Although “ghosting” is a relatively new term that has recently popped up in the online dating world, the concept of it is nothing new. Ghosting is when someone you’re dating suddenly breaks off all communication with you, refusing to answer your calls, texts, or private messages. In extreme cases, they may have even completely deleted all of their online profiles and changed their contact information, almost as if they’ve fallen off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before this phenomenon started bleeding into the corporate world.

Candidate ghosting is very similar to the type of ghosting that takes place in the dating world. In an increasingly competitive market, candidate ghosting can actually make or break your business. With the right recruitment strategies in place, though, you can overcome this obstacle and prevent it from happening to you.

What Is Candidate Ghosting?

Companies put a lot of time, money, and resources into their hiring processes to ensure that they attract the right candidates for their businesses. Let’s say you’re currently working through the hiring process for an important position in your company.

You’ve spent a lot of time perusing resumes and cover letters. One particular candidate stands out from all the rest. They have a comprehensive list of references, excellent work experience in your industry, and they gave an outstanding interview to boot. You really like this person and want to onboard them, so you decide to give them a call to set up a second interview or meeting.

All of a sudden, you can’t seem to get a hold of them. You try calling, e-mailing, and texting. You even reach out to them via social media, but to no avail. We hate to tell you this, but you’ve officially been ghosted. No matter what you do at this point, there’s virtually no chance of this candidate responding to any form of communication from you.

The best thing to do in this scenario is to just count your losses and move on rather than wasting more time and energy in trying to contact this person. However, there’s a great lesson to be gleaned from this experience: figure out why your company was ghosted and what you can do to prevent it from happening in the future.

Reasons for Candidate Ghosting

The number one and probably most obvious reason a candidate might ghost your business is simply because they might have found a better opportunity that suits their personal, financial, and career goals.

In many sectors, the job market has never been more competitive than it is now. Candidates typically apply for multiple positions at different companies simultaneously. Just because you were the first one to call them back for an interview, that doesn’t mean you were their top choice. Sometimes, even after conducting a great interview with one company, candidates might hear back about a job that they were more interested in from the get-go. Many candidates in this day and age have their eye on the prize and when they’re presented with an opportunity to work for their top choice company, they’ll take it without even batting an eye.

So, what can you do to prevent your company from falling victim to candidate ghosting?

Helpful Staffing Tips to Lower the Chances of Getting Ghosted

Here are a few helpful staffing tips you can employ to reduce the risk of getting ghosted by potential job candidates:

Identify When the Ghosting Is Happening

Take the time to evaluate your current hiring process. Notice if there are any specific patterns that are emerging. Is there a certain point during the hiring process that you realize when your candidate drop-off rate is particularly high? Pinpointing exactly when the highest number of candidates are suddenly losing interest in going through your hiring process can help you identify any potential issues and how to rectify them.

Ask for Candidate Feedback about Your Hiring Process

Reevaluating and improving your hiring process is an absolute must and the best way to do this is to ask people who’ve been through it on the other side. Ask for their opinions of your company’s hiring process. Was it too laid-back or too rigorous? Were you asking your candidates to jump through too many hoops considering the position they were being offered at the time? This will give you a clear indication of where and how many improvements need to be made so that you can attract the right candidates in the future who will want to stick it out to the end.

Create Honest, Relevant, and Clear Job Descriptions

There’s nothing worse for a job seeker than reading through a job description, getting excited about applying for the position only to go through the interview process and realizing that the information in the job posting was misleading. Make sure your job descriptions match up with the information that you provide during the interview process. That way, there won’t be any surprises for you or the applicant.

Set Specific Timelines and Avoid Rescheduling Meetings

Understandably, as a business professional you get busy and might need to reschedule meetings from time to time. But, what you also need to understand is that when someone is actively looking for a new job, your company is very likely not the only one they’ve applied to. Avoid rescheduling interviews as much as possible. If you want to acquire the top candidates for the position you’re offering, understand that their time is just as valuable as yours and they might have other recruiters who are looking to acquire them.

How Resolve Recruit Inc. Can Help You Avoid Candidate Ghosting

At Resolve Recruit Inc., we have 20 years of experience working in the recruitment industry. We can help you easily determine which candidates are truly interested in working for your company and which ones are simply biding their time until another opportunity comes along. Our team of professional recruiters can map out a detailed plan of action that’ll help improve your overall hiring process and maximize your success rates. Contact us today to learn more.