Whether it’s job hunting or bidding out projects, many people are left with whiplash from being ghosted.
One minute you are knee-deep in a fast-moving interview process or project bid and the next you are cut off cold. Ghosted. Forever. As I hear story after story of ghosting in various business situations, I fear for basic human decency.
What the fuck.
Picture this: A recruiter contacts you via LinkedIn. They tell you they’d love to talk as you may be a great candidate for a position they’re trying to hire quickly. You check out the job posting, it sounds somewhat intriguing, so you set up time to chat the next day.
Sure enough, it sounds interesting and it might be a great mutual fit. Your interest is piqued and you begin doing your research. Your next interview is set up for the following week. The hour flies by and you have a great feeling. You spend a little more time researching and then craft a great thank-you note. All is well.
The recruiter then lets you know that they want to get you on three or maybe four more schedules. Plus, maybe a panel interview with other team members. Oh, and they’re asking everyone to do just a little homework assignment and present it in the next interview.
At this point, you’re excited. You don't mind the significant time you've dedicated to the process. Everything has gone well from your vantage point. You’re starting to get emotionally invested. You begin thinking about moving into the role. How will you craft your first week? What additional research and learning can you do in advance? How will you set up meet and greets with the team?
And then…..nothing. Absolute fucking silence.
You follow up with the recruiter - the one whose literal job it is to respond to candidates. Nothing. You follow up with the hiring manager. Crickets. You give everyone the benefit of the doubt because you know they are busy. You wait two or three more weeks to gently follow up again. And then again. And you get Nothing. Ever. Again.
You can replace this job interview scenario with individuals who have been asked to strategize and bid on professional projects as well. It's becoming more prevalent than I’ve personally ever seen. I dare say it's becoming the norm.
This is bullshit.
This seriously messes with a person's head. They replay all of the conversations and wonder what they said or did that was so terrible that shunning is the only possible course of action.
Time gets away from all of us. You have the best intentions and then a day turns into a week which turns into a month. I get this. EVERYONE in business understands this. This is forgivable.
What is un-fucking-forgivable is blatantly and completely ghosting people who have invested time into something you’ve requested from them. Especially when they follow up multiple times asking - BEGGING - for just a word.
Take two fucking minutes and say “Hey, we went a different direction” or “I’m sorry, but the budget got pulled” or even “This is taking longer than we thought and now we don’t know if we’re going to proceed. I’ll get back with you at some point if it gets back on track.”
Just close it out. It’s not fucking hard. This shit needs to stop.
P.S.:
If this is you, follow up right now with everyone you've ghosted over the past year and close that shit out. Believe me, it hasn't been too long. They will appreciate the closure.
You also might need a get shit done planner to help you remember to follow up in the future.
thank you!!
100000000% agree. Thanks so much for sharing on this!!