Is ghosting an employer becoming an acceptable practice ?

Normally we have heard candidates and job seekers complain when they don’t hear from prospective employers or recruiters.  These days employers are increasingly seeing that prospective job seekers / applicants abruptly cut off communication. The term ghosting refers to the case when the job seekers go silent on the employers. 

We have seen this happening mostly at entry level or amongst job seekers with less that 5 years of work experience. Once candidates get on with their careers, they are more likely to act professional. However the scenario has been gradually changing with more opportunities being generated, the gig economy, etc.  We are seeing increased instance where job seekers are ghosting the prospective employers. 

According to a new survey by Clutch ( a B2B ratings and reviews company), ghosting potential employers is acceptable. This survey may reflect on the mood and conduct of respondents from the concerned geography (Clutch surveyed 507 full-time employees who started a new job within the past 6 months, from across the United States), however on a broader level we see a connect with general psychology of job applicants in other geographies as well.

  • In their survey, more than 40% of job seekers say it’s reasonable to ghost companies during the interview process, abruptly cutting off communication when they decide not to pursue a job. 
  • Workplace ghosting occurs because job seekers accept another job (30%) or decide a role is not a match (19%). Job seekers also ghost in response to being ghosted: Nearly one-quarter (23%) say they ghost when a company stops communicating with them.

Overall, more than half of job seekers (55%) say they abandon 1-5 job applications during the job search.

Job Seekers View Companies That Ghost Unfavorably 

Now this one is interesting. Applicants rank ghosting more favorably when they initiate it, compared to when companies ghost them.

Our earlier posts on Employer / Recruiters ghosting employees:

Why you don’t get a reply or feedback after a job interview ?

Why you don’t hear from the HR or the consultant after a job interview !!

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