Ghosts are becoming increasingly common in the job market | Private Equity Weekly

Ghosting isn’t just a dating phenomenon: it’s becoming increasingly common in the workplace, too. Career experts say such unreliable behavior can cause reputational damage to both employers and job seekers.

The concept of ghosting—the sudden, unexpected cessation of communication with someone (i.e., disappearance)—emerged Around mid-2010s With the popularity of social media and dating apps.Webster’s Dictionary Add to In 2017, a new era definition of “ghost” in the dictionary.

This practice has become common among both job seekers and employers during the recruitment process.

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About 78% of job seekers said they had found a future employer, according to a December report from the job site indeed, based on a poll conducted in spring 2023. This number is up from the previous year, when 68% said they had gone AWOL during the hiring process at some point in their career.

Indeed found that about 62% of job seekers said they planned to “ghost” a job search in the future, up from 56% in 2022 and 37% in 2019.

But it’s not just job seekers who are disappearing: 40% of job seekers say they have been contacted by an employer ghostly after their second or third round of interviews, up from 30% in 2022.

According to Indeed’s report, data suggests ghosting is “still on the rise” and not a “fad.”

Demand for labor surged in early 2021 as the U.S. economy reopened from the downturn caused by the pandemic.this unemployment rate has been hovering near all-time lows for about two years, and layoffs It’s been nearly three years. Vacancies – A proxy for business demand for workers – hitting record highs in the pandemic era; so too quita barometer of a worker’s ability or willingness to find work elsewhere.

Eubank said that while the job market is cooling, it remains strong.

Job seekers may feel they have a wealth of options and a high likelihood of success, so “ghosting” increases, she said.

“They feel like they have a choice: ‘I don’t have to communicate because I can come here[to find a job]or I have other opportunities,'” Eubank said.

According to a 2023 report, about 1 in 6 Millennial and Gen Z employees hallucinated about a prospective employer during the interview process, primarily because they no longer wanted the job and were offered another Job offer or bad interview experience polling Brought to you by the Thriving Center for Psychology, a mental health platform.

According to a 2019 Randstad poll, two-thirds (66%) of employees “ghosted” their employer after accepting a job offer, then withdrawing or disappearing before the start date.

Additionally, 35% of employees say they were lied to by their employer during the interview process, according to the Center for Prosperity Psychology.

Clint Carrens, career strategist at Indeed Career Academy, said the problem has evolved into a feedback loop.

“Job seekers feel like employers are getting less and less sneaky,” says Callens. “The approach many take is that if the employer thinks it’s normal etiquette, then they’ll engage in this behavior as well. It’s almost A circular problem.”

However, experts say ghosting creates potential reputational damage risks for both parties.

“As a coach, I would never advise a job seeker to seek out an employer,” Callens said.

For example, he said those who did so could be “warned” by their employers and lose future job opportunities.

Cullens added that employers may feel that ghosting wins them a short-term win by cutting time in the recruitment process, but it can also damage their brand in the long term, especially if the candidate becomes public online. their negative experiences.