Prevent Your Applicants from Ghosting During the Hiring Process

I recently attended the SHRM19 National Conference in Las Vegas where I had the opportunity to speak with many HR professionals about all their different hiring pains. One hiring pain that seemed to keep coming up that I want to tackle here is "ghosting" from your applicants during the hiring process.

What is "ghosting" in the hiring world?

You've probably heard the term "ghosting" when it comes to online dating, but what about with hiring? With low unemployment rates and such a competitive job market, we're seeing more candidates just disappearing during the job interview process. This job interview "ghosting" is understandably taking a toll on many different companies out there.

If you haven't experienced "hiring ghosting" yet, consider yourself one of the lucky few. Imagine you've finally found what seems to be the perfect candidate for a hard-to-fill position at your company. The hiring process is flowing, you've communicated back and forth with your candidate, and then suddenly - everything goes dark and quiet. That perfect candidate is now a no-show for their job interview. They stop answering your calls and emails and are never heard from again. You've been ghosted.

All of the time, money, and effort you've invested in what you thought was the ideal candidate for your job is wasted. You've increased your time-to-fill for this job opening, and worst of all, you're back to the beginning in your hiring process - your job still needs to be filled. Pretty scary, huh?

In this week's video, I'm discussing WHY job seekers are losing interest in the hiring process and I'll be providing hiring tips that will decrease the chances of your job candidates "going ghost" on you.

4 Steps to Prevent Ghosting During Hiring Process:

• 1. Post Quality Job Ads

  Would you cast out a fishing line with no bait? Of course not. A job description is NOT a job ad. Post a quality job ad to attract and engage the right candidates for your jobs from the start. Posting a job ad also sets expectations about your timeline for hiring for that particular job.

• 2. Maintain Contact with Your Job Candidates

  If you stop communicating with your job candidates, don't be surprised when they disappear on you. Make sure you are maintaining consistent contact with your job seekers to keep them interested in working for you.

  Communicate each candidate's progress at every turn throughout the hiring process. Great communication with your applicants will help them know what to expect and when to expect it.

• 3. Leave Compelling Voicemails for Your Applicants

  Proactively work on building relationships with your candidates. Make sure every time you contact them throughout the application process, you are adding value. You could provide your candidates with additional information about your organization, remind them why they would want to work for you, and inform them on how they're progressing in your hiring process.

• 4. Stop Calling and Start Texting Your Applicants

  I can't emphasize how important constant communication with your applicants is in avoiding being ghosted. But candidates won't always answer the phone and professional emails require time to craft. Maintaining momentum is a MUST in your hiring process. Consider drafting a quick text to your applicant to remind them of your interest in them, their application status, and what the next steps are in your hiring process.

Be sure to watch the video for that important last step about texting your applicants. I also talk about what's behind each of these recommendations to prevent applicants from ghosting you, and how better communication with them will stop you from losing qualified candidates and avoid HR heartbreak.

Getting enough applicants in a competitive job market is tough. If you want to learn how you can maximize the number of qualified job seekers applying for your jobs and build a more successful company through more successful hiring, check out our helpful tool, Guide to Writing a Killer Job Ad.