Ghosting is no longer a phenomenon reserved for those dating online. Thanks to our growing reliance on the digital world, ghosting is getting a lot more common. As a recruitment agency in Singapore, we’ve written content on why recruiters choose to ghost jobseekers. However, today, the tables have turned.
Employers are the ones getting ghosted by job seekers. Despite the pandemic situation, ghosting is still an issue amongst job seekers. But what exactly is the reason for this disappearing act?
The Reasons for Ghosting
Before we delve into the consequences of ghosting. We must first understand why so many job seekers choose to disappear on job recruiters. It might sound facetious, but we’ve noticed that there are more Gen Z and Millennial job seekers who practice the art of ghosting on recruiters. As newer employees and job seekers, it is perfectly normal for these job seekers to have a larger list of requirements.
Some of these requirements can include:
Health Benefits: Like their older counterparts, younger employees are just as concerned about the benefits they can get at the workplace. The lack of health benefits (e.g. health insurance, mental health day off) can deter these new job seekers!
Lifestyle Benefits: The term lifestyle perks here can refer to the gym, upskilling courses, and company retreats to name a few. The need to fill this gap is not as prevalent now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as an employer, you might need to appeal to the influencers in these younger employees.
Branding: We cannot stress this enough. Your company’s branding matters! Millennials and Gen Z candidates care about the branding of the company. This is an age group that is greatly exposed to the environmental, political, and socio-economic problems society faces this day and age. Keep in mind that in order to appeal to these candidates, employers will need to care for the same causes. This has to be prominent in your branding.
Mentorship: Fortunately, younger job seekers are interested in gaining better skills to improve future job opportunities. We believe that this is due to the fact that University courses are expensive and inaccessible to these knowledge hungry job seekers.
To a recruiter, these are some of the reasons that come to mind when candidates disappear during the interview process. Disappearing candidates cause an internal soul-searching process of the company and what aspects of the company they can improve.
However, this self-searching process is often a futile one. Instead, candidates should make it known the many reasons why they’ve decided to drop out of the recruitment process. It might sound daunting. But the consequences of disappearing on recruiters can have detrimental consequences.
Disadvantages of Ghosting Recruiters
However, young job seekers should understand that it can be hard for companies to provide intensive benefits during the current pandemic and global recession. Choosing to ghost recruiters and employees on more than one occasion can lead to a number of disadvantages. These can include:
Lack of future opportunities: The moment you disappear on your recruiter, your chances of landing any future jobs with the company becomes slimmer. Ghost them enough times and you’ll end up on a list of blacklisted candidates. Thus erasing any future job opportunities you have with the organization.
Ruin professional reputation: People and recruiters talk. If you choose to stay in one industry, chances are, it’d be a very small world. Ghosting an employer in one specific field can come back to haunt you.
In addition, disappearing on someone who could make for very awkward future encounters, should you bump into them in future work meetings. Either way, ghosting enough people in the field, can result in a ruined professional reputation. Ghosting a recruiter is a sure-fire way to show recruiters just how immature you are. Learn more about ghosting and ruined professional reputation here.Unexpected confrontation: Rejecting a job offer can lead to uncomfortable conversations. However, ghosting a recruiter can lead to unexpected confrontations in the future. In a digitally connected world, recruiters can easily find you on social media websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to confront you regarding your ghosting habits.
We live in a review-centric world. Ghosting a wrong recruiter could lead to a public comment that might jeopardize your professional reputation even further. There’s no such thing as privacy in our current day and age.
What to do Instead of Ghosting
The main reason why candidates ghost recruiters are because they find it hard to reject recruiters. But learning to say “no” is an invaluable skill that can get you far in the professional world. BGC Group understands that rejecting an offer or even another interview round is a tough thing to do. Jobseekers, especially newer job seekers are worried that they won’t know the right words to say.
But not to worry, below is a list of things that job candidates can do instead of ghosting:
Make a list of the reasons why: Before you decline an offer, try to find the tangible reasons why you’ve come to that conclusion. Did you receive a better offer? Or was the benefits scheme and salary not sufficient enough for you? List it down and take note of it.
Decide the means of sending the message: Are comfortable with having a one-on-one conversation with the recruiter? Or would you much prefer emailing or texting them instead? Decide the proper means you’d like to convey the rejection message. This makes it easier for you to compose the right messaging to convey your rejection.
Compose several drafts: Now comes the hard part. Writing the actual email can be tough for some job seekers. According to The Muse, an email that features direct and apologetic language is the best way to address your rejection email. Instead of giving elaborate reasons why you’re not interested. Pick one point to convey, and do so in a kind and apologetic manner.
Understand that emotions might arise: It is perfectly normal for a recruiter to respond emotionally to your rejection. Job seekers have to understand that recruiters spend a lot of time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears looking for the right candidate. This does not mean that future job opportunities will not be on the cards for you. Rejection is always better than nothing.
At the end of the day, saying no to recruiters is a good way for you to practice setting healthy boundaries within the workplace. We do hope that you try to keep these tips in mind instead of ghosting your recruiters the next time you need to reject a job offer!
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Read More: How to Win Over the Hearts of Passive Job Seekers