Ghosting job applicants in the recruitment industry is a seriously damaging blight that is on the increase. It can have devastating effects on candidates. But what is often overlooked is the damaging repercussions it can also have on companies – specifically professional services companies.

Value-driven organisations quite rightly place great emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities to ensure they attract and retain the very best talent and create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential – and, if we are cynical, because they need to be in synch with their clients.

But all too often business leaders jeopardise their hard-won DEI reputation by failing to recognise how much the little things count. A classic example of this is making sure you have a policy – and anyone who interviews candidates at any level – getting back to applicants after any whether it is direct or through an agency.

It is a very simple, quick, inexpensive thing to do – yet it can play a big part in maintaining the quality of your brand in the battle for scarce talent. In many areas of consultancy practice, candidates can often end up as clients – albeit years down the line. This makes it hard to understand why ghosting job applicants is on the increase.

When it comes to ghosting, the stakes are higher than ever before. In the past, there was the occasional social media post from a disgruntled applicant naming a specific organisation that had failed to communicate the outcome of an interview. But most people kept quiet as they were reluctant to be seen as a troublemaker.

Now, however, firms are regularly named and shamed online. And it is not a good look if a potential client checks out your consultancy, is impressed by your values and DEI policy – and then uncovers a flurry of social media posts from candidates complaining of being ghosted.

Of course, recruiters often find they are on the receiving end of ghosting themselves from candidates who fail to return calls, prioritise a competing interview invitation or even ignore a job offer. And post-pandemic labour shortages have led to an increase in such practices as applicants have their pick of roles.

But something that is irritating, rude, short-sighted and time wasting for recruiters, amounts to so much more than that for candidates when it is done in reverse. It not only hurts but damages in a way that could affect their mental health.

And the problem is not limited to junior applicants.  According to Angela Peacock – Global Director of DEI at PDT Global, there are horror stories from senior executives applying for roles such as Strategic Director or CHRO. All report being ghosted by organisations that claim to foster DEI or uphold a list of values that clearly their recruiters – and those interviewing candidates – do not.

“In the previous decade, businesses enjoyed recruitment in a buyer’s market – with plenty of applicants to choose from, few considered the need to properly manage their rejection process; simply leaving job-seekers in the dark about their applications, or why they did not get the job. But in a tighter labour market, amid economic uncertainty, this could well come back to bite employers”, explains Angela Peacock, Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion at training consultancy PDT Global.

Simple Solutions

Application ghosting is particularly common, with many people receiving just a 5% response rate to their applications. Post-interview ghosting is worse as you are now in the territory of rejecting the human being you have met. And that applies even more if the candidate has invested their time in multiple interviews and tests.

If a candidate has got that far, the very least they deserve is to be given some feedback on their performance, otherwise it will tap into the impostor feelings that many people try to keep well hidden. For a diverse candidate, the repercussions can be even greater – sending them into a spiral of self-doubt and despair.

They, in turn, then need to ensure that anyone hiring whether it be directly to the HR Manager, Line Management or talent acquisition team to recruiters follow the process at every stage – from a proforma note to every applicant at form stage to a basic rejection letter at first interview, and a feedback note to candidates who make it further along the hiring process. This should be driven from the top down and leading by example in every aspect. How are we to gain trust by candidates if the simple things cannot be followed?

The potential impact of ghosting on individual candidates is serious. The knock-on effect, both in terms of general brand and also the potential of walking into a pitch and being faced with the very executive your company ghosted last year, may be worse!