You get asked to interview for a company you’re really excited about, and it finally seems like all of your hard work is paying off. You feel confident about how you present yourself once the interview is conducted, and by the looks of it, the employer is also impressed. Yes, you’ve got this, you think, and they’ll surely get back to you soon. Suddenly, a week goes by, and nobody is responding to your follow-up emails or phone calls...another week...and another...guess you just didn’t get the job? But everything seemed to be going well! Did your application fall through the cracks? What could you have done better? Suppose you’ll just never know.
Actually, "ghosting" after an interview is becoming common practice with employers these days. The term was originally coined in the dating world to describe what happens after two people go out together, and one person suddenly cuts communication without an explanation. However, the world of employment has now seen its fair share of “ghosters,” too, and many applicants are left feeling frustrated and confused by the sudden dismissal--especially after an opportunity shows so much promise. In many cases, it’s not even clear if the position was ever filled or not. What you’re left with is an employer that has seemingly vanished into thin air, and a looming prospect that will never be definitive, so with no other option you drag your feet, reluctantly, back to square one.
Obviously, there’s a stark difference between a Tinder date and a job interview. For one, you wouldn’t rely on Tinder to pay the bills (unless, you know, you work there). Just like any individual, a business has the ability to be professional and follow a specific rule of etiquette, so it’s a shame when they decide not to extend that kind of attitude towards a potential employee. Alison Licht from Forbes Magazine stresses that employers should “value the time a candidate takes to apply to [their] company, to impress [their] team and to give [them] their ideas.” As job seekers, we are taught to be polite, prompt, and professional; we ensure our resumes and cover letters are pristine, we take care to thank our potential employer, we spend time to follow-up after an interview as many times as it takes to let them know we’re still interested, yet there’s no pressure on employers to return a similar courtesy.
In 2013, a CareerBuilder survey of 3,900 U.S. workers found that 60% of job seekers who interviewed for a position in 2012 never heard back from the employer. As we become increasingly reliant on technology for communication purposes, remaining unresponsive becomes all the more tempting. At this point, radio silence over text is used to stand in place of “no,” instead of an outright answer. Jane Ashen Turkewitz, a professional recruiter, told Business Insider in an interview that applicants should speak up for themselves if they are ghosted by a potential employer. She also says in her own LinkedIn Post, “It won't get you the job but it could make you feel better and that's a valid reason right there. If you go this route, I recommend sending a polite but firm email.” Turkewitz even started her own recruiting company because she felt “we needed to do it all in a more empathetic way.” Workers are people just trying to get by, after all.
Really, there’s no excuse for an employer to ignore the applicants they took the time to get to know. Sure, businesses get busy, emails get buried, phone calls get forgotten, and we’d all rather avoid confrontation, but this is human communication 101--employers do your job. Weren’t you hired for that?
