other factors at play. Maybe things got busy and the hire got out on the back burner. Maybe they still haven’t found the perfect candidate and could settle for you if they don’t find perfection. Maybe they’ve been burned a time or two when offering a job and keeping you in reserve and then too much time goes by for them to feel they can get in touch. There are so many things it could be.
Tereasa FontaneseMarch 18,2022 at 4:09PM UTC
Congratulation on your new role!
Take this experience forward and ensure that you will (and insist that your HR team) close the loop on your hires!
This is a question I hear again and again from my candidates. I agree that lack of final communication is irresponsible and unprofessional on the part of the recruitment team. It's extremely frustrating.
With three interviews you have connections so reach out to both HR and the hiring managers to ask if a decision has been made and site that your referrals have not been contacted. They already know this but you are letting them know that you know.
No one likes to share bad news!
Companies are very careful about sharing turn-downs and most won't provide feedback. They assume liability in doing so. Most times companies extend an offer keeping 1-2 people "warm" in the event that their offer isn't accepted. This process can take 2 weeks and if they accept, without any interaction with the others, they assume those candidates have moved on. I'm not condoning this but it's what happens all the time.
Most important to remember with interviewing is there are so many factors at play in addition to your competition, experience, and personality fit with the team. Sometimes budgets are pulled, headcount reduced, movement in management, etc which will impact an interview process - this will not be shared with a prospect.
Best you can do when interviewing in the future:
Stay in touch with them throughout the process to ensure that you have as much information as available to you and they know you are committed to seeing this to the end.
And, if you don't hear from one employer, move onto the next!
AnonymousMarch 19,2022 at 12:20PM UTC
I recently met with 7 people.... then nothing!
JYJMarch 19,2022 at 6:28PM UTC
This happened to me a couple years ago. It sucked! Wasted my time, but then I realized I dodged a bullet. It shouldn't have taken 7 people to make a decision on a candidate and lack of follow up reflects an unprofessionalism that I wouldn't want to be a part of.
Crystal HowellMarch 19,2022 at 12:35PM UTC
I know it's (TAG)"Talent Acq Ghosting," unprofessional. I started to think, Why would I work for them? They did me a favor. God will open the door at the right time; I genuinely believe it happened to me. Congrats?
Paulla Fetzek, MSEdMarch 19,2022 at 1:54PM UTC
I'm sorry you're feeling ignored.
Sadly, while it's extremely disappointing, companies are not obligated to let potential employees know if you have the job or not. Generally, their also not legally required to do so either.
However, in a situation like you noted with 3 interviews - that is in extremely poor taste for the company not to say anything.
But there may still be reasons. Here's an article from Balance Careers which provides interesting insight:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/do-companies-have-to-notify-job-applicants-2061588
RichMarch 19,2022 at 3:13PM UTC
There are five final checks, and flunking any of them will normally result in "Ghosting.
1) Drug Test - Pee in a cup. We all know it's coming, and there's no excuse, unless you have doctor's note.
2) References - We've seen people get "Ghosted" repeatedly because they didn't know one of their references was torpedoing them.
3) Background Check - It happened to me - There is another person with my name and a bad criminal history in my city.
4) Credit Report - Any role involving finances needs to have clean credit history.
5) Social Media - It needs to be entirely clean and professional, and support your brand.
If you have legitimate problems with one of these, and you know it, tell HR when you meet with them during the interviewing process. They have an innocuous question they ask "Do you have anything else you need to tell me?" Always tell them. We've seen many people with issues land by doing that. Surprising them with bad news on one of these five - is the "kiss of death."
Good Luck!
Lynda BoothMarch 20,2022 at 4:51PM UTC
This is a two way street. Candidates ghost employers as well. For mutual benefit, followup after your interviews and stay in touch with your contact from the company. This shows you are interested in the opportunity as well.
Tracy McHughMarch 21,2022 at 5:12PM UTC
I empathize with this post. It happened to me recently. Several, promising interviews in (and pretty quickly) and then nothing. I didn't even hear back when I touched base to check in. Definitely disheartening, especially if a role that was a good fit and that you really wanted.