How to prevent ghosting by job candidates

“It’s across all job types,” said Kevin Grossman, president of Talent Board. “Professional candidates, especially those that are in the running for multiple jobs, with multiple offers, may verbally accept, and then never respond again, because they took another job somewhere else.”

That number of jobs available to applicants is one of the factors powering this trend, he said. “For every candidate, there are two or three jobs available. So there’s a lot of jobs in the market, across industries.”

Compared to two years ago, more than four in 10 respondents (43%) to a previous survey said it’s more common for job candidates to cut off communication. Also, employers are stepping up with their compensation and benefits offerings. Wages for hourly workers, for example, have increased more within the past two years compared with the past 10 years, said Grossman.

“There is a higher level of ghosting of these individuals that are [thinking] ‘I can get paid higher’.”

Poaching talent from competitors simply makes sense – especially with the pandemic, according to a previous study.