Why Are Candidates Ghosting...

So, in last week’s Blog post we covered the basics of Recruitment Agency ghosting, and it’s impact. But we must keep it fair and unbiased so let’s delve deep into why candidates ghost Recruitment Agencies…

A whopping 22% of job seekers in one Indeed survey told how they had accepted job offers but still failed to turn up to their first day. Below are the Top 5 reasons why…

1. Your hiring process doesn’t work

To put it simply, your systems and measures don’t work. As hard as that is to hear, it allows you to become one step closer to promoting more candidates into work. Feedback is essential, though we may not always get it, we can look at things ourselves, through another person’s perspective and see the flaws. There is always room for improvement.

2. Your communication is lacking

Are you constantly communicating with your Candidates but never hear anything back? You may be contacting the Candidate enough, but is your message coming through clear? Sometimes large/frequent messages confuse and derail the message that you are trying to convey. Try frequent emailing but with only important/relevant details in the email, avoid drawing out your emails with unimportant information.

3. What you have offered is completely different to what the candidate wanted

Candidates tend to have a rough idea of what they want to do when they come through the doors. Most of the time they can be flexible and will try similar roles in different backgrounds. All seems good? Well, sometimes things happen, and employers no longer have ongoing requirements. This is why it is vital that you never promise something to a Candidate until you have the pen and have signed the paper. Let downs happen but Candidates can be really unhappy when they have been promised something and it is not followed through on.

4. Poor candidate experience

Brand image is everything. Reputation is around 95% of business. If you have a poor reputation, you won’t have a lot of business. If you have a sterling reputation Candidates can see this through social media, word of mouth etc. But do you live up to your reputation? Candidates can be put off by many different things but the primarily, it is having a poor experience. Communicate effectively and thoroughly, answer questions and deal with any uncertainties that the Candidate may have, be there for them in what is a stressful experience from the inset. In the previous Blog post, we discussed how “life” can quite often interfere with the recruitment process. This is no different for Candidates.

Do not treat rearranging an interview as a rejection. Treat it as part of your job. Understand that sometimes things do happen that a Candidate needs to deal with. Offer flexibility and understanding, be a person rather than a process. The candidate will appreciate you if you provide them with a positive, safe experience.

5. The candidate received a different/better offer

Competition is as strong as ever. With social media advancing as incredible speeds, marketing and branding is becoming easier and more efficient. Commuting is a thing of the past for most office workers with hybrid working becoming the new norm. When applying for jobs Candidates rarely put all of their eggs in 1 basket. It is human nature to hedge your bets and apply for multiple roles to increase the likelihood of more than one interview or offer. Depending on the urgency that the Candidate has to secure a new role, they will often accept the first offer that they receive rather than wait and choose to “ignore” communication regarding the other roles and become that ghost…

Nobody likes to have difficult conversations, but they are a part of life, both personal and professional. They not only make things easier for the candidate and Recruitment Agency, but it also saves precious time throughout the recruitment process.

When a Candidate accepts a job offer with no intention of starting that position it has far reaching implications. Not only does it have a potential negative effect on the Agencies’ relationship with their Client, it also causes the Client and Agency to miss out on other Candidates that were unsuccessful in the recruitment process. Losing good Candidates is a huge frustration in what is already a tough landscape, but not only does this loss have to be dealt with, the impact on business reputation via word of mouth, online revies etc has to be dealt with too.

Looking at ghosting from a dual perspective, last week and this, I feel that the primarily, ghosting is caused by a lack of communication, professionalism, and etiquette from either the Recruiter or the Candidate. This HAS to improve in what is an ever-evolving process that sits in our societal new norm, and what is an already challenging process.