Ghosting job candidates damages trust, reputation, and your firm’s future recruitment success.
Though I’m not a recruiter, I have somehow become a match-maker of sorts – helping to connect people and firms. Finding great people is always a struggle, no matter what market. But recently, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend with hiring managers. They’re “ghosting”– that phenomenon where your main point of contact at the firm (the recruiter or hiring manager) simply stops returning your correspondences.
While this practice isn’t rare, I do think that managers need to be aware of the full costs of this behavior, namely the heavy withdrawal this makes to the candidate’s emotional bank account. One of my favorite parts of Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People revolves around the concept of the emotional bank account (EBA). Covey explains that every relationship is strengthened by small “deposits” we make into this metaphorical bank account over time. In today’s quest for talent, hiring managers need to know when they are making deposits, withdrawals, or even overdrawing the account.
Understanding the impact of the EBA.
Unlike a traditional bank account, the EBA is tricky. Withdrawals make a big impact while deposits are taken for granted. A person needs to tend to a relationship constantly to have the EBA grow. As a hiring manager, you are developing a relationship that ideally moves a person from a candidate to a long-term employee. This new hire can even serve as an evangelist for your firm! While you are focusing on benefits and company culture, you may be accidentally slipping your account into the red if you ignore these elements of the EBA.
In today’s digital world, the emotional bank account isn’t limited to just people; it extends to brands as well. The trust we have in a brand (a person, store, or firm) is based on how well it keeps its promises, lives up to expectations, and does the little things well over time.
The impact of ghosting.
Ghosting hits hard because it makes multiple withdrawals in the EBA.
I’ve created an unscientific poll of my LinkedIn friends to gauge this impact. A whopping 49 percent said that a company is “dead to them” if ghosting occurs. Our industry is small. Do you want to have a string of people who actively dislike your firm because you couldn’t afford them common courtesy?
Covey says the EBA starts with “understanding the individual.” A recruiter may be busy, there could be some internal changes regarding the position, or they want to avoid a difficult conversation. However, the withdrawal happens when you look at it from the candidate’s point of view. Ghosting leaves the candidate confused and stagnated. The EBA withdrawal is more impactful the longer you’ve been involved in the recruitment process. Send an application email and didn’t get a reply? Most of us are used to this. What about after that first phone screening? In-person meeting? Multiple in-person meetings? Or after promises that an “offer is on its way”? I’ve heard multiple stories like this. This EBA is now severely overdrawn.
Practical steps for hiring managers.
Ghosting candidates can lead to negative associations with your firm. Covey outlines six steps to maintaining the EBA:
- Understand the individual. Recognize that for the candidate, this interaction affects their livelihood. This is always personal for them.
- Keep commitments. If you promise an update, follow through, even if it’s to say that the timeline is now unclear.
- Clarify expectations. Be as transparent as possible about what everyone needs or wants.
- Attend to little things. This is critical. Don’t think that glowing phone call can make up for a series of missed emails.
- Show personal integrity. There’s nothing quite like having a recruiter pester you to have an exploratory call and then not bother to respond to your follow-up email.
- Apologize for withdrawals. If something goes wrong, acknowledge it and apologize. Explain what happened so the candidate isn’t left guessing.
I had an interview years ago where the hiring manager reached out to me. After two phone interviews he asked if I’d create a 90-day action plan for the position. I wasn’t even looking for a job but after his persistence, I started getting excited. The manager acknowledged receipt of my work, but never responded to my follow-up emails. Perhaps I didn’t have the skills or network for this position? Or worse, did they just steal my work plan and use it with someone else? This one interaction left me questioning the integrity of the entire firm – not just the recruiter.
Was the intent of the hiring manager to make me feel embarrassed? Probably not. However, intent and impact are two very different things. And, as Covey points out, attending to the little things (like my email), personal integrity (like not stealing my unpaid work product), and apologizing for the delay are key. Even then, without a strong basis of trust, a withdrawal can quickly turn into an overdraw. Immediate email replies for every application may be difficult. I do think that as the communication deepens – with phone interviews, in-person meetings, and even compensation discussions – hiring managers should realize that an EBA has been established, and ghosting will absolutely overdraw that account.
The world is busy and everyone is juggling multiple priorities. But don’t forget the EBA. Every time you are interacting with someone, ask yourself, “Am I making a deposit or a withdrawal?”
Janki DePalma, LEED AP, CPSM is director of business development at W.E. O’Neil. Contact her at jdepalma@weoneil.com.