Recruiter Ghosting, The Job Seeker’s Latest Nightmare

Jennifer R. Scott │September 2, 2021

With all of the trials and tribulations that come along with searching for a job during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—fighting against job application algorithms, going up against hundreds or even thousands of other applicants, and being forced into applying to just any job, regardless of whether or not it is compatible with your particular set of skills—the problem of recruiter ghosting just adds salt to those wounds. Shocking as it may seem, if you thought ghosting was just for personal relationships, it is time to think again!

I suppose there are many reasons recruiters decide to ghost candidates, but no matter what those reasons are, it seems a bit unscrupulous to act like you are seriously considering a candidate only to vanish into thin air. Many of us have probably filled out an application in the past and never received a response. While that may have been a little disappointing, it does not compare to the crushing feeling of being abandoned, without explanation, by a recruiter who came across as interested. It is kind of alarming, especially when you have been led to believe that things were going so well.

Here is an example of a job seeker’s frustration stemming from this current trend:

As we can see, this job seeker decided to voice their opinion of this behavior by sending a message directly to the employer. While this may seem offensive to some, this person does make some very valid points. Realistically, it does not take much time to send a candidate the dreaded “we chose to move forward with another candidate” email. By doing this small task, a recruiter can show that they at least hold some regard for the effort that was put forth by the applicant. As the job seeker pointed out, not saying anything at all at this point in the process is pretty disrespectful, not to mention, disheartening.

Since just about everyone these days has access to the Internet, it is pretty easy for candidates that have been treated poorly to share job application and interview experiences with the rest of the world. After a while, this will reflect poorly, not only on recruiters, but it will also make the hiring organizations that work with these recruiters seem like businesses that should be avoided.