Before we jump right into it, let us explain what ghosting is. It has nothing to do with the supernatural – you are not being haunted by a hiring manager…no, ghosting is when someone, suddenly, withdraws all communication with you. They literally disappear from your life, unseen, unheard…like a ghost.
Whilst this term is mainly used for romantic relationships, it really can happen in any relationship you have – including one with the hiring manager.
It can be incredibly confusing when a hiring manager ghosts you. If it happens early on, before you even submit your resume (you may be seeking more information about the role via email, LinkedIn or a phone call), it is immensely frustrating when the hiring manager does not respond and basically, has zero communication with you but you would simply assume they are really busy and apply for the job anyway. However, it is shocking and upsetting when this happens after a round or two of job interviews.
So what does it mean and how to combat it?
In short and very bluntly put- in most instances it means they do not consider you the right applicant for the role.
In other circumstances, the hiring manager may not have any feedback to provide (as they themselves are waiting from higher management on direction), or the role no longer exists.
But please, do not take it personally. There can be many reasons why you are not considered for a job.
The behaviour you are shown by the hiring manager is a reflection of them, not you.
A hiring manager should always have open communication, even if it is to tell you they have no new information to put forward. At least, this way you know where you stand in the process.
Well, in all fairness, you do deserve an answer and a reason why you are not considered for the job. Whilst you cannot force someone to communicate with you (you should never stalk or corner anyone), here are a few ideas you can do to get the communication and information you need.
If you do happen to have any form of communication with the hiring manager, clarify the process moving forward. Ask them what the steps in their recruitment process are and the timeframes you should expect to hear from someone. This will set the stage and expectations for you and for them as you will be letting them know, in a polite way, that you expect further communication.
In some cases, you may need to wait a few weeks before you are given any information. Knowing that in advance can help you get through that daunting unknown period as you know all other candidates are waiting just as long. Do send a follow-up email after your interview to the hiring manager thanking them for their time – it’s always nice and a good way to keep yourself top of their mind.
Clearly the hiring manager feels unprepared to make a phone call, so an email is one way to remove any intimidating or uncomfortable conversations from their end.
You can send a polite email requesting feedback and an update on your status for the role. Explain in the email that you would like feedback in order to improve your future interview processes to ensure you are successful for other positions.
At the end of the day, the feedback a hiring manager provides can be very useful in developing yourself further. The interview process can open your eyes to gaps that you have which you can work on to improve. Therefore, any feedback offered is valuable. But only send one email, if they do not respond to that, at least you tried. If you’re not getting any feedback at all and are not sure what gaps you have in your interview skills, reach out to us today and we can help you figure it out.
Perhaps you know another person working in the company. You can always reach out and see if they have any feedback to offer on the situation. They may know what the process is or connect with the hiring manager for you.
You should never put all your eggs in one basket. If at the end of the day, lack of communication resulted in losing you as a candidate, that is on them, not you.
You should continue searching for employment, moving forward and finding the right position, with the right culture that works for you.
Take whatever connection you had with the role you applied for as a learning experience and keep moving onwards and upwards.
It is important you are on top of how you are tracking, from the roles you apply to, to the interviews you attend, and any correspondence you receive from hiring managers.
We have created a great, free job application tracking tool you can download today to ensure you have everything you need tracked, sorted and in order so you will always know what should be your next steps.
Get it here…it is absolutely free and will save you a lot of time in preparing your next moves.
Whatever happens, remember, that every job application, every phone call and job interview is a learning process.
What can be the take away you ask? Well, if your resume gets very little to no response from the hiring manager then perhaps you need to reevaluate your resume. If you go to job interview after job interview and get no job offers, maybe you are not selling yourself in the best way at the job interviews themselves.
We have a number of free resources and inexpensive eBooks that can help you to improve your resume and job interview game. Check out our page – The Great Stuff to get all resources to improve your job searching efforts.
If you need a little more, then reach out to us via this link and we can organise a free 30 minute coaching session with you.
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