Ghosting is personal. A deeper look into why you should never ghost a recruiter or employer.

I recently got an email message from one of our recruiters who was expressing his frustration with candidates who had not shown up for a Zoom interview as agreed.  As he describes the situation, it was pretty embarrassing.  After the recruiter had convinced the client that he was about to interview a really strong group of candidates, his client had gotten on the call, eager to find a reason to hire these “amazing” candidates only to be kept waiting for candidates who never arrived. This situation perfectly why ghosting is personal and why you should never ghost a recruiter or employer.

Obviously this was not a good day for this recruiter…but his heart was still in the right place. While he was concerned for the client left waiting at the altar, he was also concerned about the candidates who ghosted his client.  What could have happened?  You can imagine his disillusionment when 2 of the 3 candidates who ghosted his client wouldn’t return his calls.  (The third one did – had a legitimate reason for missing the call.  The interview was rescheduled, and the candidate hired – so at least one good story ending).

I had to remind the recruiter that ghosting someone in the hiring process is not that uncommon, all too often candidates are ghosting recruiters and hiring managers. Recruiters and hiring managers are ghosting candidates. It’s all so impersonal – or so we think.

Here’s how we look at ghosting as a company who takes our business personally…

“I take a great deal of pride in my work, believe in the best of people, and want the best for people. It’s a big letdown when I invest time and a candidate, ensure to the leadership the candidate will do what they say they would and they ghost me!”

For each candidate we meet, we hear their story, what a new job means for them and their family. We become invested in these stories. We become invested in these people. We want to help them reach their highest potential and explore new opportunities.

We know people matter. That is why every component of our recruiting process is tailored to them. Recruiting is so much more than placements and profits to PACE, we wouldn’t be here after 45 years if we did not build such genuine and strong connections with our candidates.

As a candidate, your recruiter is your personal advocate. They help you find what a well-fitting job looks like for you, help you uncover talents & transferable skills you didn’t know you had, and showcase your talents in ways that will get an employer’s attention. Once we have a job that looks to be a great fit for you, your recruiter will advocate for you internally to the member of our team handling the recruit who in turn advocates for you to the hiring manager.  It’s a big letdown to recruiters when they invest time in a candidate to ensure to these stakeholders that the candidate will do what they say they would do, and they will not ghost!

With so many job seekers on the market and desperately needing to find employment, our recruiters work hard to help as many people as possible and their time is used very wisely to do so. Our clients are very busy running their businesses that they often look to staffing companies like PACE to save them time when it comes to hiring. When a candidate fails to show up for an onsite interview with our client, it’s a disruption but a recruiter who has built such a strong connection with their candidates’ first reaction is always that of concern. “When it happens, I don’t get upset…I get concerned for their health or family members, because to me it’s so what you should do to someone who believes in you and is fighting hard to land you employment so you can care for yourself or the ones you love!” Regardless of professional repercussions, a recruiters personal investment and concern for you is yet another reason why you should never ghost a recruiter or employer.

It is easy to understand why a situation like this is frustrating to a recruiter, “I just don’t understand someone who commits to an interview and doesn’t show up to it! Recruiters have taken the time to interview you, the onsite managers who are now interviewing you have set aside very important time out of their busy schedule to dedicate towards filling a role their company needs to fill, and then the candidate is a no show. These situations put PACE in a difficult place with our clients who rely on us and takes away the credibility of the recruiter who fought so hard to get the candidate an opportunity!”

Overall, if our recruiters have any message to candidates on why they should never ghost a recruiter or employer, it would be “As a recruiter who really cares about the candidates and the families of the candidates, I’d like to say to the candidates to start caring about your professional reputation and most importantly, start caring about other people (The Recruiter and The Managers involved) who’s professional day you have impacted in a negative way!”

PACE Staffing Network is one of the Puget Sound’s premier staffing /recruiting agencies and has been helping  Northwest job seekers find their “just right” jobs for over 40 years. A  5-time winner of the coveted “Best in Staffing” designation , PACE is ranked in the top 2% of staffing agencies nationwide based on annual surveys of customer satisfaction.

PACE provides multiple placement options….

• Direct Placement – Full or Part Time
• Temp to Hire Auditions
• Short or Long Term Temporary or Contract Assignments – Full or Part Time

Contact our Candidate Services team today at (425) 637-3301 or send us an Email