Ghosting spooks NH employers, applicants

Back in 2022, Melanie Adsit wanted to relocate from New York City to New Hampshire’s Upper Valley. She was thrilled to see a program manager position at Dartmouth College; the role seemed tailored to her skill set. 

She applied and made it to the final round of interviews. The prep for that interview, which included answering prompts and providing work samples, took her about two days to complete. Adsit felt the interview went well, but she never heard from the college again. She only learned the position was filled when she saw the new hire posted on the website. 

“It was the most unprofessional thing that has ever happened to me in my career,” says Adsit, who previously worked for New York’s Guggenheim Museum. 

Adsit’s experience is an example of ghosting within the hiring process. Once seen mostly in the world of online dating, ghosting, or disappearing with no communication, has entered the professional realm. It happens to job candidates like Adsit, and also to employers, who often have applicants miss interviews or even no-show on the first day of work. 

“Ghosting is prevalent,” says Henry Glickel, president of Sales Recruiters in Salem. “It’s really costly both to the individual and the individual hiring authority.”

While ghosting is likely here to stay, there are steps that both employers and job candidates can take to reduce their chances of being ghosted, and to have contingencies in place if ghosting happens, experts say. 

Reputation on the line

Adsit was waiting for the results of that final interview before she moved to NH. She says the team she was interviewing with knew that, which made the lack of communication extra frustrating. 

“I think that’s what felt so dehumanizing — that once I wasn’t of interest to them anymore, I didn’t deserve to be treated with basic human decency. It was a real eye-opener, and definitely made me rethink the type of employer I wanted to have and to be,” Adsit says. Dartmouth College spokesperson Jana Barnello says that each division or department is responsible for its own hiring process, but the college “strive[s] to ensure a hiring experience that reflects our core values of respect, transparency, and professionalism.”

Adsit eventually moved to NH without a job and now lives in Hanover. She founded her own company, rePlay Arts, a community arts organization in White River Junction, Vermont, that focuses on creative reuse of artistic materials.

“In the end I’m grateful that I didn’t get that job,” she says, but adds the experience changed how she thought about Dartmouth College. 

Ghosting candidates can impact an employer’s relationship with the community, says Andrea St. Jean, owner of Seacoast Career Planning in Portsmouth. “It doesn’t help with an employer’s reputation and branding,” she says. “If a candidate’s experience is poor, they may not apply again because they haven’t been considered and responded to in a considerate way.” 

Always provide a response

So, what should applicants expect? Anyone who applied and received an interview for a job deserves a response, Glickel says. “The worst is not even telling them,” he says. “The second worst thing is sending an email.”

All interviewees should receive a phone call if they’re not moving forward in the hiring process. Phone calls take time, and may feel awkward, “but [the candidate] took hours of time preparing for the interview,” Glickel says. 

Alison Milioto, owner of BlueLion LLC, an HR consulting firm in southern NH, agrees. “It’s as easy as [saying] ‘Thank you for coming in. We’re moving on with other candidates. Best of luck,’” she says. 

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Ease of applications a contributing factor

Since COVID, Carol Baldwin, executive director of Adult Learning Center in Nashua, has seen more people stop communicating during the hiring process. One day in July, applicants for two of three interviews didn’t show up. 

“We have definitely seen an increase in ghosting, which is something I never saw in my previous position as an HR manager at a large insurance company,” she says. It’s routine for an applicant to miss an interview, with no call to apologize, which “was unheard of just a few years ago,” she says. 

Ghosting isn’t just rude; it can have a real impact on the environment at work, says Loretta DeMarco, director of sales at Hampton Inn in Nashua. “It’s affecting everything from productivity to team morale to recruitment costs,” DeMarco says. “It’s frustrating, time-consuming and expensive.”

Baldwin and DeMarco aren’t alone. Milioto tells her clients about the rule of 50%: Half of people won’t show up to scheduled interviews, half won’t take a position that’s offered to them, and about 25% will accept a position only to no-show on the first day. While it’s more common for entry level jobs, it happens with applicants of all ages, she says, not just Gen. Z. 

A common reason, according to Milioto, is that a person’s current employer has offered them more money to stay in their position. Occasionally, people apply for jobs to stay on benefits like unemployment, which require that a person look for work, she says. Yet the experts say the biggest explanation is that online application platforms make it easy for people to apply for jobs with the click of a button, even if they have no real interest in that role. “When you apply for 500 jobs, how much commitment do you have?” Glickel questions. 

Combatting ghosting

Experts say there are ways for employers to reduce the chances of being ghosted from the beginning of the hiring process. “One of the biggest things is to be as descriptive as you can in your job listing,” says Glickel. If candidates are excited about working in a particular company, they’re less likely to ghost.

Within the application, require people to answer specific questions, not just submit a resume. This cuts down on the number of uncommitted people applying just because they can just click a button, Milioto says. 

Once an employer has identified candidates, it’s important to be prompt and communicative during the hiring process. Dartmouth Health, the state’s largest employer, uses an online portal where candidates can track the status of their application, says Carolyn Isabelle, vice president of talent and career development at the health system. 

“One of the most effective ways to prevent ghosting is by maintaining speed and responsiveness throughout the hiring process,” she says. “In a tight labor market, speed to hire is critical not only for recruitment success, but also as a reflection of our respect for candidates’ time and effort.”

Milioto suggests scheduling first-round interviews remotely. That way, the person conducting the interview can keep working and not lose valuable hours if the candidate doesn’t show. Glickel adds that ahead of an interview, employers can send additional information, and even testimonials from current employees, with the idea of building a candidate’s excitement about this particular opportunity. 

And if you’re ghosted, whether as an employer or an applicant, don’t let it get you down. “Don’t take it personally,” St. Jean said. “Know that there are many factors why this might have happened, and you don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

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