The term ‘ghosting’ is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world of work as more jobseekers experience incidents of career-related ghosting. Read more here.
- Top three frustrations of Singaporean jobseekers about the recruitment process are slow feedback (47%), poor communication (44%) and delayed decision-making (44%).
Singapore, 4 June 2019 – The term ‘ghosting’ is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world of work as more jobseekers experience incidents of career-related ghosting – the act of a company pulling away during the hiring process without explanation. Equally, many hiring managers experience ghosting on the part of the jobseeker – highlighting communication (or lack thereof) goes both ways. Incidentally, poor communication during the recruitment process is at the heart of many jobseekers’ frustrations, as research from Robert Half reveals.
In a poll of 500 jobseekers across Singapore, the top three frustrations were slow feedback (47%), poor communication (44%) and delayed decision-making (44%) from hiring managers – a clear indication that the main jobseeker frustrations revolve around poor or a lack of communication on the part of the company.
Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore says: “There can be several reasons why employers fail to adequately communicate with candidates during the hiring process including avoiding delivering bad news, keeping candidates as a back-up and changes to recruitment requirements. But ghosting carries a series of negative consequences for jobseekers such as the inability to act on valuable feedback, delays finding an alternative role and diminished confidence.”
“In today’s market where online review sites are all around, it’s never been more important for companies to nurture a positive reputation – which includes delivering a positive recruitment experience. Ghosting candidates after an interview could quickly lead to a negative company reputation which, in turn, leads to difficulties attracting top talent in the long-term.”
“Equally, a candidate’s professional reputation is also at stake during the recruitment process. Ghosting an employer could easily lead to a loss of opportunities in future if the hiring manager becomes a valuable connection in relation to other roles – whether elsewhere or at the same company. Both employers and candidates should prioritise transparency and frequent communication to avoid damage to their career development and reputation”.
Here are three ways jobseekers can potentially prevent the possibility of no response after an interview:
- Don’t leave the interview without knowing next steps
Job applicants should not leave the interview until they have confirmation the hiring manager has all the information he/she needs, as well as sufficient information about the next steps in the hiring process.
After an interview, jobseekers should ask for an outline of the hiring process including timeframes. Jobseekers who know when they should expect to hear from hiring managers in relation to key decisions could avoid unnecessary negative inferences such as employer ghosting.
- Follow up
The best way for job applicants to remain top of mind with the hiring manager is by following up with a thank-you note within 48 hours of the first interview – it’s a nice touch and can help applicants stand out and reaffirms their interest in the position.
There are many reasons why hiring managers don’t always get back to candidates promptly. In these instances, jobseekers should feel comfortable calling the hiring manager, and if no update is available, they should emphasise their interest in the role and seek clarity over timeframes.
- Make it clear that your search is moving forward
One additional way for jobseekers to potentially speed up the hiring process is to remind the hiring manager that they are still job hunting. Candidates should inform the hiring manager they have received interest from and have been interviewing with other companies (only if this is the case, of course).
Jobseekers themselves must make timely decisions when they are interviewing for multiple roles or receiving multiple offers. It is courteous for jobseekers to inform hiring managers if they are applying for other roles, so companies are reminded of the competitive nature of the market.
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About the research
The study was developed by Robert Half and conducted in December 2017-January 2018 by an independent research company among 500 jobseekers in Singapore.
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