How to Avoid Being Ghosted After Multiple Job Interviews

Rachel May @LRDG

“I am feeling just so defeated right now,” writes one Reddit job seeker.

Reddit’s user feeling defeated after series of ghosting. (Photo: AdobeStock)

After 3 rounds of interviews, this Reddit user thought the interviews had gone well and a job offer might be right around the corner. Unfortunately, then the phone and email notifications went silent. “Now it’s been over a week since the last interview and I haven’t heard from them…I just feel like crying right now,” adds the Reddit user in despair.

If you can relate to those feelings of shock and disappointment at realizing you’ve actually been ghosted despite several interviews, you’re not alone. One poll on LinkedIn, which amassed over 2,500 votes in three days, found 93% of respondents had been ghosted by a potential employer after an interview or after someone had contacted them for more information.

A poll showed that 93% of job applicants were ghosted.

So what can you do to avoid spending hours preparing for and giving interviews, only to be ghosted near the end of the hiring process?

Test Your Interviewer for Signs of Future Ghosting

During an interview, look for an appropriate moment to ask when they will follow up with you and who you should contact if you follow up in a couple weeks.

Ask at the end of an interview, who you should contact to follow up. (Photo: freepik)

According to Ask the Head Hunter, this is a good way to test your likelihood of being ghosted in the future: “If they don’t answer candidly, expect ghosting is the policy and be brutally honest with yourself — don’t expect much from this company.”

Be Sure to Follow Up

Most experts on hiring and recruiting will say that following up is one of the single most important steps you can take to avoid being ghosted in the future.

Make a call or email a thank-you note to the interviewer are good follow-up actions (photo: freepik)

After an interview, it’s easy to rush off or leave the Zoom meeting without taking down the interviewers’ contact information. Remember to pause, take down the relevant information and then send out a thank you email or note promptly. Grow advises job seekers to wait no more than 24 hours before sending a thank-you note after a phone interview or in-person interview — and if you’re sending something in the mail, also send an email as well.

Communicate Persistently

Once you’ve sent your thank-you note (or thank-you email after a Zoom interview), don’t stop there. Vault advises job seekers to keep emailing the recruiter, perhaps one email a week, for three weeks after the job interview. If you’re worried about annoying the interviewer, don’t be–you are actually showing initiative.

Persistent follow-up may win the interviewer’s heart. (photo: freepik)

Vault says, “Be specific. Take note of relevant industry news… Most recruiters will find it hard to ignore this kind of politely persistent follow-up.”

Try An Interview-Free Hiring Solution

Despite your best efforts trying to avoid being ghosted by interviewers, it is impossible to fully control interviewer decisions during your interview process. That’s why some job seekers are now turning to alternative hiring solutions that eliminate interviews altogether.

Alternative hiring solutions, such as skill-based job platform, can eliminate interview bias and ghosting, and are popular recently. (photo: freepik)

For example, Geekbidz is a new direct-to-hire skill-based job platform that invites job seekers to participate in an online skills ranking system. It uses AI to rank job seekers’ skills, then pairs employers with the candidate most qualified for their job posting and allows an employer to invite that candidate to an on-the-job evaluation. By erasing all job interviews from the hiring process, GeekBidz by extension also eliminates even the possibility of ghosting by interviewers.

Stay open to other opportunities

This approach may not help you avoid being ghosted, but it can improve the way you cope with being ghosted by an interviewer. If you’re actively keeping an eye out for either job opportunities, rather than putting all your eggs in one basket by focusing on the job interview in front of you, it will be easier to deal with the situation if, sadly, the interviewer does ghost you.

“Stay Open” until you have signed your name on the employment contract. (photo: freepik)

Glassdoor reminds job seekers, “Operate with the assumption that until you’ve signed your name on the dotted line, you’re not employed anywhere and should be evaluating many offers at once, even if you’re in the final stages with a company.”

Regain Control Over the Hiring Process

By Being Prepared, Following Up, Communicating Persistently and Trying New Solutions

Being ghosted by an interviewer, especially after multiple interviews, is a profoundly discouraging experience most job seekers would do anything to avoid. While there’s no foolproof way to avoid all ghosting, there are ways — such as preparedness and persistent follow-up — to make it less likely. And don’t forget, nowadays there are new hiring solutions that can fully replace job interviews.

Photo Credit:

Adobe Stock
Asking Question People photo by shurkin_son — freepik.com
Business phone call photo by pressfoto — freepik.com
Tug of War Background photo by freepik — freepik.com
People holding bulbs photo by rawpixel.com — freepik.com
Business photo by senivpetro — freepik.com