Candidate ghosting is a fairly new experience for many companies and hiring managers. It’s when you get a resume or application that looks good, set up an interview, and the candidate never shows. In fact, you can’t ever reach them again. What makes it worse for employers is that around 40% of candidates view ghosting as acceptable behavior during a job search. So, what’s causing this rise in ghosting and how does a staffing firm like Timpl fight it.
1. The Economy
Employers can lay some of the blame on the economy. With the unemployment rate under 4 percent, it’s an employees market out there. Companies must compete for a much smaller pool of candidates who enjoy more options. Say that a candidate gets an interview offer at a second-choice employer, but a couple of first-choice employers schedule interviews. The employee will likely blow off that second-choice employer in favor of first-choice employers.
Takeaway: Employers don’t hold the same power they did when jobs were scarce.
2. Employers Started the Ghosting Trend
Whether or not they realize it, employers started ghosting on their job candidates long before candidates started ghosting on them. It’s considered common practice for employers to never respond to applications or never follow up after interviews. Like it or not, this tells candidates that ghosting is an acceptable industry practice. While it might sting a little, employers did play a role in creating this behavior.
Takeaway: The best way to avoid ghosting from candidates is not to ghost them. Even a form email saying you won’t be moving forward with them is a more respectful approach.
3. How Timpl Fights Ghosting
In a very real way, staffing agencies have an advantage over employers. People who look for work through staffing agencies must often go through an intake process similar to getting hired by an employer. That means that people who ghost often opt out long before they sit down with an employer. Timpl conducts thorough screenings to make sure candidates are a good fit for an employer. We use multiple retention strategies to ensure candidates show up for interviews and their first day. For large-scale staffing projects, we maintain a group of additional potential employees to seamlessly fill the gaps if anyone does abruptly quit or ghost you. Retention strategies and an awesome company culture can prevent ghosting.
Takeaway: Timpl uses multiple approaches to retention to avoid ghosting.
The rise in candidate ghosting has a few root causes. A low unemployment rate means qualified candidates can blow off one interview because they’re getting interview offers from other companies. It’s also a response to years of employers ghosting candidates at various stages of the hiring process. Timpl deploys a range of strategies to ensure a minimum of ghosting among its temporary staffers and direct hire candidates, such as careful screening and standby replacements.
Getting ghosted too often in your hiring process? Let Timpl help you fill those positions with motivated candidates.
