If it feels like everyone’s ghosting everyone lately, you’re not imagining it. In today’s job market, ghosting has become a two-way street. Candidates disappear mid-process, and clients vanish after final interviews. The silence is frustrating, time-consuming, and costly. But understanding why it’s happening is the first step toward fixing it.
Ghosting used to be rare, an unfortunate blip in an otherwise respectful hiring process. Now it’s almost expected. Recruiters, hiring managers, and job seekers alike are navigating a market where speed, uncertainty, and competing priorities collide.
As someone who’s been recently ghosted by both candidates for internal roles and from hiring teams, here are my theories on why this has become a dominant trend.
From Candidates:
- Overwhelm & Burnout: After years of job instability and endless application processes, some candidates simply shut down when they lose interest or anticipate being ghosted themselves
- Multiple Offers & Rapid Turnarounds: Strong candidates often receive several offers in a short window. When one option moves faster, or pays better, they move on without notice.
- Poor Communication or Clarity: When expectations shift mid-process or interview steps drag on, candidates interpret it as disorganization or lack of interest and quietly step away.
From Clients:
- Internal Delays: Decision-makers are juggling competing priorities and changing budgets, which can stall or derail hiring without clear communication back to candidates or recruiters.
- Risk Aversion & Uncertainty. When leadership isn’t aligned on whether to hire now or later, communication freezes. Employers are cautious when the cost of a mis-hire is so much higher in a slower economy.
- “Perfect Candidate” Syndrome: Some teams hold out for a unicorn, dragging out the process, interviewing endlessly, and losing good candidates along the way.
The Haunting Impact
Every time a candidate or client ghosts, it chips away at trust and damages reputation. Candidates remember which companies vanished after the final interview. Clients remember which candidates stopped responding.
In a relationship-driven market like Minnesota’s, that poignant silence echoes far beyond one specific opportunity.
Ghost-Busting the Cycle
For Employers:
- Tighten your hiring process. Fewer interviews, faster decisions, & clearer expectations.
- Communicate early and often. Even a short update (“we’re still deciding”) goes a long way.
- Respect the candidate experience. Every touchpoint shapes your brand in the market.
For Candidates:
- Close the loop. Even if you’re declining or moving on, a short message is more professional than silence.
- Ask for transparency. Clarify next steps and timelines to avoid assumptions.
- Be selective upfront. Apply only to roles you’re genuinely interested in; it saves everyone time.
Ghosting might feel like the new normal, but it doesn’t have to be. At its core, hiring is about relationships, and relationships thrive on communication, respect, and accountability.
In a market full of uncertainty, those who stay responsive and transparent will stand out for all the right reasons and those that don’t will be remembered for all the wrong ones.
