Remember the candidate who never bothered showing up for the final interview? Or the one whom you wanted to make a final offer to, but seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth?
Yes, there’s a term for this – it’s called ghosting. It is a pretty common phenomenon and can be particularly exasperating for employers who are working diligently to fill vacant roles! After all, the hiring process takes up a lot of the company’s resources.
Let’s take a look at some of the common factors that cause a potential employee to ghost an employer!
Why Do Employees ‘Ghost’ Employers?
Here are some of the reasons why potential employees ghost companies!
1. Alternative Opportunities Available!
Since 2014, there has been a huge push to the entrepreneurship sector by the Indian government. There are more incentives for an individual to start their own business. and overall the economy also has a fresh influx of optimism.
As a result, people who are on the lookout for a job are positive that there is more than one job opportunity waiting to get them. Hence there is a certain sense of laxity in the candidate to turn up for an interview or a job.
Gone are the days when people would be ready to join any kind of job as long as they got their paychecks every month!
2. Greater Clarity While Choosing A Profession!
Clarity in people’s mind as to what they want is also causing this situation. Meet a 7th or 8th-grade child today and they would clearly tell you in which profession they would like to be. Compare this to the situation 3-4 decades back, when people did not really envision careers – they took up job opportunities as they came, and chose to grow where they were.
The newfound clarity helps candidates discard roles and opportunities that do not match their expectations, even if they are qualified for the job!
3. Availability Of ‘Work-From-Home’ Jobs!
Flexible ‘work from home’ opportunities are available in plenty for job seekers. HR services provider Randstad cited the results of a survey on workplace flexibility.
53 percent of the respondents from India said they prefer telecommuting, while 47 percent prefer to work from the office every day,” The findings are based on a survey of around 7,500 employees from India.
4. The Internet Of Things!
The internet has invaded both our personal and professional space. Looking for a job 25 years back used to be through word of mouth, visiting offices and personally handing out resumes, paper advertisements. It would take at least a couple of weeks to apply, get interviewed etc. Today a variety of job portals are easily accessible to find job opportunities and apply. The turnaround time is also lesser.
This ease of looking for a job has made candidates more confident of landing one, one way or the other.
How Do You Avoid Being Ghosted?
Given how annoying repeating the whole hiring process can be, here are a few steps employers can take to ensure candidates sign the dotted line and show up for work!
1. Improve your candidate experience!
To avoid being ghosted, make sure your candidate experience gets candidates excited in the role on offer. Make the initial application process simple and straightforward, and, at the interview stage, take time to make the interview a genuine two-way conversation.
Discover what motivates your candidate and what’s important to them, now and in their future career. Show them that you can meet their expectations and aspirations. This is going to be a long-term relationship, so make sure you are giving plenty of information to persuade the candidate that you’re the employer for them.
Don’t let them think the grass may be greener elsewhere. Keep them informed throughout the recruitment process and engage with them. Don’t delay in giving your responses – candidates these days have lots of options and won’t be waiting around. Give great feedback throughout the process, don’t just send out standard emails or template feedback.
2. Let your employer brand speak for you!
An employer brand isn’t just about words, logos, or colours – it encapsulates the very essence of who you are and the experiences you create for your employees. It’s how you are perceived as an employer. A strong employer brand that proudly displays the culture of your organization and ticks the boxes for the talent you are trying to attract will help keep candidates prone to ghosting at bay.
Make sure you know the personas you want to attract in as much detail as possible and make sure your employer brand is built on pillars that send out the message that these personas want to hear!
If you’re a great match for a candidate in terms of job role, work culture, and benefits package, then joining you is a no-brainer for them. You’ll be making an offer they can’t refuse.
3. Look out for signs of ghosting!
It doesn’t take a lot to spot someone who’d probably ghost you. Here are some warning signs.
- Is your candidate delaying in committing to a start date?
- Are your calls going unanswered?
- Has the tone changed in your communications?
- Are emails going unanswered?
These are all signs that you are being ghosted. You’ll need to decide whether to continue using up time and energy reaching out to the person or walk away.
Hiring is a tedious process. And when you urgently need to fill a vacant position, being ghosted can lead to a lot of unnecessary, and negative consequences. Make sure the candidate has a smooth application process and is convinced of having a fulfilling career with your – you may have far fewer ghosts haunting you!
