“Ghosting” is a term that is primarily used in relationships and friendships, but it can also apply to professional environments, especially in recruiting. According to Wikipedia, “ghosting” is a colloquial term used to describe the practice of ceasing all communication and contact with a partner, friend, or similar individual without any apparent warning or justification and subsequently ignoring any attempts to reach out or communication made by said partner, friend, or individual. In general, ghosting is a fairly disrespectful and unkind way to deal with people, but it’s quite egregious to do when you are job searching.
CEO of Advanced Hires Kevin Scholz says that “Ghosting is the WORST thing a person seeking a job can possibly do.” Ghosting is detrimental in that a job seeker or candidate’s reputation gets tarnished and with Milwaukee being a mid-sized market with a smaller market feel, word will inevitably get around and ruin the candidate’s reputation among companies.
Here are some reasons why ghosting in recruiting is a bad idea:
It’s disrespectful
You are basically telling someone that they are not worth your time, energy, or basic human respect. Many people are offended if they are ghosted, and they have every right to be.
It can negatively impact your job search
Not only could you lose out on an opportunity that would be a great fit for you, but you will also lose the network and network connections of that recruiter because they will never again want to work with you.
You can get blacklisted
Recruiters, especially in a smaller industry like the one in Milwaukee, talk. If you ghost, there’s a 100% chance the person you ghosted will let clients, coworkers, and even competitors know that you have acted so rudely. You can be blacklisted by the entire industry, losing out on many job opportunities and severely hurting your professional career.
It hurts other people
Recruiters get paid when candidates get hired. If you disappear without a word, it looks poorly for everyone involved and the recruiter doesn’t get compensation, which is what they literally live off of. By ghosting and acting callously, you could be hurting someone else’s income and livelihood. Do you really want to be that kind of a person?
It can come back to haunt you in the future
People who ghost aren’t just forgotten. If you apply for a job or find yourself even working for (or with) someone you ghosted in the past, it can impact your professional and personal relationship with them. There will be a lack of trust and a lack of respect on both ends because of your poor decisions in the past.
Ghosting can cause negative repercussions in the job search because you’re potentially closing some doors that may never open up again. Nowadays, ghosting is more prevalent, perhaps not because people don’t care or that they are trying to be rude, but more so because people have a harder time telling someone “No” or giving them bad news. It can be difficult at times, but sometimes all it requires is a quick message and that can go a long way in not losing someone’s respect or an opportunity down the line.
Ghosting simply falls into the notion of treating others as you would want to be treated. If someone is giving you their time and consideration it is at the highest level of unprofessionalism to simply ghost them. You are telling that person, “You are not important and you mean nothing to me”. If that is the manner in which you treat other people it is the manner in which others will start treating you. It does catch up with you and it shows you are not worthy of consideration for employment if that it how you choose to treat someone in your profession.