Job Interview Tip Regarding Ghosting: Don't Do It!
A trendy word in the world of relationships is the phenomenon of ghosting. Ghosting is a term most used in regards to dating. According to Urban Dictionary, ghosting is “when a person cuts off all communication with their friends or the person they are dating with zero warning or notice beforehand." One moment they are there, present and accounted for and then, poof, they vanish to the realm of being MIA! The ghost doesn’t answer phone calls, texts, or respond to social media and may avoid the ghost-ee when in public.
Ghosting has now moved from Tinder and other dating apps to the job employment arena. It is happening across all industries and occupations. This may be a bit ironic as companies for years have, in a sense, ghosted job applicants repeatedly. Candidates apply for highly desired positions, endure job interviews and then never hear a peep from the organization. They don’t receive helpful feedback or a simple email saying they weren’t chosen to progress in the process. Nothing. How the tables have turned!
We are in the midst of a booming job economy. The unemployment rate is now 3.9%. April 2018 marked the second month in a row that there were more employment vacancies than available persons to fill them. CNBC reported, “there are 6.7 million job openings and just 6.4 million available workers to fill them according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” This is a phenomenon that hasn’t happened in nearly two decades! In fact, more people are leaving their jobs than those who are fired from their jobs.
There are three types of ghosting in the job market:
The ghost who leaves the job without notice. This ghost has a job and has been at their company for some time. One day, they simply don’t show up for work. They vanish. No two week notice or the courtesy of a phone call or email to their supervisor explaining their reason for abruptly leaving.
The ghost who skips the job interview. This ghost has gone to the trouble of applying for the job and had progressed to the face-to-face portion. They have shown a genuine desire to interview, have a scheduled time and place for the interview, and then never show up.
The new-hire ghost. This lucky ghost wins the prize, agrees to a job offer from the hiring manager but when the first day of work comes around, they don’t report. When the hiring manager tries to contact them, all the manager finds is vapor. No returned calls, texts, email. Nothing.
With more available job openings than available workers to fill positions, employees have become more confident about leaving their jobs. As this apparent job discrepancy between more jobs than available employees widens, people don’t fret about quitting a job feeling confident that they can easily get another job or even pursue other opportunities. The vast employment options make it very tempting to leave if the grass seems greener elsewhere.
Males and females alike are ghosting. This is a very selfish and cowardly thing to do. Most experts feel it is reflective of the ghost’s lack of maturity and communication skills. The ghost may tell themselves that they do not want to hurt their subject’s feelings, but it is really their fear of confrontation that causes them to simply vanish ceasing any type of closure for the relationship or in this case, the employer.
Lack of confrontation skills may stem from society’s constant use of social media and the ease with which it has become to hide behind the computer or phone screen cloaked in anonymity able to speak whatever comes to mind without regard for common civility. Part of being a professional is knowing there will come times when conflict arises and learning the skills of how to confront and deal with it is part of being a mature member of the workforce.
This ghosting trend has deeply impacted employment methods and has required creative change. Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, says that “some companies have even instituted changes to their hiring process, including putting multiple conditions on job offers.” He further says, “Instead of narrowing it down to just 1-2 qualified applicants and cutting everyone else loose, companies are now wisely holding onto all possibilities before assuming that their search is over.”
Some companies are also decreasing the time from the hiring date to the start date. Giving a new hire a start date of four days as opposed to three weeks may help decrease opportunities for ghosting.
If you decide you don’t want to participate in your current job any longer or an upcoming job interview, try this instead. Write down what you would want to say to the hiring manager and then practice it with a friend. Politely state your reason for leaving or not participating in the upcoming interview. It may be a bit awkward, but it is a learning opportunity. We are all human. People change their minds regarding employment and most hiring managers understand this and have probably heard your reason many times before. It is not the end of the world and a much more mature method than ghosting.
It’s a small world. Ceasing all communications with a company or hiring manager without a single phone call, text, or email is very bad professional form. Hiring managers remember incidents like this as it wastes their time, the team’s time, and is very expensive for organizations. Networking events as well as industry conferences and gatherings may put you in the same room with the hiring manager you blatantly disrespected. Scorched earth methods rarely work and usually tend to come back to bite the ghost. So remember, Karma can find a ghost!
I offer a free ½ hour introductory job interview coaching session. Contact me today to prepare for your tomorrow!