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Are Candidates Ghosting You? Here’s What You Can Do

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If you’ve ever had a candidate stop returning calls or fail to show up on a job site, you’ve been ghosted. We’re not sure how it became a trend; it’s a terrible way to treat an employer. But it happens. The latest data says there’s been a 10 to 20% increase in this phenomenon over the past year. If you’re experiencing an increase in ghosting incidents, is there something you can do about it?  

What to Do About Ghosting? 

Even when the economy is in a downturn and unemployment is high, you may experience a candidate that just walks away without a goodbye. While this often isn’t your fault, it is your problem, and there are some steps you can take to try to keep your candidate in the game longer. For example: 

Engagement

Work harder at keeping your candidate engaged if the process is a long one. We all know how the hiring process can drag on; make sure you are regularly touching base with them to make sure they are aware of what’s happening at each step in the process. Keeping your candidates in the know can be time-consuming, but it’s an important way to keep in touch and make sure they don’t lose interest, especially if your company is taking a while to make a hiring decision. The plus is that you can program your applicant tracking system to regularly ping candidates. But an email isn’t as personal as a call or text, so make sure you use these communication tools as well to keep your candidate in the loop.  

Communication

If the candidate goes silent, it should be a flag that it’s time to get back in touch. One red flag is when a candidate, who has been responding regularly, instead ignores your email. Don’t let that situation drag on; pick up the phone. Many of the best candidates are probably receiving multiple offices and many calls from recruiters. But persistence and steady effort will pay off, so if your candidate stops responding, do something to re-engage them. One tip is to think about something that you and the candidate bonded over during the interview process. Maybe there is a piece of content that may be relevant to their career path or an event that you think they’d like to go to. It can be difficult to keep reaching out to candidates when you don’t really have an update on the hiring process. Think outside the box and try to make a worthwhile human connection, and the candidate will remember you and be less likely to ghost.

Human Connection

The best way to keep a candidate from ghosting you is to make a human connection. Talk with the candidate about their career goals and get to know them as a person beyond the job requirements.  It’s a two-way street. If you get to know them, they will get to know you. It’s harder to ghost someone when this happens.

We Can Help You With Your Recruiting Needs

Genuine human connections are what set the best recruiters apart from the competition. That’s what makes ADD STAFF a great recruiting partner. Talk with our team and find out why we’re different—and then put us to work. 

 

 

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