Here’s why job-hungry candidates are ghosting potential employers

• ZipRecruiter polled one-fifths of workers who said they had ghosted their employer during their last job search.
• The biggest culprits were those in the 18-to-24 age group.
• One ghoster said to us: “I’m a classic younger millennial and I’m very careful with what I like.”

Many job seekers have heard the disappointing tale of losing touch with a promising company. But ghosting — the practice of cutting off all communication without warning or explanation — goes both ways in the professional sphere.

Once a rare phenomenon, candidates in a tight labor market are increasingly abandoning employers after attending interviews — and sometimes even after accepting a formal job offer.

ZipRecruiter conducted an October survey and found that 21.6% said they had “ghosted” a potential employer during their job search. The employment market surveyed 2,550 US residents who had started a new position within the last six months. 

The biggest culprits are younger workers. ZipRecruiter’s survey showed that workers aged 18-34 were three-times more likely than those over 55 to leave an employer.

What is the reason for the rise in “professional ghosting”? 

Companies — especially smaller businesses — are feeling the pinch. Canada’s small businesses are feeling the pinch. One-third of those surveyed said they had recently hired people who did not show up to work or stopped coming to work within a few weeks. According to research by The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, some businesses cut off communication halfway through the application process.

CFIB president Dan Kelly suggested that this rise in “professional Ghosting” could be a permanent symptom of the COVID-19 epidemic. He said that many companies fired and rehired employees during successive lockdowns. This caused “professional ghosting” to increase, which “employees understoodably felt an erosion in their confidence that their employer was providing stable work.”

Kelly stated that he believed both the US unemployment rate and Canada’s labor shortages were empowering workers to cut down on communication. The US unemployment rate is now at 7%. been consistently low since the end of pandemic-induced restrictions — remaining below 4% throughout 2022.

“Employers are looking for workers, and employees know there are plenty of job opportunities. They are therefore less concerned about reputational damage.

Young workers want employers who share their values

Nicole Gray, a London-based 27-year-old marketer, described herself in London as a “serial Ghoster.”

She said, “I’m the classic younger generation, and I’m very deliberate about what I like and don’t like.”

Gray shared with Insider that her ADHD diagnosis may have contributed to her ghosting recurrences, but that she is proud of how conscious she was about whether a company was aligned with her values.

Gray reviews company reviews on Glassdoor and examines social-media profiles from senior-leadership staff before accepting a job.

Sometimes, this has led her to withdraw or abandon applications. Gray once ghosted a potential employer after an initial interview. Gray claimed that she had noticed that the company director liked “a weird, disrespectful comment about women” via LinkedIn.

Gray has also ghosted companies following negative interview experiences. Gray claimed that one time interviewers were “critiquing someone else’s CV in front me and making fun at all the spelling errors.”

Gray didn’t reply to the hiring manager after the interview. She said: “Deleted, blocked — that’s not for me.”

Another interviewer kept her waiting about 40 minutes, she claimed, and didn’t offer any apology or explanation.

Gray stated that Gray did not want to work in a company like that.

Insider spoke out to say she is trying to be a “reformed ghoster” by making a conscious effort for specific feedback to potential employers if she feels they aren’t right for her. She doesn’t feel guilty about her past actions.

Gray stated that Gray felt ghosted back. Companies are terrible at getting back to customers.