Being ghosted by an employer during the interview process
By Ken Pelczarski, Contributing Editor | TLT Career Coach May 2023
Review these top reasons related to the employer, the candidate and communication issues.
You can lessen the chances of ghosting by the employer by obtaining immediate interview feedback about your potential fit for the position.
It is an interesting phenomenon and is increasingly common for employers to ghost job candidates and vice versa. It seems that even companies with excellent reputations are often guilty of ghosting.
I define ghosting by an employer as an occurrence in which two parties are in contact until a sudden, unexplained loss of communication by the employer where 1.) there was a promise to have further contact, 2.) the job candidate logically expects further contact and/or 3.) additional contact would be standard protocol.
Ghosting can occur at any stage of the interview process, including after a telephone interview, a virtual interview or a final in-person interview. You can lessen the chances of ghosting by the employer by obtaining immediate interview feedback about your potential fit for the position, and by establishing clear mutual expectations regarding follow-up timing.
Is the ghosting phenomenon more prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the primary reasons for the increase in ghosting, and what can you do about it as a job candidate?
Why are employers ghosting job candidates at an alarming rate?
There are a multitude of possible reasons that an employer will ghost a job candidate after an interview. You may be able to figure out the reason and follow up with the employer accordingly. Some reasons may be difficult to identify, however, and you may need to follow up based on your best guess.
Below are my top reasons for ghosting by employers, broken down into three categories: 1.) employer issues, 2.) candidate issues and 3.) communication breakdowns.
EMPLOYER ISSUES LEADING TO GHOSTING
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The employer is short-staffed. You may have surmised or learned of a staffing shortage at the company during the interview process. In this case, continue your regular follow-up in a professional manner while being careful of being an annoyance. You may want to state in an email or on the phone acknowledging that you understand their business is strong and they may not have had the time to get back to you.
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The employer has higher priorities. You may need to be patient if you suspect that the employer is not in a hurry to fill the position. In this case, continue your regular follow-up with your primary contact and keep the employer informed of your interest as well as any new developments on your end.
• The employer has more candidates in the interview process than they can reasonably handle. You would hopefully already be aware through your questioning during the interview process that the employer had plans to interview quite a few candidates. In this case, you need to keep your background and interest on their minds with continued follow-up. With each contact, try to mention something new regarding the value and benefits you bring to them.
• The employer does not prioritize or have a policy of keeping in close contact with job candidates during each interview step. It would be concerning if this is the way the employer communicates and operates in daily business. If you suspect this is the case, you need to take the initiative to follow up with one of your main contacts at the company. When you make contact, be sure to inquire about the stages of the interview process at which they would typically be in touch with you.
• Your prospective boss or a key member of the hiring team is no longer with the company. If you have a keen interest in the job with this employer, you can learn new information in ways other than direct follow-up contact. It is recommended that you stay aware of happenings at the company by 1.) talking with your industry contacts, 2.) viewing the company website, 3.) looking at LinkedIn profiles of interview participants and/or 4.) contacting other company employees outside of the hiring chain. If you learn of the departure of a key employee, try to quickly establish a new contact, and learn if the job status has changed.
• Your main contact with the company has taken leave due to a personal or family medical crisis. You would likely be learning of this scenario through direct contact with an employee at the hiring company. In this case, work on establishing a new primary contact among interview participants. You may want to send an email to each interviewer to extend best wishes to the individual on leave and to request the best contact for further follow-up.
• The employer is having trouble making a final decision and has nothing new to tell you. The employer may be delaying their hiring decision because of multiple strong candidates and may be scheduling additional meetings to discuss the situation further. You may suspect this is the case from knowing you are a top candidate and suddenly not hearing anything new from the employer. Prompt follow-up is critical in this scenario. Email the interview participants, especially decisionmakers, stress your continued interest and learn what additional information you can provide that will help with their hiring decision.
• The employer is pursuing another candidate as their top choice and does not want to discourage you. It is a fairly common practice among employers to stop communicating with a “close second” candidate until things are completely resolved with the top candidate. Employers often believe that candidates will be discouraged or lose interest in the job if they are told they are the second choice. If you suspect that you are a “close second” candidate, follow up to acknowledge that you know there may be several strong candidates for the job and that you maintain your interest in the company even if you are not the first choice.
• There has been internal miscommunication at the company regarding who will be getting back to you. It is difficult to know that internal miscommunication is happening at a company. This question should be answered early in the interview process, however, through your regular follow-up and by specifically emailing key interview participants and asking which individuals you should continue to copy on emails.
• The position has been filled, canceled or put on hold. You may suspect that the job status has changed by noticing that the position is no longer being advertised or posted on the company website. Especially if this opportunity is your top choice among jobs for which you are interviewing, it is important to follow up promptly to ask the employer if the position is still active. You can then respond appropriately to other potential job offers.
CANDIDATE ISSUES LEADING TO GHOSTING
• The employer does not think you are a fit for the company. If you believe you are an excellent candidate for the job, but you sense that your interview did not go well, be sure to follow up and attempt to confront the likely issue. You can do this subtly or openly by either 1.) emphasizing your strengths, motivation or cultural fit that you think could be the issue or 2.) rebutting a concern the employer brought up during your interview.
• The employer does not respond to you because your follow-up is too detailed and time consuming. Look at yourself to determine if you may be taking too much of the employer’s time in your follow-up. Continue to keep in touch but respect the employer’s time and apologize if you think you have been overwhelming them with too much detail.
• The employer has learned that you have a questionable industry reputation. If you suspect that something from your past employment has come back to haunt you, the best approach is to be direct in your followup. Stress your relevant experience and motivation in an email, and ask the employer if they have been able to learn anything about you from their contacts in the industry. It is best to learn as soon as possible if somebody is saying questionable things about you.
• The employer has taken offense to negative things you stated during the interview process. Think back carefully to your interview about what was discussed. You should be able to identify the negative comment you made by thinking of the employer’s reaction or response at the time. During your follow-up, emphasize the outstanding fit you are for the job, and apologize for your negative statement.
• The employer has learned that you lied on your resume. You should already be aware if there is an outright lie or a small exaggeration on your resume. If you did in fact lie on your resume, it would be difficult to resurrect interest from the employer. If there is only a minor falsification or embellishment (e.g., a past job title or a slight date change for a past employer), apologize to the employer and explain the reasoning behind the words on your resume.
• The employer asked you to follow up with them at a specific time or requested additional information that you did not send. You will likely realize quickly that ghosting has happened because you did not follow up as requested. Forward requested information as soon as possible, apologize for the delay and reiterate your strong interest in the job and the company.
• The employer is worried about your interest and motivation because of your lack of follow-up. The employer may not be keeping you informed during the interview process as well as you expect. Regardless, you need to do your part and follow up regularly (approximately every two to four weeks depending upon how soon the employer wants to hire), and keep the employer informed of your high level of interest. Stress to the employer that their job is your favorite among all opportunities you are currently pursuing. It is often a tight race for a job between two candidates, and the individual who has the most influential follow-up usually gets the job offer.
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS LEADING TO GHOSTING
• The employer is not ghosting you but is counting on your recruiter to keep you informed. It is common for an employer to rely on or request that the external recruiter keep you informed of important developments about your candidacy. Regardless of whether you are in direct contact with the employer, it is a good idea to keep in close touch with your recruiter to obtain information that could be helpful in your further interviewing and follow-up. If your recruiter is not able to keep you well-informed about your status as a job candidate, be sure to follow up directly with the employer, and mention that you do not have any recent updates from your recruiter.
• The employer misunderstood a comment you made during the interview and does not want to pursue you further. Like previously mentioned, you should be able to identify a questionable comment you made during the interview by thinking back to the employer’s reaction or response. Again, emphasize during your followup that you are a great fit for the job. In addition, mention to the employer in an email or over the phone that you remember a comment you made during the interview that the employer may have misunderstood. Explain briefly what you meant by the comment.
• The employer stated it would be a while before they make a hiring decision, and it is taking much longer than you expected. You may feel like you are being ghosted in this scenario, but that may not be what is happening. You might have unrealistic expectations because you did not ask for a specific time frame on a hiring decision at the conclusion of your interview. Another possibility is that the employer is in fact taking longer to make a hiring decision than planned. Either way, follow up with the employer to update them on your job search and to ask for planned timing on a decision.
Communication is the key to resolving problems or misunderstandings between two parties, so ghosting will not help either party deal with issues at hand. I have been ghosted by employers a few times in my career, including by close clients who never intended to damage an existing working relationship with me. There is often a good reason behind ghosting, and it is usually not personal. It can be difficult but is important to learn the reason you are being ghosted so you can open the lines of communication.
When a recruiter is representing you to a company, he or she can be a tremendous asset during the interview process. A recruiter can often gather more detailed feedback from the employer than you would be able to obtain. If an employer stops communicating with you, an effective recruiter with the right contacts may be able to find out reasons for the ghosting. You can then take appropriate action directly with the employer.
No matter what the reasons for being ghosted, it is imperative that you act quickly when 1.) the employer with your favorite opportunity is ghosting you and 2.) you have received an acceptable job offer from another company. You have nothing to lose by pulling out all the stops and making all the contacts necessary with the ghosting employer to learn the job status and your standing as a candidate. State briefly in your follow-up the reasons that this job and company are the best fit for your background and personal goals.
Ghosting by employers is an unfortunate trend that frequently has job candidates in the dark for an extended period. You must always be professional and steadfast in your quest to obtain interview feedback that is necessary to make the best decisions regarding your career moves.
Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-based search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at (630) 960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.